§563. Procedure for voting

A. The commissioners shall not allow more voters to approach the voting machines than there are vacant machines available for voting. Except as otherwise provided by law, the commissioners shall not allow more than one person to enter a voting machine at a time.

B. A pre-teen child may accompany his parent or legal guardian into the voting machine.

C.(1) A voter shall not remain in a voting machine longer than three minutes. If a voter fails to leave a voting machine promptly after a commissioner has notified him that three minutes have elapsed, the commissioners shall order the voter to complete voting and leave the voting machine.

(2) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a voter receiving assistance in voting pursuant to R.S. 18:564 or a voter using the audio ballot shall be allowed to remain in a voting machine for up to twenty minutes. If such a voter fails to leave a voting machine promptly after a commissioner has notified him that twenty minutes have elapsed, the commissioners shall order the voter to complete voting and leave the voting machine.

D.(1)(a) In order to cast a vote on a voting machine, a voter shall make at least one selection in a candidate or proposition election. Voting is completed by activating the cast vote mechanism.

(b) If a voter has made any selection in a candidate or proposition election but has failed to activate the cast vote mechanism, a commissioner observed by at least one other commissioner shall activate the cast vote mechanism for the fled voter without altering any selections made by the voter.

(c) If a voter has failed to make any selection before leaving the voting machine and, therefore, a commissioner cannot activate the cast vote mechanism for the fled voter, a commissioner shall complete in triplicate the notation of irregularities form provided by the secretary of state and reset the voting machine.

(2)(a) In order to cast a vote on a paper ballot, a voter must make a selection for a candidate or for or against a proposition by completely filling in the oval to the right of a selection and returning the ballot to the appropriate election official within the applicable deadline set forth by law. If a voter makes selections for more than the number of candidates to be elected for an office or makes selections for and against the same proposition, the selections for that office or proposition will be void.

(b) If a voter determines that his ballot is spoiled because he wants to change or correct his vote on the ballot before it is cast and counted but is unable to do so, he may obtain a replacement ballot upon returning the spoiled ballot to a commissioner. The voter shall cast his vote as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph using the replacement ballot. The commissioner shall write the words "spoiled and replaced" on the ballot and shall place it in the envelope marked "Registrar of Voters".

E. A voter shall promptly leave the polling place after voting and shall not reenter a voting machine.

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1987, No. 237, §1; Acts 1987, No. 831, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; Acts 2003, No. 1220, §2, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2007, No. 240, §1; Acts 2008, No. 136, §1, eff. June 6, 2008; Acts 2016, No. 281, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 584, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2019.