Provides for absentee voting by mail by qualified incarcerated voters (OR SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

House Bill 270 amends the Louisiana Election Code by adding a new exception to the requirement that voters who register by mail must vote in person before voting by mail. Specifically, the bill enacts R.S. 18:115(F)(2)(f) to provide that incarcerated voters who meet the eligibility requirements under R.S. 18:1303(G) are exempt from the in-person voting requirement and may vote absentee by mail following their initial registration by mail. This exception applies only to persons incarcerated in institutions within or outside the parish where they are qualified to vote who request to vote absentee by mail and who are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.

The practical effect of this legislation is to allow a specific class of incarcerated voters to participate in elections by mail without first voting in person at an early voting location or their designated precinct. Incarcerated persons who are not felony convicts and who are housed in a correctional institution can now register by mail and immediately request absentee voting by mail, with certification by the parish sheriff confirming they are not convicted felons. This removes a logistical barrier for incarcerated voters who may face difficulty arranging in-person voting due to their incarceration status while maintaining the existing felony conviction disqualification.

The legislation operates within the framework of R.S. 18:1303(G), which already permitted incarcerated voters to vote absentee by mail subject to sheriff certification of non-felony status. The bill preserves this existing authorization while creating an exception to R.S. 18:115(F)(1), which generally requires that registered voters who registered by mail and have not previously voted in the parish must vote in person before participating in absentee voting. This change harmonizes the mail registration and absentee voting provisions by eliminating an unnecessary impediment for incarcerated voters who qualify under the established felony conviction exception.