VOTERS/VOTING: Provides for an application to vote absentee by mail made by a member of the United States Service

Elections Labor

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Joy Walters
Last action: 2026-06-02
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 693
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Voting by Mail for Military and Overseas Voters

This act allows members of the United States Service to apply to vote absentee by mail using a federal postcard application or an electronically transmitted form, with their applications remaining valid for two years.

What This Bill Does

Allows military service members to use a federal postcard application or an electronic form to request voting by mail.
Requires the registrar to accept these applications no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election.
Makes sure that if a member of the United States Service applies, their application stays valid for two years from when it is received.
Requires the registrar to give written reasons if they reject an application from someone in the military or living outside the U.S.

Who It Names or Affects

Members of the United States Service
Citizens who live outside the United States

Terms To Know

Registrar: The official in charge of voter registration and elections in a specific area.
Federal postcard application: A special form used by military members to request voting by mail.

Limits and Unknowns

This act only affects those who are part of the United States Service or live outside the U.S.
The registrar must provide reasons if they reject an application, but it does not say what happens next after providing these reasons.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

House Committee Amendment #5107 H&G Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the original bill to allow absentee voting applications for U.S. Service members and citizens living abroad, extends the validity period of these applications, adjusts some wording, removes certain lines, and sets a specific effective date.

Adds provisions allowing absentee voting by mail for U.S. Service members and citizens residing outside the United States.
Changes the validity period of an application from one year to two years under certain circumstances.
Removes specific sections of text on page 2, lines 4 through 14.
Inserts a new section stating that the Act will become effective on July 1, 2027.

The exact details removed in Amendment No. 4 are not provided and thus cannot be explained further.

House Committee Amendment #4010 H&G Draft

Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes the duration for which an absentee voting application remains valid and adds a specific effective date for the new rules.

Changes the validity period of an absentee voting application from one year to two years.
Adds a provision stating that the Act will take effect on July 1, 2027.

The amendment text does not provide full details about all changes made and their impacts, so some specifics are unclear.

House Committee Amendment #3714 H&G Draft

Draft

Plain English: The amendment removes certain requirements for members of the United States Service to apply for absentee voting by mail.

Removes language that required a new application under specific circumstances.
Deletes the sub-section identifier '(2)(a)' and changes it to just '(2)'.
Eliminates lines 8 through 14 from the original bill.

The exact impact of removing these sections is not fully explained in the amendment text.

Senate Committee Amendment #4134 S&G Draft

Draft

Plain English: The amendment adds provisions related to early voting, including specific hours and days when early voting can occur in certain parishes.

Adds a new section (§1309) detailing the rules for early voting, including office hours on weekdays and Sundays in high-population parishes.
Specifies that registrars must remain open from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Saturday during early voting periods.
Allows registrars in parishes with a population of at least 230,000 to stay open until 6:00 PM on Sundays during the early voting period.
Requires the state to pay for expenses incurred by registrars and their employees when conducting early voting outside regular hours.

The amendment text does not provide specific details about how these changes will be implemented or enforced.

Bill History

2026-06-02 H
Effective date: 07/01/2027.
2026-06-02 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 693.
2026-05-28 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-27 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-27 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-26 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-26 S
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-25 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-21 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-20 S
Reported favorably.
2026-05-12 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.
2026-05-11 S
Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-05-11 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 71, nays 27. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-05-07 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/11/2026.
2026-05-07 H
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-05-06 H
Reported with amendments (15-0).
2026-03-31 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
2026-03-30 H
Read by title. Lies over under the rules.

Official Summary Text

VOTERS/VOTING: Provides for an application to vote absentee by mail made by a member of the United States Service

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 6932026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 1057
BY REPRESENTATIVES WALTERS AND MANDIE LANDRY
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 18:1307(C), relative to absentee by mail voting; to provide
3 relative to applying to vote absentee by mail; to provide relative to application by a
4 member of the United States Service or a citizen who resides outside of the United
5 States; to provide that an application remains valid until a certain time under certain
6 circumstances; to provide for effectiveness; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 18:1307(C) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
9 §1307. Application by mail
10 * * *
11 C. If the applicant is a member of the United States Service or resides
12 outside the United States, he may use the federal postcard application or an
13 application electronically transmitted by the registrar or secretary of state, and the
14 application shall be received by the registrar no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day
15 before the election. Such application shall be valid for a period extending at least
16 one year two years from the date the application is received in the office of the
17 registrar of voters; such period shall include at least one regularly scheduled federal
18 general election. If the registrar rejects the application of an applicant who is a
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 1057 ENROLLED
1 member of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, the
2 registrar shall provide the applicant with written reasons for the rejection.
3 * * *
4 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2027.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.