NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Happy Election Day, Louisiana! Tuesday kicks off a number of statewide, local, and national races in the Bayou State and as Your Local Election Headquarters, WGNO is here to provide you with the information you need to cast an informed vote, then provide you live election results as the votes are being counted.

How to vote in Louisiana

Louisiana polls will officially open at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, November 8. Voters across the area will then have the next 14 hours to report to their polling place and make their vote count. Anyone in line to vote before the polls close at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

See a full list of candidates in Southeast Louisiana by clicking here. To see a sample ballot from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, click here.

Then, see live election results on Tuesday night at WGNO.com.

When you go to the polls to cast your vote in an election, be sure to take one of the following:

• a driver’s license
• a Louisiana Special ID
• LA Wallet digital driver’s license
• a United States military identification card that contains the applicant’s name and picture, or
• some other generally recognized picture ID that contains your name and signature.

Voters who have no picture ID may complete and sign a Voter Identification Affidavit in order to vote; however, that’s subject to challenge by law.

Races to Watch

Tuesday’s ballots include Congressional, statewide, and local races. Here are some big races to look out for.

US Senate

Incumbent Senator John Kennedy is up for reelection after taking office in 2017. The former Louisiana State Treasurer (2000-2017) is running against candidates representing multiple different parties, including:

• Beryl Billiot (I)
• Gary Chambers (D)
• Devin Lance Graham (R)
• Xan John (I)
• W. Thomas Ka Fontaine (I)
• M.V. Mendoza (D)
• Luke Mixon (D)
• Salvador Rodriguez (D)
• Aaron Sigler (L)
• Syrita Steib (D)
• Thomas Wenn (I)

US House of Representatives

• Louisiana 1st District: Incumbent Steve Scalise (R) faces off against challengers Katie Darling (D) and Howard Kearney (I/Libertarian)
• Louisiana 2nd District: Rep. Troy Carter from New Orleans (D) is running against Harvey Republican Dan Lux

State Representatives and Constitutional Amendments

• Louisiana Public Service Commission: Lambert C. Boissiere III (Incumbent) is running against four other Democratic nominees: Willie Jones, Davante Lewis, Gregory Manning, and Jesse T. Thompson
• State representatives Royce Duplessis (D) will face off against challenger Mandie Landry (D) for Louisiana state senate

Louisiana voters will also decide the fate of eight proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution. Here’s what each amendment would do if passed:

• Amendment 1: Increases the maximum amount of money in seven different trust funds that can be invested in the stock market to 65%
• Amendment 2: Increase the property tax exemption available to veterans with service-related disabilities and to their surviving spouses after the veteran’s death
• Amendment 3: Allow most of Louisiana’s civil service employees to support certain campaign activities of a candidate for public office when that candidate is an immediate family member
• Amendment 4: Let local water districts reduce customer bills for water use if the charges stem from water lost due to damage outside a customer’s control
• Amendment 5: Give local taxing bodies more time to decide if they want to “roll forward” millages that increase property taxes paid by businesses and homeowners
• Amendment 6: Limit increases in the property tax liability of homes subject to homestead exemption in Orleans Parish, capping the reassessment increase to 10% of the residential property’s assessed value in the previous year
• Amendment 7: Rework the state constitutional ban on slavery and involuntary servitude, allowing their use only for the “lawful administration of criminal justice.”
• Amendment 8: Remove the requirement that certain property owners with disabilities annually certify their income to receive a property tax rate freeze

Read the full report on each amendment from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana here.

Local Races

• New Orleans 1st City Court Clerk: Austin Badon is up for reelection against Donna Glapion. Both are Democrats
• New Orleans Municipal and Traffic Court
  • Division D: Incumbent Mark J. Shea and Derek Russ are both vying for the Div. D seat. Both are Democrats
  • Division E: Geoffrey Gates (D) and Bobby Smith (D) are running for the Div. E position

• In Plaquemines Parish, incumbent Kirk M. Lepine (R) is running against Keith Hinkley (R), Benny Rouselle (R), and Burghart H. Turner (D)
• Bonnie Clements (I), Kirk Drumm (R), and Arthur A. Laughlin (R) are all facing off for the District 11 seat of the St. Tammany Parish council

See a full list of candidates here.

Saturday, December 10 Runoff Election

In Louisiana, elections are handled differently than in other states. All candidates running for office, regardless of their political party, will appear on your ballot.

If a candidate wins a simple majority (50 percent + one vote) of the votes in their race, that candidate is declared the winner of the race outright. If a simple majority isn’t met, the top two finishers (again, regardless of their political party), will then advance to a runoff election on December 10. From there, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins.

More Election Day Headlines

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• EXPLAINER: Why might live election results fluctuate?
• Experts grade Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube on readiness to handle midterm election misinformation
• EXPLAINER: What is Louisiana’s ‘jungle primary’?