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- Campaigns and Elections: Louisiana
- Louisiana Constitutions and Laws
Campaigns and Elections: Louisiana: Louisiana Constitutions and Laws
Acts of the Legislature
LSU Libraries Special Collections holds published legislation dating back to the territorial period. Titles change over time; search the library catalog under SUBJECT="Law -- Louisiana" and SUBJECT="Election law -- Louisiana." Some titles include:
- Acts passed at the ... session of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Orleans (1804-1805)
- A general digest of the acts of the legislature of Louisiana: passed from the year 1804, to 1827, inclusive, and in force at this last period, with an appendix and general index. By L. Moreau Lislet ... Published according to an act of the legislature (1804-1827)
- The Louisiana digest, embracing the laws of the legislature of a general nature (1804-1841)
- Acts passed at the ... session of the ... Legislature of the Territory of Orleans (1806-1811)
- Acts passed at the ... session of the ... General Assembly of the State of Louisiana (1812)
- Civil code of the state of Louisiana (1838)
- Acts passed by the seventh legislature of the state of Louisiana (1865)
- Instructions to supervisors of registration, with a transcript of the constitutional, naturalization, and other laws pertaining to the qualification of electors (1868)
- The election laws of Louisiana (1888)
- Election law. State of Louisiana. Act no. 152. Regular session of the General Assembly (1898)
- General election and registration laws, state of Louisiana (1915)
- Acts passed by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana (1921-1948)
- Registration law, State of Louisiana. Act no. 122 of 1921 as amended ... 1926 ... 1932 ... 1934. Also Act no. 229 of 1928 and Act no. 11 of first extra session of 1934 (1935)
- 1952 amendments to the primary election law (1952)
- State of Louisiana, acts of the Legislature (1955-1997)
- Election information (1964-2020)
- Act 697 of 1976 : Louisiana election code (1976)
- Election Code, Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes (2000-2020)
Constitutions
Among the holdings of the LSU Libraries Special Collections are Louisiana constitutions, constitutional convention journals (which include debate), and amendments. Search SUBJECT="Louisiana -- Constitution" for a complete list. Below is a short list of titles related to Louisiana constitutions:
- Constitution or form of government of the state of Louisiana (1812)
- Constitution de l'état de la Louisiane (1845)
- Constitution of the State of Louisiana (1852)
- Ordinances passed by the Convention of the state of Louisiana (1861)
- Official journal of the proceedings of the Convention for the revision and amendment of the Constitution of the state of Louisiana (1864)
- Official journal of the proceedings of the Convention, for framing a constitution for the state of Louisiana (1868)*
- Consitutional convention broadside (1868)
- Official journal of the proceedings of the Constitutional convention of the state of Louisiana (1879)
- Constitution of the state of Louisiana (1898)*
- Constitution of the state of Louisiana (1913)
- Official journal of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Louisiana (1921)**
- Constitution of the State of Louisiana (1974)
*The 1868 constitution, adopted during Reconstruction, guaranteed universal male suffrage, regardless of race or color, excepting men who "aided in the Rebellion" or were convicted of felony. The 1898 constitution instituted the infamous "grandfather clause," which essentially disenfranchised all black men and some poor white men by requiring that voters must have possessed the right to vote on or before January 1, 1867, or be the son or grandson of a man who had the right to vote at that time. The passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 began the slow and arduous process of restoration of suffrage to black Louisiana citizens.
**Louisiana did not ratify the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution until 1970. Women's suffrage was not addressed in the 1921 Louisiana constitution, though the federal law was in effect on August 18, 1920.
The Law Library of Louisiana: Constitutions
This LibGuide created by the Law Library of Louisiana provides full text access to all of Louisiana's constitutions. All include information regarding voter qualifications. Many of the constitutions are available via Hathi Trust.

Constitutional convention broadside, 1868
Reconstruction era vignette of portraits of black delegates involved in the writing and passage of the 1868 Louisiana constitution, which included a provision establishing universal male suffrage in the state, regardless of race.

1812 Louisiana constitution
Constitution or form of government of the state of Louisiana, 1812
(view on Louisiana Digital Library)
Federal and State Laws
LAWS
Manuscript collections:
Printed/Published items:
- Message from the governor vetoing the municipal election bill (1865)
- Message from the governor vetoing the municipal election bill (1866)
VOTING RIGHTS ACT
Manuscript collections:
- Donna Brazile Papers*
- Walter F. Dietz Papers
- Russell B. Long Papers
Oral history interviews:
- Jesse Bankston and Larry Bankston oral history interview
- Harry Connick, Sr. oral history interview
- Robert d'Hemecourt and Cecil Warren oral history interview
- Winston Riddick oral history interview
- John Zippert oral history interview
Newspapers:
- Daily Picayune: January 12, 1878
- Times-Democrat: February 8, 1899; December 1, 1899
- True Democrat: January 27, 1900