By Brooke Shirley

 

Registrars of voters across the state the week of Aug. 21-25 hosted Voter Registration Week activities aimed at registering eligible citizens to vote. The next regularly scheduled election in Louisiana is the Statewide Special and Open/Orleans Municipal Parochial Primary on Oct. 14, 2017.

Natchitoches Parish Registrar of Voters Office registered students at Natchitoches Central High School. Students had the opportunity to register to vote with the help of the League of Women Voters. These ladies are a part of a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. They strive to influence public policy through education and advocacy. To avoid interrupting any classes, students could register during their lunch shift or pick up the form to bring home for assistance completing it.

Louisiana was one of the first states in the nation to implement an easy, convenient online voter registration portal. Citizens with a valid Louisiana driver’s license can register online 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the convenience of their home or office by visiting https://voterportal.sos.la.gov.

Residents of Louisiana can also register in person at their parish Registrar of Voters Office, when they apply for/renewing their driver’s license at any Office of Motor Vehicles or when obtaining services at public assistance agencies and Armed Forces recruitment offices. Citizens wishing to register by mail can download and print the application

at http://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/PublishedDocuments/ApplicationToRegisterToVote.pdf, or complete an application found at public libraries or through registration drives.

To register and vote in Louisiana individuals must:

be a U.S. citizen;

be at least 17 years old (16 years old if registering in person at the Registrar of Voters Office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles) to register and 18 years old prior to the next election to vote;

not be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony;

not be under a judgment of full interdiction for mental incompetence or partial interdiction with suspension of voting rights;

be a resident in the state and parish in which you seek to register and vote; and
complete the process at least 20 days prior to an election if registering online or 30 days prior to an election if registering in person or by mail.

For a complete listing of activities in individual parishes, visit http://www.sos.la.gov/Pages/NewsAndEvents.aspx#faq166.