BATON ROUGE — Early voting for Louisiana's Nov. 3 election starts Oct. 20 and runs through Oct. 27, giving voters one weekend at the polls.

In the coming months, Louisiana voters will decide who will represent the state in the nation's capital. Advocates want to make sure every registered voter shows up to the polls.

Political analyst James Hartman said the single-weekend early voting window is different from what voters see in local and state elections.

"For municipalities and statewide elections, yes, there are two Saturdays because we have Saturday election days here in Louisiana," Hartman said.

He said federal elections follow different rules.

"Federal elections are constitutionally required to be on Tuesdays, so that's not an option," Hartman said, "having the two Saturdays if we stick to the fourteen-day start time."

Lawmakers have previously added days for early voting, making exceptions after natural disasters. During the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers passed a law increasing in-person early voting for presidential elections, extending the number of days from seven to eleven in 2024 and beyond.

Hartman said adding more days for voters comes at a cost to state and local agencies.

"Polling commissioners have to be paid. Mail-in ballots have to be printed in advance," Hartman said, "all the posters that go up, signs alerting people to where to vote. All these things run into money."

He added that motivated voters will still find a way to participate.