SUBPART D. PREPARATION FOR VOTING

§551. Ballots

            A. Preparation. The secretary of state shall prepare and certify the absentee by mail ballots, the early voting ballots, and the ballots to be used on the voting machines in primary and general elections.

NOTE: Subsection B eff. until June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. until Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            B. Titles of offices. (1) The titles of the offices to be voted on in a primary or general election shall be listed on the ballot in capital letters in the following order:

            (a) President and vice president.

            (b) Presidential nominees in a presidential preference primary.

            (c) State offices--governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, United States senator, United States representative, justice of the supreme court, judge of a court of appeal, member of the public service commission, member of another state board or commission, and any other state office.

            (d) Local offices--state senator, state representative, district judge, district attorney, judge of a parish court, sheriff, clerk of court, assessor, coroner, police juror, judge and marshal of a city court, member of a school board, member of other local boards and commissions, justice of the peace, and other local offices.

            (e) Municipal offices--mayor, chief of police or marshal, alderman or member of a city council, member of a municipal board or commission, and other municipal offices.

            (f) Political party offices--member of a state central committee, member-at-large of a parish executive committee, and member of a parish executive committee from a political subdivision. If an election for a political party office appears on the same ballot with an election for presidential nominees in a presidential preference primary election, the secretary of state may place the political party office immediately following the office of presidential nominees of the same political party.

            (2) When a special election to fill a newly created office or a vacancy in an existing office is held at the same time as a regularly scheduled election, the secretary of state may list the titles of the offices to be voted on in the special election at the end of the ballot. However, when the geographic area of an office in the regularly scheduled election and in the special election are the same and when the candidates in the regularly scheduled election and in the special election for such office are the same, the title of the office and the names of the candidates shall appear only once on the ballot as provided in this Section and the ballot shall state that the election is being held to fill both the vacancy and the full term for the office. Each elector shall cast the same vote for both the regular and the special election for the office, and the candidates who qualify for the general election shall qualify for the general election for both the regular and the special election for the office, and the candidate who is elected shall be elected to fill both the vacancy and the full term for the office.

            (3) The titles of offices not specifically provided for in this Section shall be listed on the ballot in the order determined by the secretary of state.

NOTE: Subsection B eff. June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            B. Titles of offices. (1) In any primary election for a party primary office, the parties shall be arranged alphabetically, and under such party affiliation, the titles of the party primary offices to be voted on shall be listed in the order provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection. The names of the candidates for each party primary office shall be listed alphabetically by surname within each party and printed below the title of the party primary office.

            (2) Below any party primary offices, the titles of the offices to be voted on in a primary or general election shall be listed on the ballot in the following order:

            (a) President and vice president.

            (b) Presidential nominees in a presidential preference primary. If an election for presidential nominees in a presidential preference primary appears on the same ballot with an election for a party primary office, the secretary of state may place the presidential nominees above the party primary office candidates of the same party.

            (c) State offices--governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, United States senator, United States representative, justice of the supreme court, judge of a court of appeal, member of the public service commission, member of another state board or commission, and any other state office.

            (d) Local offices--state senator, state representative, district judge, district attorney, judge of a parish court, sheriff, clerk of court, assessor, coroner, police juror, judge and marshal of a city court, member of a school board, member of other local boards and commissions, justice of the peace, and other local offices.

            (e) Municipal offices--mayor, chief of police or marshal, alderman or member of a city council, member of a municipal board or commission, and other municipal offices.

            (f) Political party offices--member of a state central committee, member-at-large of a parish executive committee, and member of a parish executive committee from a political subdivision. If an election for a political party office appears on the same ballot with an election for presidential nominees in a presidential preference primary election, the secretary of state may place the political party office after party primary offices or after all other offices.

            (3) When a special election to fill a newly created office or a vacancy in an existing office is held at the same time as a regularly scheduled election, the secretary of state may list the titles of the offices to be voted on in the special election at the end of the ballot. However, when the geographic area of an office in the regularly scheduled election and in the special election are the same and when the candidates in the regularly scheduled election and in the special election for such office are the same, the title of the office and the names of the candidates shall appear only once on the ballot as provided in this Section and the ballot shall state that the election is being held to fill both the vacancy and the full term for the office. Each elector shall cast the same vote for both the regular and the special election for the office, and the candidates who qualify for the general election shall qualify for the general election for both the regular and the special election for the office, and the candidate who is elected shall be elected to fill both the vacancy and the full term for the office.

            (4) The titles of offices not specifically provided for in this Section shall be listed on the ballot in the order determined by the secretary of state.

            C. Names and numbers of candidates. The names of the candidates in a primary or general election shall be listed on the ballot as follows:

            (1)(a) In a primary election only the names of candidates who qualified for election and were not subsequently disqualified by a judgment rendered in an action objecting to candidacy shall be listed on the ballot.

            (b) The name of each local candidate shall be listed on the ballot as certified to the secretary of state by the clerk of court, and the name of each state candidate shall be listed on the ballot in the form designated by the candidate in his notice of candidacy on file with the secretary of state.

NOTE: Item (C)(1)(c)(i) eff. until June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. until Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            (c)(i) The names of the candidates for each office shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and shall be listed below the title of the office, in smaller capital letters. The names of the candidates shall be numbered from first to last. Once the secretary of state has assigned numbers to the candidates on the primary election ballot, the numbers shall not be changed.

NOTE: Item (C)(1)(c)(i) eff. June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            (c)(i) The names of the candidates for each office shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and shall be listed below the title of the office. The names of the candidates shall be numbered from first to last. Once the secretary of state has assigned numbers to the candidates on the primary election ballot, the numbers shall not be changed.

            (ii) If the qualifying period reopens because of the death of a candidate, additional candidates who qualify for the primary election shall be given the numbers following the number assigned to the last candidate on the ballot.

            (iii) If two or more candidates have the same surname, the names of the candidates having the same surname shall be arranged alphabetically by first name, regardless of whether a candidate's first name appears on the ballot. The word "Incumbent" and the residence address shall be listed after the name of each candidate having the same surname who is an incumbent, and the residence address shall be listed after the name of each candidate having the same surname who is not an incumbent.

NOTE: Paragraph (C)(2) eff. until June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. until Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            (2) In a general election only the names of the candidates who qualified for election shall be listed on the ballot, and the names shall be listed in the same form as they were listed on the ballot for the primary election. The names of candidates who were elected in the primary election shall not be listed on the ballot. The names of the candidates for each office shall be arranged alphabetically by surname, and shall be listed below the title of the office, in smaller capital letters. The names of the candidates shall be given the same number assigned to them on the primary election ballot.

NOTE: Paragraph (C)(2)eff. June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            (2) In a general election only the names of the candidates who qualified for election shall be listed on the ballot, and the names shall be listed in the same form as they were listed on the ballot for the primary election. The names of candidates who were elected in the primary election shall not be listed on the ballot. The names of the candidates for each office shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and shall be listed below the title of the office. The names of the candidates shall be given the same number assigned to them on the primary election ballot.

NOTE: Subsection D eff. until June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. until Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            D. Political party designation. The political party designation of a candidate who is registered as being affiliated with a recognized political party shall be listed on the primary or general election ballot on the same line and immediately after or below the candidate's name. If a candidate is affiliated with a political party, but such party is not a recognized political party, the word "other" shall be placed after his name. If a candidate is not affiliated with any political party, the words "no party" or an abbreviation thereof shall be placed after his name. The secretary of state shall promulgate and adopt rules as necessary to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this Subsection.

NOTE: Subsection D eff. June 12, 2025, for certain purposes, and eff. Jan. 1, 2026, for all other purposes. See Acts 2025, No. 386.

            D. Political party designation. (1) The political party designation of a candidate who is registered as being affiliated with a recognized political party shall be listed on the primary or general election ballot on the same line and immediately after or below the candidate's name. If a candidate is affiliated with a political party, but such party is not a recognized political party, the word "other" shall be placed after his name. If a candidate is not affiliated with any political party, the words "no party" or an abbreviation thereof shall be placed after his name. The secretary of state shall promulgate and adopt rules as necessary to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this Subsection.

            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the political party designation of a candidate in a party primary election shall appear on the ballot according to Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section.

            E. Uniformity. The names of the candidates shall be listed on the ballot in type of uniform size and style. The spaces between the names of the candidates for each office shall be uniform, and the names of the candidates for one office shall be separated from the names of candidates for another office by sufficient space to avoid confusion. All propositions and constitutional amendments shall be listed on the ballot in type of uniform size and style.

            Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 545, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1977, No. 588, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1978, No. 292, §1, eff. July 6, 1978, Acts 1980, No. 792, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1981, No. 76, §1, eff. June 26, 1981; Acts 1982, No. 778, §1, eff. Aug. 4, 1982; Acts 1988, No. 139, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1988, No. 909, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 1st E.S., No. 1, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 949, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 1420, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 2001, No. 451, §6, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 130, §1, eff. April 23, 2002; Acts 2004, No. 889, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2005, No. 220, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2012, No. 533, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2015, No. 307, §1, eff. June 29, 2015; Acts 2019, No. 374, §1, eff. June 19, 2019; Acts 2025, No. 386, §2, See Act.