With the New Orleans City Council’s approving a plan by Mayor Mitch Landrieu to remove four historical monuments today, social media users are beginning to wonder just how to recall an elected official.
The Hayride has compiled three steps to recall an elected official in the state. Take a look:
STEP #1: START WITH THE LOCAL RECALL PETITION FORM
First, residents must obtain a copy of the “local recall petition form” at the Louisiana Secretary of State website. Then, a copy of the recall petition must be filed with secretary of state’s office by the chairman of the recall committee prior to entering any signatures.
Once the first signature is obtained, the recall petition becomes a public record with the chairman or vice chairman, when acting as the chairman, as custodian. After the petition is submitted to the registrar of voters for certification, the chairman or vice chairman, when acting as the chairman, shall no longer be the custodian.
STEP #2: GETTING THE SIGNATURES
Signatures seem like the easy part, but they are actually the hardest for a recall petition. In Louisiana, every signature must be handwritten. Additionally, the petition must be signed by 33 and 1/3 of the qualified electors of the voting area wherein a recall election is petitioned. In the city of New Orleans, that means it would take lots and lots of signatures to recall an elected official.
STEP #3: FOLLOWING THE FINE PRINT
Following the fine print at the bottom of the recall petition is very important for residents if they want a successful recall petition. This means the completed petition is submitted to the registrar of voters office for certification no later than 180 days after being filed with the secretary of state’s office.
And if the final day for submitting the petition falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline will be on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
The registrar of voters then certifies the recall petition within 15 working days after it is presented to them, or within 20 working days after it is presented to them if any parish partially within the voting area contains more than 50,000 registered voters.
Lastly, the petition is then forwarded to the governor where he/she will issue an election proclamation within 15 days after they receive the certified petition from the registrar of voters office, if the required number of qualified electors of the voting area signed the recall petition.
Editor’s Note: This post is not calling for the recall of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, rather it is an informational article on how to recall an elected official in the state of Louisiana.
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