Title 18. Louisiana Election Code
Chapter 6-a. Bond, Debt, and Tax Elections
18:1285 Notice of election
A. (1)(a)(i) Notice of the election shall be given and shall embrace substantially all matters required to be set forth in the resolution ordering the election, including a list of precincts where the proposition will be voted on and an indication for each precinct as to whether or not all registered voters in the precinct will be eligible to vote on the proposition, unless the proposition is to be voted on parishwide.
(ii) If the notice is relative to the increase of a special tax, the notice shall also state the proposed increase in the millage rate of a property tax or percentage rate of sales tax.
(iii) If the notice is relative to an election which affects ad valorem taxation, the notice shall also state that a portion of the monies collected shall be remitted to certain state and statewide retirement systems in the manner required by law.
(iv) The notice shall also state that the governing authority of the political subdivision ordering the election will, in open session, at the hour and place named, proceed to canvass the returns and declare the result of the election.
(v) The notice shall also state the estimated cost of the election as determined by the secretary of state based upon the provisions of Chapter 8-A of this Title and actual costs of similar elections.
(b) The list of commissioners for an election called in accordance with R.S. 18:1286(A) is not required to be set forth in the notice of election.
(2) The notice shall be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in the official journal of the political subdivision, or, if there is none, then in a newspaper of general circulation in the parish or, if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the parish, then in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining parish. Not less than forty-five days nor more than ninety days shall intervene between the date of the first publication and the date of the election.
B. (1)(a) Written notice of the election and the certificate required by Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph shall be transmitted to the secretary of state and each clerk of court and registrar of voters in the area affected by the election. If the election is to be held on a primary election date, then such notice and certificate shall be received by the secretary of state at least four weeks prior to the opening of the qualifying period for the primary election. If the election is not to be held on a primary election date, then the notice and certificate shall be received by the secretary of state on or before the fifty-fourth day prior to the election. The secretary of state shall not accept any revisions to propositions, including but not limited to changes in title, text, or numerical designations, after the last day for submission of the notice and certificate to the secretary of state, unless prior to the printing of the ballots the revision will correct a typographical error and the revision has been approved by the governing authority that called the proposition election.
(b) The secretary of state shall not prepare or certify the ballot with respect to any election for bond, debt, or tax propositions, conducted pursuant to this Chapter, or in respect to any other election where the proposition is subject to approval by the Louisiana State Bond Commission, including but not limited to any proposition to adopt, amend, or repeal a home rule charter which is subject to such approval, until he receives certification in writing from the chairman of that commission that the commission has considered and approved the proposition.
(2) The secretary of state shall not include any proposition on any ballot of any election if such notice and certificate required by Subparagraph (1)(b) of this Subsection are not timely received by the secretary of state. The failure of the clerk of court or registrar of voters to timely receive notice and the certificate, as provided for herein, shall not prevent the secretary of state from including the proposition on the ballot. Any elector who is eligible to vote in the election may apply for injunctive relief to prohibit the placing of a proposition on the ballot if notice and the certificate are not timely received by the secretary of state. Venue for such application shall be in any parish in which the election is called, and the secretary of state shall be a proper party defendant
Added by Acts 1977, No. 545, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1979, No. 229, § 1, eff. July 13, 1979; Acts 1980, No. 792, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1981, No. 76, § 1, eff. June 26, 1981; Acts 1984, No. 589, § 1, eff. July 12, 1984; Acts 1986, No. 669, § 1; Acts 1987, No. 831, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; Acts 1988, No. 909, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, No. 179, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 949, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 418, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1995, No. 1114, § 1; Acts 1997, No. 1420, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 254, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2006, No. 560, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2010, No. 570, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2010, No. 591, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 139, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2012, No. 283, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2016, No. 281, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2019, No. 205, § 1; Acts 2021, No. 381, § 1, eff. June 17, 2021.