Almost 30,000 Southwest Louisiana voters showed up to the polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Total early voting grew from 21,612 in 2022 to 29,648 in the current midterm election cycle, a total gain of 8,036 voters or 37%, across Calcasieu, Jeff Davis, Beauregard, Allen and Cameron parishes, according to early voting data from the Louisiana Secretary of State.
There are more than 185,000 registered voters in Southwest Louisiana.
Registered Republicans accounted for the majority of early votes cast, with 14,968 votes, or 51% of the SWLA region, compared to 9,403 Democrats (32%), while voters with no party affiliation made up 5,167 votes (18%) and other-party voters comprised 110 votes (less than 1%).
Early voters by party affiliation in Southwest Louisiana include the following:
Calcasieu Parish was the center of early voter turnout in Southwest Louisiana, with 19,067 votes or 64% of the five-parish region. Calcasieu also had the region’s closest partisan margin, and the highest proportion of Black early voters, who made up one-quarter of the parish’s early vote.
Participation among Black early voters in SWLA nearly doubled, surging from 3,257 early voters in 2022 to 6,420 in the current election. Black voters now account for 22% of the early voting electorate, compared to 15% in 2022. In Calcasieu Parish, Black early voter participation grew by 108%, from 2,328 in 2022 to 4,841 in 2026.
Election day is Nov. 3. Refer to The Current’s Lake Charles area election guide for more information on how to cast your vote, learn about candidates and review constitutional amendments and ballot propositions.
You can view statewide early voting statistics by parish in the PDF below:
