Louisiana majority-vote system
Louisiana's electoral system for local, state, and federal offices differs markedly from those employed in the other 49 states. In Louisiana, candidates running for state or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October (in odd-numbered years) or November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office (i.e., 50 percent, plus one vote), he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to a second election in November (in odd years) or December (in even years). In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. The timing of local elections depends on the size of the municipality.[1]
Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system. This article outlines terms used to describe Louisiana's electoral system, our rationale for adopting our preferred term, and distinctions between Louisiana's electoral system and related systems.
- Note: Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed HB17 into law on 01/22/24. The bill creates closed partisan primaries and primary runoffs for Congress, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Louisiana Supreme Court beginning in 2026.
Other terminology
Two phrases are used by the general public and state officials to describe this electoral system: jungle primary and majority-vote primary paired with plurality-vote general election.
Jungle primary
The general public commonly refers to this electoral system as a jungle primary. The application of this term to describe any electoral system presents two problems. First, the term has negative connotations. In this context, the adjectival use of jungle suggests disorderliness and chaos. Its use infers a negative judgment against the electoral system. Second, the term lacks descriptive force. It does little to explain the substance or function of the system it is used to describe.
Majority-vote primary paired with a plurality-vote general election
Louisiana's secretary of state describes the state's electoral system as a majority-vote primary paired with a plurality-vote general election:[2]
- "All statewide and local candidates in Louisiana are elected by majority vote. A majority vote is one more than 50% of the total votes cast for that office. When one candidate is to be elected, a candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast for an office in a primary election is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election."
- "The candidate who receives the most votes cast for an office in a general election is elected. If two or more offices are to be filled, those candidates receiving the highest total of votes are elected to the number of offices to be filled. If there is a tie vote among more candidates than offices to be filled, all candidates who received the highest number of tie votes advance to another election to be held on the 3rd Saturday after the promulgation of the election results."
This term is an improvement over jungle primary. It contains no negative connotations, and it more closely describes the substance and function of the system. Still, this term lacks precision. A primary election is most precisely construed as an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election. Given this definition, a candidate cannot win election to an office outright in a primary. A candidate can only win an office in a general election.
Rationale for Louisiana majority-vote system as preferred term
In light of the shortcomings of the aforementioned existing terms, we refer to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system.
This term hews closely to the terms presently used by the Louisiana secretary of state. However, it does not incorporate the misleading primary and general descriptors. Instead, it encompasses both phases of the process without obscuring the possibility of election in the first phase.
If circumstances arise requiring further precision, the following expansions can be applied:
- Louisiana majority-vote system, first round: This describes what has traditionally been referred to as the jungle primary.
- Louisiana majority-vote system, second round: This describes what has traditionally been referred to as the general, general runoff, or runoff election.
Related terms and concepts
Additional terms, listed below, have sometimes been used synonymously with jungle primary. These are inappropriate applications in light of the aforementioned description of Louisiana's electoral process. These terms are presented below with their precise definitions and examples of real-world application.[3]
- Blanket primary: In a blanket primary, voters choose one candidate per office regardless of the candidate's partisan affiliation. The top vote-getters from each party participating in the primary then advance to the general election.
- How this differs from Louisiana's majority-vote system: A candidate in a blanket primary cannot win election outright, as is the case in Louisiana. Also, in Louisiana, two candidates affiliated with the same political party might advance to round two. This cannot be the case in a blanket primary.
- Current application: No state conducts blanket primaries for state-level and congressional elections.
- Top-two primary: In a top-two primary, all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliations and the amount of support received by either, advance to the general election. In a top-two primary, it is possible for two candidates affiliated with the same party to face off in the general election.
- How this differs from Louisiana's majority-vote system: A candidate in a top-two primary cannot win election outright, as is the case in Louisiana. The two are similar only in that it is possible for two candidates affiliated with the same party to advance to succeeding phases of the election process.
- Current application: California and Washington conduct top-two primaries for all state-level and congressional elections.
See also
Footnotes
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