On January 23, the Louisiana Attorney General revealed that he had received a letter from the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department, saying that Louisiana’s new semi-closed primary for Congressional Elections does not violate the Voting Rights Act. Therefore, in 2008, Louisiana will hold the same kind of congressional elections that other states do; parties will nominate candidates for Congress. During the years 1978-2006, parties in Louisiana did not nominate candidates for Congress. All individuals seeking to run for congress appeared on the same ballot, and all voters (regardless of registration) voted on that ballot. If someone got 50%, that person was elected; otherwise a run-off was held.
Under the new system, each party decides for itself if independents can vote in its congressional primaries. Louisiana has 5 qualified parties (Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green and Reform), and they all nominate by primary (for congress).
Louisiana elections for state office will continue to be “top-two”, in which parties don’t nominate candidates, and all voters get the same ballot.
Louisiana has used the “top two” for its state and local elections since 1975, and it’s the only state that uses this system to elect all of its state officials.
The Louisiana system is an extension of the old one-party (truly NO-PARTY) system, in which elections were decided in the Democratic primary, with a Democratic runoff if necessary.
Louisiana was the only state that used the “top two” for its congressional elections. A federal court ruling about ten years ago forced the state to begin holding the first round of its congressional elections on the first Tuesday in November. A runoff, if necessary, was held in early December.
Nebraska uses the “top two” to elect its legislature. There is ALWAYS a second round of voting in those elections, even if one candidate gets 50%-plus in the first round.