NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT (R.S. 18:114 - 116)  

NVRA is an acronym for the National Voter Registration Act passed by Congress in 1993. The Commissioner of Elections was designated the chief election official to be responsible for the coordination of the state’s duties under the NVRA, working closely with the Louisiana Legislature to comply with the federal mandate and to have Act 10 of the Third Extraordinary Session of 1994 adopted, maintaining a single voter registration system for Louisiana elections.

The main intent of Act 10 was to encourage voter registration by providing new and innovative ways to register to vote. The Act mandated three new intake programs: mail, motor voter, and agency-based registration. These programs not only bring new voters into the election process, but they also bring new people to the task of registration administration.

Any eligible applicant may request and receive a Louisiana Mail Voter Registration Application Form, complete and sign it, and return it to the local registrar of voters. In addition to registering in the parish registrar's offices, voter registration is being offered in connection with a designated service at the following locations:

• Driver's license facilities
• Public assistance offices
  * Food stamp program
  * Medicaid program
  * Women, Infants, and Children programs
  * Family Independence Temporary Assistance
    (formerly Aid to Families with Dependent Children)
• Social services offices and other offices that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities
• Recruitment offices of the Armed Forces
• Public colleges, universities and high schools who have chosen to participate
• Municipalities who have chosen to participate

To register, you must: (R.S. 18:101)

• Be a United States citizen
• Be at least 17 years old but must be 18 years prior to the next election to vote
• Not be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony
• Not be under judgment of interdiction for mental incompetence
• Reside in the state and parish in which you seek to register

For additional information, please contact the Elections Division at 1-800-825-3805 (Louisiana residents only) or (225) 925-7885. Also, you may want to contact your local Registrar of Voters.