Laws governing recall in Louisiana

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The citizens of Louisiana are granted the authority to perform a recall election by the Section 26 of Article 10 of the Louisiana Constitution.

Louisiana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, but it hasn't been clear whether federal courts would allow states to actually recall their federal politicians.

Signature requirements

Because there are many rural areas in Louisiana, the percentage of the signature requirement is based on the number of people in the proposed recall member's district:

• If 100,000 or more eligible voters: 20 percent of eligible voters in the district
• If 25,000 or more but less than 100,000 eligible voters: 25 percent of eligible voters in the district
• If over 1,000 eligible voters but less than 25,000: 33.3 percent of eligible voters in the district
• If fewer than 1,000 eligible voters: 40 percent of eligible voters in the district

Process

Can you recall a federal official?

The U.S. Constitution does not provide for recall of any elected federal official. Although some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this is constitutional at the federal level. Read Ballotpedia's explanation »

The information here is taken from the Louisiana Secretary of State's recall and is a guide to the recall process in Louisiana.

1. Copy of recall petition is filed with SOS by the chairman of the recall committee, and it must "contain a clear statement of the reason or reasons for the recall."

2. The completed petition is submitted to the Registrar(s) of Voters:

• Not later than 180 days after being filed with SOS.
• If there are fewer than 1000 qualified electors in the voting area, the petition shall be submitted not later than 90 days after being filed with SOS.
• If the final day for submitting the petition falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline shall be on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

3. The Registrar of Voters shall certify the recall petition:

• within 15 working days after it is presented to him, or
• within 20 working days after it is presented to him if the voting area contains more than 50,000 registered voters.

4. The petition is forwarded to the Governor if the required number of signatures are certified by the Registrar of Voters.

5. The Governor issues an election proclamation within 15 days after he receives the certified petition from the Registrar of Voters.

• Primary Election Date: the proclamation shall be issued on or before the last day for candidates to qualify in the election. (last day of qualifying)
• General Election Date: the proclamation shall be issued on or before the 46th day prior to the election. (same as propositions)

6. Immediately after the issuance of the proclamation, the Governor shall publish the proclamation in the official journal of each parish where the recall election is to be held.

7. Within 24 hours after issuing the proclamation, the Governor shall send a copy of the petition and proclamation, by registered or certified mail, to the clerk of the district court for each parish in which the recall election will be held.

8. A copy of the petition and proclamation also shall be sent to the Secretary of State. (by the Governor)

9. Within 24 hours after receiving the copies, the Secretary of State shall notify all other election officials in the parish(es) where the recall election is to be held.

10. If the recall passes, the public officer is recalled and removed from office and the office is declared vacant when the election returns are certified to the Secretary of State. The vacancy is then filled as usual. The recalled official cannot be appointed to fill the vacancy.

11. If the recall fails, no recall election for the same official shall be held within 18 months from the date of the failed recall election.

See also

• Laws governing recall
• States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
• States that require grounds for recalls

External links

• Recall an Elected Official in Louisiana
• Louisiana recall efforts are a daunting task