Ballot access requirements for political parties in Louisiana

in Louisiana

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Louisiana

See statutes: Title 18, Section 441 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes

Gaining ballot access

In Louisiana, a new party will be recognized when the following three things occur:^[1]

1. At least 1,000 registered voters affiliate with the party on their voter registration forms.
2. The party files a notarized registration statement with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
3. The party pays a $1,000 registration fee to the secretary of state's office.

The registration statement must be sworn to by an officer of the party. The statement must be notarized and include the following information:^[2]

1. the name of the party, which cannot be deceptively similar to the name of any already-recognized political party
2. the mailing address of the party, which must be within the state of Louisiana
3. affiliation with a national political party, if applicable
4. the names, addresses, and official titles of the party's state officers
5. a copy of the party's emblem, if applicable, which cannot be deceptively similar to the emblem of any already-recognized political party
6. copies of the party's charter or constitution, its governing bylaws, rules, and regulations.

In order to be recognized in time to run candidates in an election, the party will have to file and pay the registration fee no later than 90 days before the candidate qualifying period.^[2]

A newly recognized political party will not be given a seat on the Parish Board of Election Supervisors, which is a board in each parish that oversees and supervises election proceedings, until at least 5 percent of registered voters in the state are affiliated with the party. Newly recognized political parties also cannot collect party fees from their candidates.^[1][3]

Maintaining ballot access

In order to maintain ballot access, a newly recognized party must continue to put candidates on the ballot. If no registered member of the party qualifies as a candidate for four consecutive years, the party will cease to be recognized.^[1][2]

However, if a presidential or statewide office candidate of a newly recognized party receives at least 5 percent of the votes cast for those offices, the four-year rule will no longer apply. This means that if the party's candidate in a presidential or statewide race receives at least 5 percent of the votes cast for those offices, the party will never have to re-qualify for recognition.^[2][4][5]

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of April 2024, Louisiana officially recognized five political parties. These are listed in the table below.^[6][7]

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Louisiana
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Louisiana
• Republican Party of Louisiana

External links

• Louisiana Democratic Party
• Louisiana Republican Party

Footnotes

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