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Voting history · Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District

A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.

This is the district view: events tagged to this congressional district, then events that apply across Louisiana, then national events. An event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district. See all of Louisiana.

Kind of event
Decade

In Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District

No events have been tagged to Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District yet. District events are added over time. The state and national events below also apply here.

Across Louisiana

1975

  1. Dec 15, 1975 State Laws and rules Blocked by federal objection

    Justice Department objects under Section 5 to the full-slate requirement for school board elections in Louisiana Act 432 of 1975

    In a letter of December 15, 1975, the Justice Department addressed 37 acts of the 1975 Louisiana legislature, received October 14, 1975. It interposed no objection to the listed acts except one section. It notes that Act 199 (1973), to which the Attorney General had not objected, allowed single-shot voting in all elections, and that Act 432 "reenacts a provision ... which requires that in school board elections a voter must vote for a full slate," which "would have the effect of prohibiting single-shot voting in school board elections." It concludes: "Under such circumstances we cannot conclude that the state has sustained its burden of showing that the change to full slate voting embodied in Act 432 will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color. I must, therefore, on behalf of the Attorney General, interpose an objection to Section G of Act 432 of the 1975 regular session of the Louisiana State Legislature."

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

  2. Aug 15, 1975 State Laws and rules Blocked by federal objection

    Justice Department objects under Section 5 to Louisiana Act 107 of 1971, the Orleans Parish Executive Committee districts

    In a letter of August 15, 1975, the same letter that objected to Act 494 (1974), the Justice Department addressed Act 107 of the 1971 Regular Session. It says Act 107 was received June 7, 1972, that information requested on July 3, 1972 and August 7, 1974 was never provided, and that it evaluated the Act on the available information, which "reveals that Act 107 (1971) provided multi-member districts in conjunction with the anti-single shot and majority vote requirement features" and a districting plan that "again closely followed the parish ward lines." It states "For reasons similar to those which I have based my objection to Act 494 (1974), we have concluded that the state has not met its legal burden of proving that Act 107 (1971) has neither the purpose nor effect of abridging or denying the right to vote on account of race or color. Therefore, on behalf of the Attorney General, I must interpose an objection to Act 107 (1971)."

    Related: Attorney General objects to Act 494 of 1974 for the Orleans Parish Executive Committee

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

1973

  1. Apr 20, 1973 State Laws and rules Blocked by federal objection

    Attorney General objects to Louisiana Act 106 of 1972, numbered posts for multi-member bodies

    On April 20, 1973 the Justice Department wrote to the Louisiana Attorney General about Act 106, which "provides for the use of divisions or numbered posts for all multi-member bodies in districts, parishes, municipalities, and wards in the state." The letter said the act "would impose a numbered-post requirement on present Louisiana election procedures for multi-member offices" and that the Department was "unable to conclude ... that implementation of 106 will not have a discriminatory racial effect," so it interposed an objection under Section 5. It added that it accepted the legislature's purpose was "to simplify and expedite the election process."

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

1971

  1. Aug 20, 1971 State Maps and lines Blocked by federal objection

    Justice Department objects under Section 5 to Louisiana's 1971 House and Senate reapportionment enactments

    In a letter listed as dated August 20, 1971, the Justice Department addressed the enactments amending Sections 35 and 35.1 of Title 24 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes reapportioning the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives, received July 2, 1971 with further material received July 21 and 26. Citing Fairley v. Patterson and Perkins v. Matthews, it describes combinations of majority-Negro parishes with majority-white areas in multi-member districts, including a seven-member district elected at large that merges majority-black DeSoto Parish with predominantly white Caddo Parish, and concludes: "our review of this plan indicates that there are apparent racially discriminatory effects in both houses of the legislature in widely disparate parts of the state, and that to correct these effects the plan would have to be substantially revised in whole or in part." The letter adds that it was furnishing a copy to the three-judge federal court that had deferred proceedings awaiting the Attorney General's determination.

    Source last checked Oct 21, 2026

Nationwide

1975

  1. Aug 6, 1975 National Laws and rules Enacted

    Voting Rights Act extended in 1975, with language-minority protections

    Public Law 94-73, dated August 6, 1975, is titled "To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to extend certain provisions for an additional seven years, to make permanent the ban against certain prerequisites to voting, and for other purposes." It also provides that no voting qualification may be imposed "to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote because he is a member of a language minority group."

    Source last checked Oct 29, 2026

1971

  1. Jul 1, 1971 National Laws and rules Enacted

    26th Amendment ratified: voting age of 18

    The National Archives lists the 26th Amendment as passed by Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971. It reads: "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."

    Related: Supreme Court decides Oregon v. Mitchell

    Source last checked Oct 29, 2026

1970

  1. Dec 21, 1970 National Courts and officials Decided by a court

    Supreme Court decides Oregon v. Mitchell

    On December 21, 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the 1970 Voting Rights Act Amendments. The Court's syllabus says the 18-year-old minimum-age requirement is valid for national elections but not valid for state and local elections, and that the literacy test provision is valid.

    Related: Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 become law · 26th Amendment ratified: voting age of 18

    Source last checked Oct 23, 2026

  2. Jun 22, 1970 National Laws and rules Enacted

    Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 become law

    Public Law 91-285, dated June 22, 1970, is titled "To extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the discriminatory use of tests, and for other purposes." It may be cited as the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970.

    Related: Supreme Court decides Oregon v. Mitchell · Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed into law

    Source last checked Oct 29, 2026

How this timeline is built

Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.

When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.