Register to Vote
Register to Vote
Who is eligible to vote?
To register to vote you must:
- be a U.S. citizen
- be 17 years old (16 years old if registering in person at the Registrar of Voters Office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles), but must be 18 years old to vote (*Notice* If you will turn 18 on Election day you must still register to vote prior to the deadlines to be eligible to vote on that day)
- not be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony or, if under such an order not have been incarcerated pursuant to the order within the last five years and not be under an order of imprisonment related to a felony conviction for election fraud or any other election offense pursuant to La. R.S. 18:1461.2
- not be under a judgment of full interdiction for mental incompetence or partial interdiction with suspension of voting rights
- reside in the state and parish in which you seek to register
- must be registered at least 20 days prior to an election if registering through our GeauxVote Online Registration System with a Louisiana driver’s license or Louisiana special ID card, or 30 days prior to an election if registering in person or by mail to be eligible to vote in that particular election. If mailing in an application, the application or envelope must be postmarked 30 days prior to the first election in which you seek to vote.
How do I register?
Eligible individuals may apply for voter registration by completing a Louisiana Voter Registration Application form at any of Louisiana’s mandated sites, any Registrar of Voters office, or by mail. Louisiana statutes require individuals to be registered 30 days prior to an election (20 days if registered online) to be eligible to vote in that particular election.
- Apply in person to register to vote at any Registrar of Voters office.
- Apply online to register to vote or make changes to your registration.
You may also register in person at any of the following locations:
- Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (must be at least 16 years old to register to vote)
- Louisiana Department of Social Services
- WIC offices (Tangipahoa Parish Health Unit)
- food stamp offices
- Medicaid offices
- offices serving persons with disabilities such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living Offices
- armed forces recruitment offices
If registering in person at the Tangipahoa Parish Registrar of Voters office, you are required to prove age, residency and identity. You must submit your current Louisiana driver’s license, if you have one, or your birth certificate or other documentation which reasonably and sufficiently establishes your identity, age and residency.
If you have no picture ID, you may bring a utility bill, payroll check, or government document that includes your name and address.
If registering at a mandated site, no further proof of identification is required other than whatever proof is required for services received that you have applied for at the public agency.
Register by Mail
Apply by mail by downloading the Louisiana Voter Registration Application, completing it and mailing it to the Tangipahoa Parish Registrar of Voters office.
Faxed voter registration forms are not accepted. The voter registration form should be addressed and mailed or hand-delivered to the the appropriate Registrar of Voters office in the parish in which you are registering. DO NOT mail or otherwise send voter registration forms to the Secretary of State Elections Division. Deadlines requiring receipt in the Registrar of Voters office may be missed. You are to be registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that particular election.
Louisiana mails a verification mailing card to verify the address you have provided when registering by mail.
Registration Facts
Louisiana statutes require you to be registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that particular election.
No cost is associated with registering to vote. It is a right afforded to you as a United States citizen by the U.S. Constitution.
You must qualify to register with a residential address in the parish with a street or rural route address. Post office box addresses and mail center boxes do not qualify. We must know where you live so you are assigned to the proper voting precinct for Election Day.
Displaced voters: If you were involuntarily displaced to a new parish or state due to a gubernatorially declared emergency, but want to remain registered to vote at your pre-emergency address, you may remain registered there if you have not changed your registration address or filed a homestead exemption on a different residence. You should provide a mailing address, if different from your pre-emergency residence address, to your Registrar of Voters Office to remain an active voter.
If you have multiple addresses, you must register to vote using your homestead exemption address; however, if you do not claim homestead exemption and reside at more than one place in the state with an intention to reside there indefinitely, you may register only at one of the places at which you reside. There is an exception in the law, however, for a person who resides in a nursing home or in a veterans’ home. They may register and vote at the address where the nursing home or veterans’ home is located, even though they have a homestead exemption on their residence.
If you have changed residence inside your parish after registering to vote, you should notify the registrar of voters office in your parish of any changes to your registration or make changes online.
If you have changed residence outside your parish after registering to vote, you are no longer eligible to remain registered in that parish. You must register in your new parish.
Once you are registered in your parish, you will remain registered as an active voter. If you move and your residential address is not able to be verified through the U.S. Postal Service during the annual canvass or you do not return the address confirmation card, you will be placed on inactive status. You can activate your status by verifying your residence address online with a change of address or in person either on election day before voting or at the Registrar of Voters Office by completion of an address confirmation card. If you do not verify your address and do not vote in two federal general elections, you may be canceled. You may also be suspended or canceled if you lose your civil rights or register to vote in another state. Your registration cannot be canceled between primary and general elections unless the registration was fraudulently placed on the registration records or if you are canceled pursuant to the annual canvas conducted by the registrar. A person whose registration has been canceled is not permitted to vote until they submit a new registration to the Registrar of Voters.
A change of name can be made by producing, in the presence of the registrar of voters, an affidavit stating the name under which the person desires to be registered. A person who changes their name by virtue of a judgment of court shall file with the Registrar of Voters a certified copy of the judgment or affidavit.
The Registrar of Voters office cannot change registrants name, residential address or political party between primary and general elections. You may fill out the paperwork to have the information changed, but they will not be changed in the rolls until after the general election.
