Could a Louisiana clerk commission one election watcher to serve in more than one precinct?

Plain-English summary

Tangipahoa Parish's clerk of court asked whether the Election Code allowed one person to be commissioned as a watcher for more than one precinct. In Opinion 03-0368, the AG answered yes. La. R.S. 18:435 entitled each candidate to a watcher in each precinct where the office was on the ballot, but the AG found no ban on assigning one watcher to multiple precincts.

An earlier AG opinion had discussed multiple precincts in the same polling place. Opinion 03-0368 said that earlier fact pattern did not restrict watchers to precincts sharing a polling place.

Currency note

The full issue date is not legible in the available official extract. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Clerk of court

The AG said the clerk could commission a watcher for more than one precinct. Its reading turned on the absence of a statutory prohibition in La. R.S. 18:435.

Campaign and watcher

The opinion distinguished the candidate's entitlement to a watcher at each qualifying precinct from whether the same person could hold multiple precinct commissions. It did not supply scheduling or simultaneous-presence rules for a watcher assigned to different places.

Common questions

Did the law require a different person for each precinct?

No. The AG found no such prohibition in La. R.S. 18:435.

Could the precincts be at different polling places?

The AG said the earlier opinion about precincts in one polling place was not a limit on commissioning across polling places.

Did the opinion guarantee one watcher could be physically present in two places at once?

No. It answered the commission question and did not address how a watcher would cover simultaneous activity.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 18:435 gave a candidate the right to one watcher at every precinct where the candidate's office was voted on. The AG noted that the statute did not forbid multiple commissions for the same watcher and read earlier Opinion 91-285 as addressing only its stated facts.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 18:435: candidate watcher entitlement.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0368

Original opinion text

One American Place
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
301 Main Street, Suite 600
CI?I! DI?ISION
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
FAX: (225) 342-2090
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

SEP 8 0,2003
Opinion Number 03-0368

26 Elections - Election Officers - Party Committee,
Mr. John J. Dahmer
Commissioners, Special DutySheriffs
Clerk of Court
La. R.S. 18:435
Parish of Tangipahoa
P.O. Box 667
Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court may commission an
individual to be a watcher for more than one precinct.
Amite, LA 70422

Dear Mr. Dahmer:

You question if the Louisiana Election Code authorizes you to commission an individual to be a watcher for more than one precinct. In short, we believe that you may do so.

La. R.S. 18:435 A specifically provides that each candidate is entitled to have one watcher at every precinct where the office he seeks is voted on in a primary or general election. The statute does not prohibit a watcher from being commissioned to more than one precinct. Although Attorney General Opinion No. 91-285 concluded that a watcher could serve in more than one precinct within a polling place, we do not believe that opinion restricted a watcher to being commissioned for precincts in the same polling place. The facts presented in:that opinion simply provided for such.

We trust that this adequately responds to your request. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact our office. With kindest regards,

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

TINA VICARI ~P,#,Nt- -
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/TVG/dam