Why did the petition to recall Homer's mayor fail to trigger a Louisiana recall election?

Plain-English summary

In this 2013 opinion, the Louisiana Attorney General found that a petition to recall Alecia Nychole Smith, mayor of Homer, did not have enough valid signatures to bring about an election. The registrar reported 1,981 electors in the voting area when the petition was filed. The opinion applied the statutory one-third threshold and calculated that at least 660 signatures were needed. The registrar certified 636, or 32.1 percent.

The AG found that the petition contained the information required by La. R.S. 18:3, including spaces for the signer's address, birth date, precinct, and signing date. Its failure was the signature count. The AG concluded that the governor could not issue a proclamation ordering a recall election on that petition.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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 Homer recall petition need?

The opinion applied La. R.S. 18:1300.2(B)'s one-third threshold because Homer had 1,981 electors when the petition was filed. On that count, the AG said the petition needed at least 660 valid signatures.

How many signatures did the registrar certify?

Registrar Patricia Sanders certified 636 valid signatures, which the opinion reported as 32.1 percent of qualified electors. That was below the required number.

Was the petition rejected because its form omitted required voter information?

No. The AG said the petition itself complied with La. R.S. 18:3's information requirements. It identified the insufficient number of valid signatures as the reason the petition failed.

Could the governor order the recall election on this petition?

The AG concluded that the petition did not meet the statutory requirements for the governor to issue a recall election proclamation. The opinion addressed this petition, not a later filing.

Background and statutory framework

The governor's executive counsel asked whether the petition met Louisiana's recall requirements. The opinion quoted La. R.S. 18:1300.2(B) on the percentage of electors who must sign and discussed the registrar's review of signatures and voter qualifications under La. R.S. 18:3 and the certification provision numbered 18:1300.3(A). It described recall as a harsh remedy whose governing provisions were strictly construed. After reviewing the registrar's certification, the AG found that the petition lacked enough valid signatures.

Citations

• La. R.S. 18:1300.2(B) (signature threshold quoted in the opinion).
• La. R.S. 18:3 (information required on a petition).
• 18:1300.3(A) (registrar certification discussed in the opinion; the source extract abbreviates the prefix as "La. RS.").

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0149

Original opinion text

~tllte of 1!IOUlliIIlUIl
DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
AITORNEY GENERAL

SEP 1 6 2013
OPINION 13-0149

24-A ELECTIONS - Recall
Mr. Thomas Enright
Executive Counsel
La. R.S 1B:3
La. R.S. 1B:101
Office of the Governor
La. R.S.18:1300.1, et sea.
P. O. Box 94004
The Petition to Recall Alecia Nychole Smith, Mayor, Town of Homer.
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004
Parish of Claiborne, does not meet the legal requirements for the
governor to issue a proclamation ordering an election to be held for the purpose of voting on the Question of a recall.

Dear Mr. Enright:

You have requested that this office advise you as to whether the recall petition with supporting documents, directed toward Alecia Nychole Smith, Mayor, Town of Homer, Parish of Claiborne, meets the statutory requirements for a recall petition, as set forth in La. R.S. 18:1300.1, et seq.

First, the statutory requirements for a petition to recall an elected official are primarily listed in La. R.S. 18:1300.2. Subsection B of this provisions states:

All signatures on recall petitions shall be handwritten. This petition shall be signed by a number of the electors of the voting area as will [sic] 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 by not less than forty percent of said electors.

Pursuant to La. R.S. 18:1300.2(B), the recall petition must be signed by not less than thirty three and one-third (33 1/3) percent of the total electors in the Town of Homer to be valid. Registrar Patricia Sanders represents that there are One Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty One (1,981) electors in the voting area as of the filing of the "Petition to Recall Alecia Nychole Smith, Mayor, Town of Homer, Parish of Claiborne," with the Secretary of State on March 4, 2013.

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Opinion 13-0149
Mr. Thomas Enright
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Thirty three and one-third (33 1/3) of One Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty One (1,981) would require at least six hundred sixty (660) valid signatures on the petition to satisfy the statutory requirements for a recall election.

Registrar Sanders submitted her certification containing six hundred thirty six (636) validated signatures on the petition, which equates to thirty-two point one (32.1) percent of the qualified electors.

La. RS. 18:1300.2(0) also provides in pertinent part:

Each elector, at the time of signing the petition, shall enter his address and the date on which he signed beside or underneath his signature; however, if a person is unable to write, as provided in La.
RS. 18:1300.4, the two witnesses shall date their signatures. In addition, each petition shall be in compliance with the provisions of La. R.S. 18:3. In determining the number of qualified electors who signed the petition in any parish, the registrar of voters shall not count any signature which is undated or bears a date prior to the date on which the copy of the petition initially was filed with the secretary of state or after the date of the submission of the petition to the registrar except as otherwise provided in La. RS.
18:1300.3(8). The registrar shall not receive or certify a petition submitted to him for certification unless it is submitted to him timely.

In a similar vein, La. RS. 18:3(A), which governs petitions submitted to the registrar of voters, states:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, every petition submitted to a registrar of voters for certification shall contain the following information:
(1) The handwritten signature of the voter who is signing the petition;....
(2) The date the voter signed the petition.
(3) The signer's ward/district/precinct and date of birth.
(4) The address at which the signer is registered to vote, including municipal number, apartment number, rural route, and box number.
(5) Name of the signer either typed or legibly written.
(6) Name of the person who witnessed and who obtained the signature.

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Opinion 13-0149
Mr. Thomas Enright
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(7) Date on which the person witnessed and obtained the signature.

Louisiana courts have determined that the recall is a harsh remedy; therefore, the provisions which govern the recall process must be strictly construed.'

La. RS. 18:101 (8) sets forth the requirements used in determining a "qualified elector" in the area, providing:

For purposes of the laws governing voter registration and voting, "resident" means a citizen who resides in this state and in the parish, municipality, if any, and precinct in which he offers to register and vote, with an intention to reside there indefinitely. If a citizen resides at more than one place in the state with an intention to reside there indefinitely, he may register and vote only at one of the places at which he resides. If a person claims a homestead exemption, pursuant to Article VII, Section 20 of the Constitution of Louisiana, on one of the residences, he shall register and vote in the precinct in which that residence is located, except that a person who resides in a nursing home as defined in RS. 40:2009.2 or in a veterans' home operated by the state or federal government may register and vote at the address where the nursing home or veterans' home is located. For purposes of voter registration and voting, the residence of a married woman shall be determined in the same manner as is required for any other citizen. A citizen of this state shall not be or remain registered or vote in more than one place of residence at anyone time.

Registrar Sanders is thereby required to utilize La. RS. 18:3(A), La. RS. 18:101(8), and La. RS. 18:1300.2(0) in determining the number of qualified electors in the voting area.

According to La. RS. 18:1300.3(A), the registrar is required to ascertain if the petitioners are registered to vote in the district or municipality. The registrar is required to certify on the recall petition "the number of qualified electors of the voting area within the parish whose handwritten signatures appear on the petition" and "[e]ach registrar also shall indicate on the petition the names appearing thereon who are not electors of the voting area." La. RS. 18:1300.3(A).

La. R.S. 18:1300.1, et seq., Young v. Sanders, 38,412 (La.App. 2 Cir. 4/7104) 870 SO.2d 1126; Bradford v. Board of Supervisors of Elections, 128 So.2d 468 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1961).

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Mr. Thomas Enright
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As this office has opined previously in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 04-0265, the registrar is required to review the signature, date and address of the signatory before certifying said signature and cannot include any person whose name does not appear on the voter roll, whose address is not affixed to the petition, and/or whose signature is undated or bears an incorrect date.

The registrar is required to verify the genuineness of signatures on recall petitions, as has been done for many years by registrars throughout the state, by virtue of the legal advice from this office. See La. Atty. Gen Op. No. 04-0265. The registrar should continue to make a reasonable comparison of a voter's signature on the petition to the voter's signature on the roll of electors and not count a signature which is not found to be a reasonable match. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 04-0265 and 91-413.

As stated in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 91-413, "the registrar should not be required to be an expert in observing signatures; however, it is the opinion of this office that the registrar shall make a reasonable identification of a voter's signature prior to certifying such name on a recall petition."

In this case, the petition has been fUlly reviewed and is found to be in compliance with the requirements set forth in La. R.S. 18:3. The "Petition to Recall Alecia Nychole Smith, Mayor, Town of Homer, Parish of Claiborne," contains requisite columns for the date of birth, date of signature, precinct of registration, residence address, including the town, name of the voter typed or legibly written, name of the person who witnessed and obtained signature, and the date the signature was witnessed and obtained.

However, this office finds that, the "Petition to Recall Alecia Nychole Smith, Mayor, Town of Homer, Parish of Claiborne," as verified by Registrar Sanders, under the laws and standards explained above, does not have a sufficient number of valid signatures from qualified electors in the voting area.

Therefore, the petition does not meet the statutory requirements necessary for the governor to issue a proclamation ordering a recall election in this matter.

Yours very truly,

By:

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