BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced Monday that the Independent Party of Louisiana will no longer be recognized as a political party after Aug. 1.
The change follows legislation passed during the 2025 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Under the new law, the Independent Party will lose its official status, and voters currently registered with the party will be automatically reclassified as “No Party” in the state’s voter registration system.
Landry said the move is intended to eliminate confusion among voters, many of whom mistakenly believed they were unaffiliated when registering as “Independent.”
“Voters who selected ‘Independent’ likely meant they didn’t want to choose a party, but they were actually joining the Independent Party,” Landry said in a statement.
The change will also impact voter eligibility in Louisiana’s newly adopted closed primary system.
The Independent Party of Louisiana gained ballot-qualified status in 2016 and had grown to over 130,000 registered members. It was the third-largest political affiliation in the state behind the Republican and Democratic parties.
Officials with the Secretary of State’s Office said voters do not need to take any action. The change will be reflected automatically in the voter rolls beginning Aug. 1.
To check your voter registration status, visit https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/
