BATON ROUGE — As part of the state's efforts to acquire a new, fully auditable voting system, the Louisiana Secretary of State's office is hosting a public demonstration of a voting system that is being tested for certification for use. 

A public demonstration will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, July 29, at the Louisiana State Archives in Essen Lane for the Smartmatic VSR1 2.1 voting system. Smartmatic was the only additional vendor to respond to the final invitation for certification ahead of the procurement process. A new voting system is expected to be selected by the end of the year.

The Secretary of State's Office previously held a certification period in August and September of 2025, when the state certified five voting systems and one ballot marking device during that period. Those systems and component parts do not need to be recertified.

According to Act 480 of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session, certification of a voting system or system component is required in order to be eligible to receive a procurement contract for Louisiana's voting system, per the issued standards.