§115. Registration by mail

A.(1) In addition to the national mail voter registration form promulgated by the United States Election Assistance Commission, the secretary of state shall design and distribute a state mail voter registration application form. The state mail voter registration form shall include the eligibility requirements for registration.

(2) A person may apply to register to vote by mail by completing, signing through handwritten signature, and returning either the national voter registration form or the state mail voter registration form to the registrar of voters for the parish in which the applicant resides.

(3) Repealed by Acts 2013, No. 383, §4.

B.(1) The registrar of voters shall determine the eligibility of an applicant in the following manner:

(a) The registrar shall mail a verification mailing to the applicant at the address provided on the application form. The mailing shall instruct the postmaster to deliver only as addressed or return to sender, with return postage guaranteed. If such mailing is not returned to the registrar within ten days from the date of mailing, the applicant shall be added to the official list of voters and the registrar of voters shall send a notice of registration to the applicant. However, if the verification mailing is returned to the registrar by the United States Postal Service, the registrar shall not add the applicant's name to the official list of voters and shall attempt to notify the applicant of such action.

(b) If an applicant fails to provide all of the required information on the application for voter registration, the registrar shall notify the applicant in writing of the missing information and inform him that he has ten days from the date on which the notice was mailed to provide the information. This written notification shall be considered the verification mailing as required by Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph. If the applicant provides the information and the registrar determines he is eligible to register, the applicant shall be added to the official list of voters and the registrar shall send a notice of registration to the applicant. In the event the applicant does not respond to the request for the missing information within ten days, the application shall be rejected and the registrar shall so advise the applicant in writing. If the registrar's request for the missing information is returned by the United States Postal Service, the applicant's name shall not be added to the official list of voters and the registrar shall attempt to notify the applicant of such action.

(2) The registrar shall maintain a list of persons to whom verification mailings have been sent within thirty days prior to a particular election.

C. Any mail voter registration application received by the registrar of voters shall be considered an update to any existing voter registration for that person. However, in order to change the name of a registration based on a mail voter registration application, the registrar shall require a copy of such documentation as provided for in R.S. 18:111.

D. The parish registrar of voters shall obtain from the secretary of state and maintain a supply of mail voter registration application forms for distribution and for voter registration. The mail voter registration application forms shall be made available through governmental and private entities. Such forms shall be available for organized voter registration programs.

E.(1) Mail voter registration applications returned through the United States Postal Service shall be deemed to have been made as of the date of the postmark affixed to such application by the United States Postal Service, or if no such postmark is affixed or if the postmark affixed by the United States Postal Service is illegible or bears no date, such application shall be deemed to have been made timely if received through the United States mail by the registrar of voters no later than the close of business on the thirtieth day prior to an election.

(2) Mail voter registration applications returned by a third party must be received by any registrar of voters no later than the registration deadline for a particular election in order for the applicant to be eligible to vote in that election.

(3) In any other case, a mail voter registration form shall be deemed received timely if received by any registrar of voters no later than the registration deadline for a particular election.

F.(1) Any registered voter who has registered by mail and has not previously voted in the parish in which he is registered shall vote:

(a) During early voting in the office of the registrar of voters, or

(b) In person at the precinct in which he is registered to vote.

(2) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply in the case of the following:

(a)(i) A person who is otherwise entitled to vote under the provisions of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act or the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act.

(ii) Any person who is otherwise entitled to vote and who prior to January 1, 2010, was approved by a parish board of election supervisors as being eligible to participate in the Special Program for Handicapped Voters as such program existed prior to January 1, 2010.

(iii) Any person who is otherwise entitled to vote and who has submitted to the registrar of voters current proof of disability from a physician along with a certification from the physician which indicates that by reason of the person's disability the person is unable to appear in person to vote either during early voting or at the polling place on election day, and if the person submitted the proof of disability to registrar by mail, who included in his submission to the registrar a copy of his Louisiana driver's license, his Louisiana special identification card issued pursuant to R.S. 40:1321, or other generally recognized picture identification card that contains the name and signature of the person, or a form on which the person has listed the names and addresses of at least two persons residing in his precinct who could make oath, if required, to the effect that the person is physically disabled.

(b) A person who is a student at an institution for higher learning located outside of the registrant's parish of residence, when such student submits a copy of his student identification or fee bill showing current enrollment with the application to vote by mail.

(c) A person who appears in the office of the parish registrar of voters where he is registered to vote prior to the opening of the period for conducting early voting for the scheduled election and establishes his identity pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 18:105(A).

(d) A person who is a program participant in the Louisiana Department of State Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 44 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

G. Upon receipt by the registrar of voters of an undelivered notice of registration, the registrar shall immediately begin the procedure set forth in R.S. 18:193 and place the voter on the inactive list of voters.

H. Each registrar of voters shall maintain such statistical records on the number of applications to register to vote by mail, except military and overseas applicants who register by using the Federal Post Card Application, as requested by the secretary of state.

Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 1381, §1; Acts 2001, No. 451, §6, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2001, No. 1032, §7; Acts 2005, No. 220, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2005, No. 431, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 2, §1, eff. Feb. 23, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 403, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 136, §1, eff. June 6, 2008; Acts 2009, No. 369, §1; Acts 2009, No. 436, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2013, No. 383, §4.

NOTE: See Acts 2001, No. 1032, §17.