March 31, 2026
Greetings League Members and Friends!
In case you missed it in the lagniappe to last month’s newsletter, LWVLA started the month of March with League president M. Christian Green giving voice to some Louisiana League views on Closed Party Primaries and the Inactive Voters Lists on KVRF Baton Rouge’s “Talk Louisiana” with Jim Engster. If you missed it, you can find it and direct others to it at the top item on our LWVLA website or click here to listen.
With spring officially in progress, we can switch out the Louisiana Capitol avatar for our traditional spring azalea image. But other things are also springing up as our Unite America Closed Primary grant activities have kicked into high gear in advance of the May 16 primary and June 27 runoff. Just this month we have added two new pages to our website on Closed Party Primaries 2026 and the Civil Service Amendment that we are following on the May 16 ballot. We also held Closed Primary educational events in Shreveport on March 16 and in Marksville on March 26. Coming events will take us to New Orleans on April 2, Ruston on April 8, Lafayette on April 15, and Lake Charles on April 17. Everything, everywhere, all at once.
Indeed, the Closed Party Primaries project, has expanded to include not only the hastily sprung spring 2026 primaries, but also the ongoing problem of low-turnout in primaries that dipped to a dismal low of 36% in the October 2023 Louisiana statewide elections. We are also using it to address ongoing concerns about provisional ballots, which are generally required by federal law available in federal primary and general elections and primaries, but which are not available in closed party primaries. Another issue that intersects with primaries is the Inactive Voter List and the possibility of voter purges that normally take place in concert with federal primary elections. We don’t know whether purges will take place before the primary or between the primary and the November general election, but we are working to educate the 500,000 Louisianans (one sixth of the electorate!!!) on how to get off the list.
One of the reasons the Inactive Voters List may be extra hefty this month is due to 2.9 million Louisiana voter records having been run through the DHS SAVE database without voters’ knowledge, consent, or any obvious legislative authorization to identify 403 noncitizen voters. The SAVE system, along with the existing but apparently as yet unimplemented Louisiana documentary proof of citizenship law are two of the four matters we are currently litigating in federal courts. We have also provided opposition to HB 691, which would codify use of the DHS’s SAVE database for annual voter verification. Both LWVLA and LWV of Iberia Parish submitted written testimony on HB 691, and LWVLA Legislative Advocacy Chair, Mary Anne Mushatt represented us with in-person testimony. The SAVE database should be clearly distinguished before the SAVE Act and SAVE America Act currently before the U.S. Senate, though all of them hinge on proof of identity and citizenship. (The SAVE and SAVE America acts could pose problems for married voters who have taken a spouse’s name.)
Our Legislative Advocacy program is currently working with our Issue Committees to submit legislation for monitoring to our website’s 2026 Legislative Bill Tracker. These entries will be uploaded gradually and updated periodically through the session as some bills wax and wane in importance. But just in the area of Voting Rights we are seeing good bills in the Voting Rights Act, the Voter Protection Act, and two bills that would better secure voting rights for voters in jail and voters with past felony convictions. When it comes to voting rights, we definitely want the good bills to outweigh the bad.
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 April:
- April 1-8 Passover; April 5–Easter
- April 15—Tax Day; deadline to register in-person for the May 16 primary
- April 22—Earth Day
- April 25—deadline to register online for the May 16 primary
- April 30—International Jazz Day