New Louisiana record: Nearly 177,000 cast ballots on first day of early voting • Louisiana Illuminator

Louisiana set a new record for the first day of early voting, slightly exceeding its total from four years ago when officials had to take measures for the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 176,882 voters cast ballots Friday for the Nov. 5 election, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office. That’s 1.3% more when compared with 174,533 votes submitted on day one of early voting in the 2020 election. 

This year’s early voting period in Louisiana ends Oct. 29, with polls open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except for Sundays. 

Early voting has been available in Louisiana since 2008. Turnout by party has historically leaned heavily in favor of Democrats, who have accounted for roughly half or more of the state’s early voters in each of the past four presidential elections.

However, Republicans held a slight edge on day one of early voting this year. They totaled 75,455 votes to 74,311 for Democrats. “Other” voters accounted for 27,166 votes.

Another early trend: Far more women voted early than men in Louisiana, with 102,178 showing up on day one. That was 31% more than their male counterparts. 

Black early voter turnout in Louisiana was down on day one from four years ago. They cast one-fourth of all ballots Friday compared with nearly one-third in 2020. Over the entire early period in 2020, Black voters made up nearly 30% of all voters.

The high mark over an entire early voting period in Louisiana was set four years ago with 986,428 for the presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. 

Louisiana governor’s elections have drawn far fewer people during the early voting period when compared to presidential election years. Just less than 369,000 showed up for the October 2023 primary that Jeff Landry won outright. 

In the much closer 2019 governor’s election, more than 503,000 voters participated in the runoff between John Bel Edwards and Eddie Rispone, up from approximately 386,000 in the primary.