---
type: "Bill"
title: "ELECTION CODE: Provides for additional poll watchers at polling places for elections. (8/1/24) (EN +$67,150 GF EX See Note)"
description: "ELECTION CODE: Provides for additional poll watchers at polling places for elections. (8/1/24) (EN +$67,150 GF EX See Note)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/la"
legislature: "Louisiana Legislature"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 261"
citation: "Louisiana SB 261 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Valarie Hodges"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 19
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2024-03-01"
last_action: "2024-06-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fab72568-33f8-43d5-a2e1-2aa2d48f5df1"
source_url: "https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=246509"
source_hash: "da0b229a027889d68668356705f4246b320a5a941dbcc01baee667f45053b230"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-la"]
---

# Louisiana SB 261 (2024) — ELECTION CODE: Provides for additional poll watchers at polling places for elections. (8/1/24) (EN +$67,150 GF EX See Note)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **SB261 Original** (filed) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1352495)
2. **House Committee Amendment, #4502, H&G, Draft** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1373660)
3. **House Committee Amendment, #4974, H&G, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1377038)
4. **SB261 Act 583** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1382244)
5. **SB261 Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1368884)
6. **SB261 Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1380042)

## Votes

- FINAL PASSAGE (#446) — **25–10** (pass) · upper
- CONCUR (#1277) — **28–9** (pass) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE (#1422) — **66–29** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Valarie Hodges — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-06-11** Effective date 8/1/2024.
- **2024-06-11** Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 583. `became-law, executive-signature`
- **2024-05-31** Sent to the Governor by the Secretary of the Senate. `executive-receipt`
- **2024-05-30** Signed by the Speaker of the House.
- **2024-05-30** Enrolled. Signed by the President of the Senate. `enrolled`
- **2024-05-29** Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 28 yeas and 9 nays.
- **2024-05-28** Received from the House with amendments. `receipt`
- **2024-05-28** Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 66, nays 29. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate. `passage`
- **2024-05-23** Scheduled for floor debate on 05/28/2024.
- **2024-05-23** Read by title, amended, passed to 3rd reading. `reading-3`
- **2024-05-22** Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.
- **2024-05-21** Reported with amendments (10-3). Referred to the Legislative Bureau. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-05-01** Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs. `referral-committee`
- **2024-04-30** Received in the House from the Senate, read by title, lies over under the rules.
- **2024-04-30** Read by title, passed by a vote of 25 yeas and 10 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled. `passage`
- **2024-04-29** Read by title. Ordered engrossed and passed to third reading and final passage.
- **2024-04-24** Reported favorably. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-11** Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs. `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-01** Prefiled and under the rules provisionally referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs. `filing, referral-committee`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fab72568-33f8-43d5-a2e1-2aa2d48f5df1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Louisiana legislature records).