BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has reopened its voting system certification process for vendors seeking eligibility to compete for the state’s upcoming voting system procurement, Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced Thursday.
The move is part of the state’s effort to acquire a new fully auditable voting system. Vendors whose systems or components were not previously certified will have until July 2, 2026, to submit applications for consideration.
Under Act 480 of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session, voting systems and system components must be certified before they can be considered for a state procurement contract. Applicants must submit required documentation and fees to begin the certification process, after which the Secretary of State’s Office will schedule testing based on availability.
The certification fee is $7,000 for a complete voting system and $3,500 for a single system component.
The Secretary of State’s Office said members of the public will have an opportunity to view systems from any newly participating vendors in July. Additional details regarding dates and times will be announced later.
Louisiana previously conducted a certification period in August and September 2025, resulting in the certification of five voting systems and one ballot-marking device. Those systems and components will not be required to undergo recertification.
State officials said vendors that are not already certified and fail to apply by the July 2 deadline will be ineligible for consideration during the anticipated procurement process.
The reopening is expected to be the final certification opportunity before Louisiana advances to the next phase of procurement. The Department of State said it expects to select a new voting system by the end of 2026.
The procurement is part of Louisiana’s ongoing effort to modernize election infrastructure and replace its current voting equipment with a system that meets updated state standards for security, functionality and auditability.