RS 18:1307 Application by mail
§1307. Application by mail
A. A person qualified to vote absentee by mail under this Chapter may make application therefor to the registrar by letter; over his signature or mark if the voter is unable to sign his name, signed by two witnesses who witnessed the applicant's mark; setting forth:
(1) The election or elections for which he requests an absentee ballot.
(2) The reason for his request to vote absentee by mail and attaching any documents in support thereof that are required by law. Any person who is or 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 and who requests an absentee ballot be mailed to an address within the parish shall indicate in his application the dates he will be outside the territorial limits of the state or absent from the parish.
(3) The address to which the absentee ballot or ballots shall be sent. If the address is within the parish or an adjacent parish, such address shall only be the address at which the applicant is registered to vote, his mailing address on file with the registrar of voters, or an address at which he regularly receives mail.
(4) The ward and precinct in which the person is qualified to vote, if known.
(5) The date of birth of the voter.
(6) The maiden name of the voter's mother or other identifying information provided in the voter's application for registration pursuant to R.S. 18:104(A)(12).
(7) The street address in the parish where the voter resides. A post office box is insufficient.
(8) If the person requests that a ballot for a general election or the second party primary election, or both, be sent in addition to a ballot for the primary or first party primary, he shall declare in writing to the registrar that he will be eligible to vote absentee by mail in the general election or the second party primary election, or both, as the case may be.
B.(1)(a) An application to vote by mail may be delivered to the registrar by any means, including the United States Postal Service, commercial delivery service, hand delivery, or facsimile. If hand delivered by other than a commercial delivery service or the United States Postal Service, the registrar shall require that the person making such delivery sign the application. No person, except the immediate family of any voter, as defined in this code, shall hand deliver more than one voter's application to vote by mail to the registrar of voters.
(b) An application to vote by mail transmitted by facsimile to the registrar of voters shall not be sent on a facsimile machine that is owned, operated, or under the control of a candidate or agent of a party or campaign in the election, unless the application is for the candidate.
(2) Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this Section and R.S. 18:1333(D)(2), an application must be received by the registrar not earlier than sixty days or later than 4:30 p.m. on the fourth day prior to the election for which it is requested, and the date received shall be noted thereon. However, if the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, then the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday shall be deemed to be the final day of the deadline.
C. If the applicant is a member of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, he may use the federal postcard application, and the application shall be received by the registrar no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election. Such application shall be valid for a period extending from the date the application is received in the office of the registrar of voters through two subsequent regularly scheduled federal general elections. If the registrar rejects the application of an applicant who is a member of the United States Service or resides outside the United States, the registrar shall provide the applicant with written reasons for the rejection.
D. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(D)(1) and submits with his application documentation showing his hospitalization from his physician or the hospital, the application shall be received by the registrar of voters no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day before the election.
E. A person entitled to vote absentee by mail may request in his application for an absentee ballot for a primary or first party primary election that an absentee ballot for the succeeding general election or the second party primary election, or both, be sent to him when such ballots become available for distribution. However, in such case, the applicant shall declare in writing to the registrar that he will be eligible to vote absentee by mail in the general election or the second party primary election, or both, as the case may be.
F. The registrar shall not send an absentee ballot to an applicant whose application for an absentee ballot does not meet the requirements of Subsection A or B of this Section. If the registrar rejects an application for an absentee ballot, the registrar shall provide the applicant with written reasons for the rejection.
G. If the applicant is eligible to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(F), (I), or (J), his application, if such application meets the requirements of this Section, shall remain valid indefinitely, unless an absentee by mail ballot that has been sent to the applicant is returned to the registrar as undeliverable. If the applicant's absentee by mail ballot is returned to the registrar as undeliverable, the registrar shall send notice by forwardable mail to such applicant that his application will no longer be valid, and the applicant shall be required to submit a new application to the registrar that meets the requirements of this Section and provide a current address before the applicant will be eligible to vote absentee by mail again pursuant to this Section.
H. If the registrar of voters has reason to believe that the eligibility of a voter to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I) is based upon false or fraudulent information, he shall immediately notify the parish board of election supervisors. If, after appropriate hearing and opportunity for the voter to be heard, the parish board of election supervisors finds that the voter's eligibility to vote absentee by mail was based upon false or fraudulent information, the board shall inform the appropriate district attorney and the registrar of voters who shall not allow the voter to vote absentee by mail pursuant to R.S. 18:1303(I).
Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 513, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1980, No. 506, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1985, No. 754, §1; Acts 1990, No. 107, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 1420, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 254, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 1181, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 130, §§1 and 3, eff. April 23, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 339, §1, eff. June 13, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1220, §2, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 526, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005, §2, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 220, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2005, No. 431, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 560, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 124, §1; Acts 2007, No. 240, §1; Acts 2008, No. 136, §1, eff. June 6, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 599, §1; Acts 2009, No. 369, §1; Acts 2009, No. 436, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.