BATON ROUGE - How most people in Louisiana vote is about to change after legislators approved a switch to a closed primary system.

Starting Friday, the Independent Party will no longer be recognized by the state, turning a little more than 150,000 voters into "No-Party" voters. Voters registered as Democrats, Republicans or No-Party can vote in certain primary elections and will be given party-specific ballots. 

Deputy Secretary of State for Communications for the Secretary of State's Office Joel Watson said Tuesday that voters need to pay attention to their voter registration to ensure they can vote in the primary of their choice. 

The change only applies to the following races: U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Louisiana Supreme Court, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and Public Service Commission.

"I think the legislature and the governor thought that this may allow the party members to say this is the person we want representing our party," Watson said. "Perhaps more people will come out and 'no-party' voters will get to choose which party they want to participate with."

Whether No-Party voters show up to vote or opt for an absentee ballot, they will be asked to choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Republicans and Democrats will be given ballots with only candidates from their party. Voters from any "Other" party won't be able to vote in a closed primary, but they will be able to vote for all other state and local races.

Political analyst James Hartman says this isn't the first time Louisiana has switched to this system. From 2008 to 2010, Hartman says the state switched for congressional races, which he said led to the state having to hold multiple elections for a single race. 

"It cost the state a lot of money, costs parishes a lot of money, and confused a lot of voters," Hartman said.

The changes will not affect races in 2025. The first race with the changes will occur in April 2026.