July 31, 2026

Greetings League Members and Friends!

For many of us in Louisiana, July was a month of reflection, and recommitment to our nation’s democratic principles and promise as the United States of America celebrated its 250 birthday. Local leagues like LWV of Tangipahoa joined groups around the nation in simultaneous public readings of the Declaration of Independence at 6:00 EST on July 8, the very date and hour the Declaration was first read to the American public in 1776.

At the LWVLA and LWVLA Education fund board meetings on July 12, League board members and leaders discussed plans to spend this year’s Making Democracy Work 2026 grant, which includes dedicated grants for Inclusive Primaries and Pre-Registration.

With the Inclusive Primaries grant, we are continuing work begun last year on Closed Party Primaries and focusing on the need for “inclusive” primaries that encourage voter participation. The May 16 primary turnout was roughly half of what it has been in previous federal midterm elections. The parties attracted only a portion of their voters, and No Party voters were particularly deterred from participation. We don’t know yet what the future holds for primary elections in our state. There was an abandoned effort in the 2026 legislative session to remove BESE from closed primaries. There have been conflicting statements about whether the legislature will seek to close or open primaries in the 2027 session. Whatever happens, we want to make sure that voters vote in the rescheduled U.S. House primary on November 3 and get ready to vote in the October 2027 Statewide Election Primaries.

The Pre-Registration grant will focus on getting 16- and 17-year olds pre-registered to vote. Many Louisianans know that prospective voters can register in-person or online at 17 and receive a voter registration card in the mail on their 18th birthday. (Additionally, 17-year-olds can register to be poll workers!!!) Fewer know that 16-year-olds can register in-person with the Registrar of Voters in their parish or any Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. With our grant, we will be learning more about pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-old future voters around the state.

With the rest of the MDW grant, we will focus on providing Information to voters about the House primary general elections in November and getting voters ready for the 2027 Statewide Elections. Given the interest of voters in recent years in constitutional amendments and other ballot Issues, we will be exploring new, nonpartisan ways to educate voters and get them to the polls on issues that matter to their lives. Finally, we will continue to monitor federal and state legislation and litigation on voter Identification matters and what voters need to bring prepared to bring to the polls to confirm identity, residence, and citizenship. As in past MDW grants, young voters, voters with felony convictions, and inactive voters remain special areas of focus of our MDW work. Another Inactive Voters List was published in July, following the one in February that listed 500,000 of Louisiana’s 2.9 million voters as inactive and potentially subject to being purged.

A further note on identification: Louisiana’s required photo ID for in-person voting, already makes it one of the strictest states for Voter ID. Nationally, LWV has opposed overly strict and excessive Voter ID requirements, especially ones with financial costs to voters that would make them reminiscent of the old poll taxes. But we are monitoring federal laws and continuing to oppose the SAVE, SAVE America, and new Voter ID Act. We are also litigating to seek clarity on Louisiana’s own documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) law that has been in effect since January 1, 2025, with little information to election officials and voters on how it is to work.

And in litigation matters, our litigation advocacy is ongoing. The Callais case is settled law for now. Our litigation on restoration of voting rights to voters with felony convictions is ongoing alongside the Louisiana DPOC law case—with both suits focusing on areas of ongoing unclarity for election officials and voters. Related to the Louisiana DPOC case is our intervention in Louisiana’s suit against the federal Election Assistance Commission to try to get the EAC to let the Louisiana DPOC law move forward. But matters became even more complicated this month, since the SAVE database that the SOS would use to verify citizenship continues to be contested—and, we argue, illegal. Additionally, President Trump removed all three EAC Commissioners this month.

Amid it all, 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. Some of our Leagues will be participating in the August 8 Unite & Rise for Voting Rights Day of Action by holding events in their areas from August 8 through Labor Day. As always, if you’re not with us yet as a League member, join us, tell your friends, or donate to fund our work.

In League, Your LWVLA State Board

Upcoming Events in August: