Did the Cheneyville mayor recall petition have enough signatures to trigger an election?

Plain-English summary

The governor's office asked whether a certified petition had enough signatures for a recall election concerning Robert L. Cox Jr., mayor of Cheneyville. The official opinion accepted the registrar's report of 496 electors in the voting area and 231 genuine signatures. Because fewer than 1,000 electors lived there, the statute required signatures from at least 40% of them. The AG concluded that 231 met that threshold and supported a proclamation ordering a recall election.

The opinion addressed signature sufficiency, not whether the mayor should be recalled. It said the election would be held on the next available date specified in the Election Code. The official two-page PDF ends after a list of copied recipients and an “Enclosures” label; no enclosure text follows in that PDF.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

How many signatures did the registrar certify as genuine?
The registrar reported 231 genuine signatures out of 264 submitted. The AG used the genuine-signature count to assess the petition.

Why did the opinion use a 40% threshold?
The statute quoted in the opinion used 40% when the voting area had fewer than 1,000 qualified electors. Cheneyville's mayoral voting area had 496, according to the registrar.

Did the AG order the mayor's removal?
No. It concluded that the signatures were sufficient for the governor to proclaim a special election on the recall question. It did not report an election result.

Background and statutory framework

LSA-R.S. 18:1300.3(C) required the registrar to send the certified petition to the governor. LSA-R.S. 18:1300.2(B) supplied the 40% rule for smaller voting areas, and the opinion pointed to R.S. 18:402(F) for the next available special-election date. The opinion rested on the registrar's certified figures rather than an independent recount.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 18:1300.3(C) (certified petition sent to governor)
• LSA-R.S. 18:1300.2(B) (signature threshold)
• R.S. 18:402(F) (special-election date)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0008

Original opinion text

One American Pla(e
301 Matn Street, SLute 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P O Box 94005
CIVIl. DIVISION
TEL (225; 342-7013
FAX t225) 342-2090
BATON ROUGE
RtCHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

JAN
OPINION NUMBER 2002-0008

24-A ELECTIONS - Recall
LSA-R.S. 18:3
LSA-R.S. 18"402(F)
Kimberly Wooten Rosenberg
LSA-R.S. 18’1300.2
LSA-RS. 18:1300.3
Deputy Executive Counsel to the Governor
LSA-R.S. 18:1300.7
P.O. Box 94004
The recall petition for Robert L. Cox, Jr., Mayor, Town of
Cheneyville, Parish of Rapides, does contain the requ=red
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9005
number of s=gnatures (40% of the voting area) for a recall
election Special election to be held in accordance w~th the Election Code.
Dear Ms. Rosenberg:

We are in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s opinion with regard to the recall petition directed toward Robert L. Cox, Jr., Mayor, Town of Cheneyville, Parish of Rapides. The registrar of voters certified the recall petition on December 27, 2001 and has presented same to the governor. Therefore, you have requested an opinion as to whether the governor should issue a proclamation ordering an election to be held for the purpose of voting on the question of recall for the office of Mayor, Town of Cheneyville, held by Robert L. Cox, Jr.

With regard to recall petitions, LSA-R.S. 18:1300.3(C) requires the registrar to send the original petition to the governor immediately after certification. Section 1300.7 requires the governor to issue a proclamation, within fifteen days after the petition is presented to him, to order an election to be held for the purpose of voting on the question of recall of the officer if the required number of registered voters sign the petition for recall.

LSA-R.S. 18:1300.3 requires the registrar to certify to (1) the number of names on the petition; (2) the number of qualified electors of the voting area within the parish whose handwritten signatures appear on the petition; (3) the total number of electors of the voting area within the parish as of the date of the filing of the petition with the secretary of state; and to indicate on the petition the number of names who are not electors of the voting area.

The registrar has certified as follows:

1. Date petition was filed with Secretary of State’s Office ... November 21, 2001
2. Total number of signatures submitted on petition to be certified ...264 3. Date of first signature on petition ... December 6, 2001 4. Number of qualified electors in Town of Cheneyville, La., as of date of filing petition with the Secretary of State’s Office...496

Page 2

Ms. Kimberly Wooten Rosenberg
OPINION NUMBER 2002-0008
PAGE -2-

5. Total number of genuine signatures of electors on petition...231 6. Total number of signatures not genuine, not signed or written in the manner required by law...33
7. Petition has 23’1 genuine signatures. The amount of genuine signatures is more than the required amount according to LSA-R.S.
18:1300.

LSA-R.S. 18:1300.2(B) requires a recall petition to be "[s]igned by a number of the electors of the voting area as will in number equal not less than thirty-three and one- third percent of the number of the total electors of the voting area wherein and for which a recall election is petitioned; however, where fewer than one thousand qualified electors reside within the voting area, the petition shall be signed through the handwritten signatures by not less than forty percent of said electors." The registrar certified that the total number of voters registered in the voting area for the office of Mayor, Town of Cheneyville is 496. Therefore, in calculating forty percent [40%] of 496, a total of 198.4 valid signatures is required on the recall petition for the governor to issue a proclamation for a special election.

The registrar certified a total of 231 valid signatures on the recall petition, which total does meet the required forty percent. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the validated signatures on the recall petition are sufficient in number for the governor to issue a proclamation ordering a special election on the question of recall for Robert L. Cox, Jr., Mayor, Town of Cheneyville, Parish of Rapides. The special election shall be held on the next available date specified in R.S. 18:402(F). If we can be of further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
A,~I’~ ORN E ,Yq3, E N EJ2~
,/i

ANGIE ~OGgRS aPaCE
Assistant A~orney General
RPI/ARL:mjb
Enclosures
arl/opinions/2001/02-0008 cc: Hon. Robert L. Cox, Jr.
Registrar, Joanell Wilson
Hon. W. Fox McKeithen
Hon. Suzanne H. Terrell