(The Center Square) – Louisiana’s move to a party-primary system, which limits voters to a single party’s primary but still allows unaffiliated voters to participate, is expected to cost up to $47 million over five years.
Beginning in 2026, the state will abandon its open “jungle” primary system for certain offices and adopt traditional party primaries used in most other states. The change applies to elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Public Service Commission.
Louisiana’s longstanding “jungle” primary has allowed candidates to all run on the same ballot regardless of their party affiliation. Voters could choose any candidate, even if they didn’t align with the voter’s registered party. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote is declared the winner. If no candidate gets more than 50%, the top two head to a runoff, regardless of party affiliation.
Under the new system, a voter’s party registration will determine which primaries they can vote in. They will choose from a slate of candidates in the same party, and the winners of each primary will advance to the general election unless a run-off election is required. Voters who are not registered with any party can choose which primary to participate in but are limited to voting in one.
Candidates without party affiliations advance to the general election if they meet the rules to quality, which include fees and petitions.
According to the Legislative Fiscal Office, implementing the new system will cost taxpayers at least $11.7 million in 2026 and could climb as high as $19.7 million, depending on how many runoff elections are triggered statewide.
Additional costs are projected in subsequent years, including $17.6 million in 2027 and up to $9.5 million in 2028, for a five-year maximum exposure of nearly $47 million. It is unclear how much of the costs will recur after five years.
Each runoff election requires a full statewide operation, including ballot printing, polling staff, overtime pay and supplies. The fiscal note estimates that a single statewide runoff could cost up to $7 million. Ballots, election supplies and registrar staffing drive much of the expense, with overtime and travel for election officials adding further costs.
The Secretary of State’s office will also incur more than $2 million in one-time costs for voter education and reprogramming election systems, largely for outreach and administrative updates to ensure ballots correctly reflect party affiliation beginning in 2026.
