BATON ROUGE, La. — Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 81 of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor conducted an audit of the Louisiana Department of State’s policies, procedures, and practices regarding the integrity of elections in Louisiana to provide assurance as to whether the elections process in Louisiana is sufficient to provide for the integrity and security of all elections held within the state.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin issued the following statement on the release of the Legislative Auditor’s report on election integrity in Louisiana:
“I am extremely pleased at the findings of the Legislative Auditor’s report that reaffirms Louisiana’s stringent election integrity practices which keep our elections safe, secure, fair and accurate. I am thankful for the thoughtful and diligent work of the Auditor’s staff over the last year as they delved into our practices and worked with my staff to produce this report. I am most proud of Louisiana’s team of election professionals at every level, who work tirelessly to ensure that our elections are a model for the rest of the country.”
Key findings in the report include:
● 77 out of 79 responsive Clerks of Court and Registrars of Voters rated Louisiana’s election integrity as “excellent” (63) or “good” (14).
● Many of the Auditor’s suggested revisions to the Louisiana Election Code have been or are being pursued by the Department of State, including introducing an auditable paper trail in Louisiana’s voting system and holding a second annual voter canvass to ensure the accuracy of the state’s voter registration list.
● The Department of State takes reports of voter fraud seriously, having seen the prosecution and conviction of four individuals since 2017.
Louisiana has been ranked 7thin the nation by the Heritage Foundation and 12thin the nation (including being ranked 1stin the south) by the Electoral Integrity Project for election integrity.
