Did a Louisiana alderman candidate have to live in the ward for a full year before qualifying?

Plain-English summary

A Lincoln Parish clerk asked whether a candidate for alderman had to reside in the ward for a full year before qualifying. The 1998 attorney general opinion said the statutes imposed two different geographic requirements.

An alderman candidate had to be a municipal elector and have been domiciled and actually resident in the municipality for the immediately preceding year. A candidate for a ward seat also had to reside in that ward. The office found no stated length of ward residence, so it concluded that the one-year rule applied to the municipality, not separately to the ward.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998. 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.

Alderman candidates at the time

The opinion required a candidate for a ward seat to reside in that ward at qualification. It did not read the statutes as requiring a full year in that particular ward.

Election clerks at the time

The office distinguished the municipality-wide one-year domicile and residence requirement from the separate ward-residence requirement. It said the latter had no specified duration.

Municipal voters at the time

The opinion read the mayoral qualification provision together with the alderman provision. It treated the mayoral rules for municipal electorship, domicile, and residence as applying to aldermen too.

Common questions

Q: Did an alderman candidate have to live in the ward for one year?
A: The office said no such duration appeared in the quoted statutes. The candidate had to reside in the ward, but the one-year requirement concerned the municipality.

Q: Did a year anywhere in the municipality satisfy the opinion's municipal-residence requirement?
A: The opinion said a candidate had to be domiciled and actually resident in the municipality for the year immediately before qualifying. It did not decide any particular candidate's facts.

Q: Did the ward requirement apply to every alderman seat?
A: The quoted statute added ward residence for aldermen elected from wards. The opinion addressed a candidate for that type of seat.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted LSA-R.S. 33:384 on mayoral qualifications and LSA-R.S. 33:385 on alderman qualifications. The latter applied the mayoral qualifications to aldermen and added ward residence for those elected from wards. The office found the one-year language in the municipal qualification provision, with no matching period for the ward.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 33:384 (municipal electorship, domicile, and residence)
• LSA-R.S. 33:385 (alderman and ward-residence qualifications)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/98-0319

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
~o~
P.O. Box 94005
ATTORNEY GENERAL 70804-9005 TEL: (504) 342-70"13
FAX: (504) 342-7335

AUGUST 18 1998
OPINION NUMBER 98-319

Syllabus
27: Elections: Candidates, nomination & eligibility to run
Honorable Linda Cook, Clerk LSA-R.S. 33:384 LSA-R.S. 33:385
When qualifying for alderman, a candidate must be an elector and have been a Lincoln Parish - 3~ Judicial District resident and domiciliary of the mumcipality for at least a year immediately
Post Office Box 924
preceding qualification. The candidate must also be a resident of the ward he
seeks to represent, although this residency does not have to be for any specified
Ruston, Louisiana 71273-0924
time.

Dear Ms. Cook:

Your request for an Attorney General’s opinion has been forwarded to me for research and reply. Specifically, you ask:

In order to qualify for the office of alderman does the candidate have to be a resident of their respective ward for at least a year immediately preceding the time of qualification ?

The answer to your question is found in La. R.S. 33:384 and 33:385 which are reproduced in pertinent part below:

384. Qualifications of mayor

The mayor shall be an elector of the municipality who at the time of qualification as a candidate for the office of mayor shall have been domiciled and actually resided for at least the immediately preceding year in the municipality ....

385. Qualifications of alderman; vacancies; office holding; contracting

A. The qualifications of the aldermen shall be the same as are prescribed for the mayor, and in addition, those elected from wards must be residents of their respective wards.

It is apparent from reading the two statutes that an alderman candidate must be an elector of the municipality and have been domiciled and actually resided in the municipality for at least the year immediately preceding the time of qualification. Revised Statute 33:385 adds the requirement that an alderman elected from a ward must be a resident of the ward.

Page 2

The Honorable Linda Cook
OPINION NO. 98-319
Page - 2 -

While a year of domicile and residence in the municipality prior to qualification is expressly set out, no such requirement of one year in a ward is stated. Therefore, it appears that the qualifying candidate must be a resident of the respective ward, but is not required to have been a resident of the ward for any particular time.

We trust this adequately answers your question. If you should need anything further do not hesitate to contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

RPI/FEJ/sc

b:98-319 op