BATON ROUGE — The qualifying period for the May 16 party primary and municipal primary election started Monday. 

Candidates for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Bill Cassidy and all six congressional seats across Louisiana must qualify at the Louisiana State Archives located at 3851 Essen Lane in Baton Rouge between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. 

Candidates for the following must also qualify during the period: 

- Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Districts 1, 3 and 4
- Public Service Commission, Districts 1 and 5
- Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 1

Click here to see the Secretary of State's list of candidates as they qualify.

In 2024, the Louisiana Legislature voted to change to a closed party primary system for the following offices: U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commission (PSC) and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).