Early voting for Saturday’s U.S. Senate primary runoffs closed over the weekend. Secretary of State Nancy Landry says despite lower turnouts for early voting in this election, voters seemed more comfortable with the new closed party primary system.
“People are catching on. We had fewer people asking questions when they got there; they seem to know now, but we’re still encouraging everyone to check their sample ballot at geauxvote.com before they go vote,” Landry said.
Every parish in the state will vote in the U.S. Senate primaries. 40 parishes will also have local propositions on the ballot, and 10 will vote in local elections. Landry says your ballot will look different based on where you are and what party you are registered with.
“You will have a statewide election for U.S. Senate, and that is a party runoff, so some people won’t be able to vote in it. That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to check their ballot at geauxvote.com,” Landry explained.
The closed primary law was approved by the legislature in 2024 and went into effect this year. Registered Republicans will receive a ballot to vote in the Republican primary, and registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary. Landry says No Party voters choose which primary to vote in, but you can’t change your selection if you voted in May.
“If you are a No Party voter, and you selected a Republican or Democrat ballot in May, you will get that same ballot for this race,” Landry noted.
No Party voters who did not select a ballot in May can choose which primary they would like to vote in. Selecting a ballot does not mean you are registering as a member of that party.