Early voting for the Nov. 5, 2024, presidential election runs from Oct. 18-29 in Louisiana. (Wes Muller/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.