BATON ROUGE, La.—Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry is proud to announce the passage of multiple legislative instruments in the Department of State’s Voter Protection Package during the 2025 Regular Legislative Session.

“I am exceedingly grateful to the authors and sponsors of the bills in our Voter Protection Package and the members who supported those pieces of legislation,” Secretary Landry said. “Thanks to them, four instruments from our legislative slate passed overwhelmingly, all with bipartisan support. These instruments will help Louisiana continue on the path to being ranked first in the nation in election integrity. I thank Governor Landry for signing several of these bills into law, and I look forward to working with him to ensure the remaining instruments become law.”

The department’s package of bills that were passed are:

• SB 90 by Senator Rick Edmonds: Bans wagering on elections
• HB 206 by Representative Michael Melerine: Requires legislative approval of election-related consent decrees
• HB 351 (Act 80) by Representative Mike Johnson: Assesses court costs and attorney’s fees for knowingly attesting to false information in a Notice of Candidacy
• SCR 35 by Senator Rick Edmonds: Calls for a procedural election audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor every four years

The contents of SB 109 by Senator Alan Seabaugh and HB 590 by Representative Annie Spell, which bans foreign funding of election contests and ballot measures, were amended into Representative Mark Wright’s HB 693.

Secretary Landry will be available for 10-minute interviews with credentialed media via phone, Google Meet, or Zoom on Tuesday, June 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Interested media outlets can contact Joel Watson, Deputy Secretary of State for Communications, at [email protected] or 225-922-0820 to schedule an interview time.

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Please be advised The Parish Board of Election Supervisors will seal Early Voting machines for the May 3rd election on Thursday, 04/10 @ 10:00 AM at the Registrar of Voter’s Amite location.

110 N. 1st Street, Amite, LA 70422
*All PBES meetings are open to the public*

BATON ROUGE, La. — Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced that Louisiana is now ranked second in the nation for election integrity by the Heritage Foundation after previously being ranked ninth by the same group. Scores are calculated from 12 different categories, including voter ID implementation, absentee ballot management, vote counting practices, and verification of citizenship.

“This latest ranking proves once again that Louisiana’s elections are safe and secure,” Secretary Landry said. “I am proud of the hard work that our elections team does day in and day out to ensure the integrity of our elections. While this news is cause for celebration, there is still much work to be done. I won’t be satisfied until Louisiana is number one in the nation, and I am confident that will happen when we transition to a new, fully-auditable voting system.”

The Department of State has begun the process of procuring a new voting system, and Secretary Landry has indicated that the agency will secure one within the year.

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BATON ROUGE, La.—The Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA) conducted a follow-up to their award-winning 2021 audit of the Louisiana Department of State’s election integrity procedures. The original report found “[overall]…DOS has procedures and practices to ensure election integrity.” The follow-up concluded that the agency has implemented or is in the process of implementing all recommendations made in the 2021 audit.

“I appreciate the thorough work of Louisiana Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack and his team,” Secretary Landry said. “This latest report confirms what the voters of our state know to be true: Louisiana’s elections are safe, secure, and accurate. I look forward to continuing to strengthen our policies and procedures to make us number one in the nation for election integrity.”

LLA made five recommendations in its 2021 audit. The follow-up report found that the Department of State implemented three (ensuring documentation of test vote results, formal documentation of post-election verification activities, and consistent categorization of complaints to the Division of Election Integrity) and is in the process of implementing two (additional state-by-state data matches and post-election audits). It further found that legislation was enacted relating to six matters for legislative consideration, including:

• Act 2 (2024): The adoption of an expanded annual voter canvass to ensure an accurate voter registration list
• Act 321 (2024): The establishment of uniformity on what information is required for absentee by mail ballots
• Act 639 (2022): The development of rules to create uniformity for what absentee by mail ballots are referred to the Parish Board of Election Supervisors
•  Act 572 (2022): The requirement of a signed certification of voting machine testing
•  Act 741 (2022): The adoption of uniform policies and procedures for the conduct of a post-election tabulation audit of paper records
• Act 640 (2024): A provision for six weeks between primary and general elections beginning in 2026

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