Louisiana
Eligible for Recall: Senator Mary L. Landrieu, last elected 2008
Signature Requirement: 40% of voters in last election for the Senator
Circulation Time: 180 days
Type of Recall Election: Recall Election Then Special Election
Constitutional Provision: Article X Section 26 (Recall) (1907 but amended November 21, 1987)
The legislature shall provide by general law for the recall by election of any state, district, parochial, ward, or municipal official except judges of the courts of record."
"§1300.1. Recall authorized: Any public officer, excepting judges of the courts of record, may be recalled in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. However, no recall petition may be submitted for certification to or accepted for certification by the registrar of voters or any other official if less than six months remain in the term of office.
Initial Procedure:
- Copy of recall petition is filed with Secretary of State (SOS) by chairman of recall committee.
- The completed petition is submitted to the Registrar(s) of Voters: Not later than 180 days after being filed with SOS.
- The Registrar of Voters shall certify the recall petition within 20 working days after it is presented to him if the voting area contains more than 50,000 registered voters.
- The petition is forwarded to the Governor if the required number of signatures are certified by the Registrar of Voters.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- A copy of the petition and proclamation also shall be sent to the Secretary of State (by the Governor).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Contact Info:
Executive - Secretary of State
8585 Archives Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
Phone: (225) 922-2880
Fax: (225) 922-2003
News and Commentary
Louisiana Recall Effort Continues Despite Ruling
(2/5/10) — A campaign to recall Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is continuing in the face of a negative opinion by state election officials.
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne's press secretary, Jacques Berry, told the ACRU on Feb. 5, 2010, that a recall petition for Sen. Landrieu submitted several weeks ago, was “accepted but only for filing for the purpose of creating a public record.” The office does not consider the petition valid and so did not notify the state's 64 parishes, Berry said.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell had issued an opinion in March 2009 on a February 2009 petition to recall Rep. Joseph Cao (R). In that instance, Caldwell ruled that Louisiana's Constitution does not permit recall of federal officials. So the Secretary of State applied that opinion to the current effort aimed at Sen. Mary Landrieu. Berry said that to his knowledge, there has been no court test of that opinion or the question generally of recalling federal officials in Louisiana.
Nonetheless, Tea Party members led by Ruben T. LeBlanc are continuing to circulate petitions. They have 180 days to collect more than 900,000. Mr. Berry said that if they succeed, they could at that point file a lawsuit challenging the Secretary of State's ruling on the validity of the petition.
— Robert Knight, Senior Fellow
Menendez Not the Only US Senator Facing Recall
(2/1/10) — “Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) responded today to the appeal by the citizens' committee seeking to recall him, apparently insisting that he is a federal official and thus not subject to the New Jersey constitution's recall provision, according to a source close to the case. ‘So here is a powerful New Jersey resident arguing that his home state's Constitution, passed overwhelmingly by the people of New Jersey, that he claims to represent, is invalid and you can't recall him from office,’ the outraged source told this Examiner. But in fact Menendez is not the only United States Senator to be the target of a recall committee. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is another.” Click here for the full story from Examiner.com.
Each state has its own requirements as to the manner in which petitions must be collected, signed and filed. It is imperative that official recall committees are legally formed in each state according to the state laws and regulations. The handling of the petitions must comply with the laws and regulations of each state.
