February 28, 2026

Greetings League Members and Friends!

Ah, February—the month of Love and the League! For us, February 14 is not only Valentine’s Day, but the LWV’s 106th Birthday. Mardi Gras also fell in February this year—February 17 to be precise. We enjoyed changing our social media banners to our famous King Cake version in celebration of the holiday. And we look forward to deploying our Louisiana azalea pics soon, as those are already starting to bloom in what seems to be an early spring this year. Maybe we will be able to spot and photograph some Louisiana irises soon, too!

But this February, something else started cropping up with precocious spring flowers: the Inactive Voters Lists. Normally appearing in late July or early August following the annual canvass of voters that is required by law to happen by the end of August, the IVLs came late this year—mostly, we think, to allow the Louisiana Secretary of State to implement a second canvass in 2025 that the Louisiana Legislature greenlighted with a bill in the 2024 legislative session. That bill had a fiscal note of $336,108 and contemplated sending as many as 183,000 voters address confirmation postcards—possibly on top of the normal number that LA SOS sends out each year. This year they appear to have outdone themselves. 500,000 voters are said to be on the IVL in advance of the May 16 federal midterm primary that will be a closed party primary this year for the first time in many years. (Find out about the closed party primaries.)

Not familiar with the Inactive Voters List? Many Louisianans aren’t. And not all of the processes associated with it are as open and transparent as we would like. Here’s a primer on how we think the IVL works: Most folks get on it when address confirmation postcards are returned as undeliverable. If they remain on the list and skip voting in two general, federal elections, they can be removed from the list, per Louisiana Revised Statute 18:193(E). The most common reasons that people are on the IVL are that they are deceased or have moved, often out of state. It would be great if the LA SOS and ROVs received death notices from the coroner or consulted obituaries, but that may not always happen. People living at a person’s former address may receive an address confirmation card for another voter or a family member who no longer resides there. Best thing to do is mark the item “Return to Sender” and put it back in the post. You can also do as the current LWVLA president did in 2024 and return a voter information card addressed to a family member who has not resided in Louisiana since 1998.

The main way that we find out about the Inactive Voters Lists at the League is through seeing the print version, which by law must be published for one day in a paper of record in all 64 Louisiana parishes, per La Rev Stat 18:193(F) ninety days prior to federal primaries. Where we miss them in print, we search “Inactive Voters List” at the Louisiana Press Association website, where they are required to be retained for two years.

Our main advice to voters in IVL publication season is: (1) Check your voter registration at GeauxVote.com (or the Geaux Vote app on your phone) and make sure you see that little green box that says you are an ACTIVE voter. (2) If you don’t see the green box (or even just to double check), you can look yourself up on the Inactive Voters List itself here. (3) If you do not see yourself listed with correct name and address and ACTIVE status, you can correct this online at the GeauxVote portal. (4) If you encounter any problems, you would be well advised to call or stop by the office of your parish Registrar of Voters. (5) As a last resort, voters who are not listed as eligible voters on the rolls may request to vote a provisional ballot in federal elections, but be advised that whether and how these are counted varies by state, and Louisiana has a particularly low rate of counting provisional ballots and has been known to run out of them at polling places on Election Day.

The IVL is not a good place to be, since it can result in voters being purged from the rolls without their knowledge. No one wants to show up at their polling place and not be eligible to vote. And this May, if they want to vote in the Republican or Democratic primaries, they need to make sure they are registered in the right party. No Party voters may opt to vote in the party primaries, or they can opt for a ballot (also open to third party voters) that has the statewide constitutional amendments, local initiatives, and any races that are not party primaries. At the League we encourage all voters to vote on May 16—because being an ACTIVE VOTER is the best way to stay off the IVL along with the “ABC Rule” of Always Be Checking your voter registration! And stay tuned for information on our upcoming “Preparing for Primaries” events happening around the state in March and April on our LWVLA website and social media.

The “Unite & Rise 8.5” campaign to register, educate, and activate 8.5 million voters continues—and Louisiana is seeking to reach 160,000 Louisiana voters before the 2026 midterm elections. As always, if you’re not with us yet as a League member, join us, tell your friends, and consider a donation to fund our work. From voter education to protection of voting rights and democracy itself, your League is working for you!

In League,

Your LWVLA State Board

Upcoming Events in March:

  • March 1-31—Women’s History Month
  • March 8—International Women’s Day
  • March 9—Louisiana Legislature 2026 Regular Session opens
  • March 17—St. Patrick’s Day