§1303. Persons entitled to vote in compliance with this Chapter

A. In person. Any person who is qualified to vote may vote during the early voting period at a place designated by the registrar as provided in R.S. 18:1309.

B. By mail. The following persons, otherwise qualified to vote, who expect to be out of the parish on election day, may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter:

(1) A member of the United States Service, as defined in R.S. 18:1302, and his spouse and dependents.

(2) A student, instructor, or professor in an institution of higher learning located outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote and who lives outside of said parish by reason thereof, and his spouse and any dependent accompanying and residing with him.

(3) A minister, priest, rabbi, or other member of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside the parish in which he is registered and his spouse and any dependents accompanying and residing with him.

(4) A person who is or who expects to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish in which he is qualified to vote during the early voting period and on election day.

(5) A person who, after the registration books have closed as required by R.S. 18:135, has moved his residence to another parish and the new residence is more than one hundred miles from the parish seat of the parish of his former residence, in which case he may vote absentee by mail in the parish of his former residence.

(6) A person involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote, who is not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent.

(7) Repealed by Acts 1993, No. 418, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1994.

(8) A person residing outside the United States.

C. Sequestered jury member. A person who is otherwise qualified to vote, who is a member of a sequestered jury on election day, may vote absentee as provided in R.S. 18:1307.1, 1307.2, and 1308.1, upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

D. Hospitalized. (1) A person who is otherwise qualified to vote, who expects to be hospitalized on election day and who did not have knowledge of his proposed hospitalization until after the time for early voting had expired, may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

(2) A person who is otherwise qualified to vote, who expects to be hospitalized on election day and who was hospitalized during the time for early voting, may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

(3) A person who was hospitalized and released prior to an election but who is either hospitalized or restricted to his bed by his physician during early voting and is restricted to his bed by his physician on election day may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

E. Employed upon state waters. A person who by virtue of his employment or occupation expects to be out of his precinct of registration and upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

F. Participants in former program for disabled voters. A person who lives at home 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, may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

G. Persons incarcerated. A person incarcerated in an institution inside or outside the parish in which he is qualified to vote, who is not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony, may only vote absentee by mail and only upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter and certification to the appropriate registrar by the sheriff of the parish where the person is incarcerated that he is not a convicted felon.

H. Confidentiality program. A person who is a program participant in the Department of State Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to R.S. 44:52 may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter. The program participant's substitute address shall be used for all purposes relative to voter registration and voting. A program participant's name and physical address shall not be included on any list of registered voters available to the public. A program participant shall not vote during early voting or in person at the polls on election day.

I. Voters with disabilities. (1) Any qualified voter who submits any of the following to the registrar of voters may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter:

(a) A copy of a current mobility impairment identification card bearing a photograph of the voter and the international symbol of accessibility issued by the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections as authorized by the provisions of R.S. 47:463.4.

(b) A copy of current documentation showing eligibility for social security disability benefits, veteran's disability benefits, paratransit services, benefits from the office for citizens with developmental disabilities, or benefits from Louisiana Rehabilitation Services.

(c) Current proof of disability from a physician.

(2) Any voter who submits the information required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection by mail to the registrar shall include 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 voter or a form on which the voter 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 voter is physically disabled.

J. Senior citizen. A person who has attained the age of sixty-five years or more may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

K. Secretary of State and employees. The secretary of state or an employee of the secretary of state who is a qualified voter and who submits to the registrar of voters of the parish where he is registered to vote a copy of a state employee identification card may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

L. Employees of the registrar. An employee of the registrar of voters who is a qualified voter registered to vote in a parish other than his parish of employment and who submits to the registrar of voters of the parish where he is registered to vote a copy of an identification card showing employment with the registrar of voters may vote absentee by mail upon meeting the requirements of this Chapter.

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 299, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1977, No. 513, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1979, No. 229, §1, eff. July 13, 1979; Acts 1980, No. 506, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1981, No. 106, §1; Acts 1981, No. 475, §1. Acts 1983, No. 500, §1, eff. July 6, 1983; Acts 1985, No. 754, §1; Acts 1985, No. 223, §1; Acts 1988, No. 909, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, No. 179, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 107, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 748, §1; Acts 1992, No. 922, §1; Acts 1993, No. 418, §§1 and 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, No. 451, §6, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2001, No. 1032, §7; Acts 2005, No. 220, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006 ; Acts 2006, No. 613, §2; Acts 2007, No. 124, §1; Acts 2008, No. 599, §1; Acts 2009, No. 436, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2014, No. 811, §9, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 584, §1, eff. May 28, 2018.