Louisiana’s scheduled three-week special legislative session got underway on this Thursday afternoon, October 23. Governor Jeff Landry’s proclamation, from last week [October 16], declared the stated objective of the session as: addressing election code, dates, deadlines and plans for the 2026 cycle and its funding, if necessary.
Louisiana is already set to transition from open primaries to what is called a semi-closed primary on April 18, 2026, for congress, justice of the supreme court, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Public Service Commission. In these primaries, only unaffiliated voters and voters registered with the party may vote in a party's primary. For all other statewide offices—including state senator and representative—Louisiana will continue to use the majority-vote system.
During this special session, Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, has said the governor is likely to move back qualifying deadlines for next fall’s election to give the state a chance to react to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected next spring, regarding Louisiana’s congressional map controversy involving District 6.
But, as the Louisiana Radio Network reports, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser explains that if it was up to him, he’d go back to open primaries. In fact, the Lt. Governor says whereas open primaries yield a more representative government, closed primaries usually force general election voters to choose between two extremists. “When you’ve got a red district and all you’ve got to do is get the primary support and then the general election you gotta choose between usually the far right and the far left, the people in the middle are left out.”
Nungesser says more than 70% of Louisiana voters favor open primaries, and the legislature should listen to them and scrap the closed primary system. Nungesser is far from alone in his view of nonpartisan primaries. The nonprofit group Unite America calls itself a voice for political moderation and conducted polling on nonpartisan election reform.
Their results also found that overall 65% of their respondents supported such reform efforts, while another 21% deemed themselves persuadable. Only 14% of those polled opposed nonpartisan primary reforms.
Unite America’s 2022 poll broke down those numbers by party affiliations and discovered support from 71% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans. Louisiana Party primaries for the fall congressional election are currently scheduled for April 18.
Louisiana had employed a nonpartisan or top-two primary – better known to many as a jungle primary - for nearly half a century – until lawmakers approved the change with House Bill NO. 17 / Act No. 1 in the 2024 First Extraordinary Session which goes into effect January 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, final adjournment of this special session must end no later than 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The 2026 Regular Legislative Session will convene on Monday March 9, 2026, and run through June 1, 2026.
