§ 18:18 — Secretary of state; powers and duties

Louisiana § 18:18

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 18: Conservation

Text

§18. Secretary of state; powers and duties
A. The secretary of state shall administer the laws relating to custody of voting
machines and voter registration, and for this purpose the secretary of state shall:
(1) Subject to applicable civil service laws and applicable provisions of this Title,
employ and fix the salaries and duties of necessary staff to carry out such functions.
(2) Direct and assist the registrars of voters of the state with respect to matters
pertaining to the registration of voters as provided by law.
(3) Prescribe uniform rules, regulations, forms, and instructions, which shall be
approved by the attorney general and thereafter shall be applied uniformly by each registrar
of voters in the state. These rules, regulations, forms, and instructions shall include but not
necessarily be restricted to forms of applications for registration, records, affidavits and
statements, documents, and general procedures to be used by the registrars of voters, none
of which shall be inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States or of this
state.
(4) Be responsible for obtaining statistics and data relating to the registration of
voters from the registrars throughout the state and for the compilation of such statistics and
data in an annual report which shall be submitted to the Legislature of Louisiana not later
than the first day of each regular session.
(5) Perform such other functions and duties and exercise such other powers as are
conferred upon him by this Title.
(6) Coordinate the responsibilities of this state under the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-31) as required by 52 U.S.C. 20509.
(7) Prescribe uniform rules, regulations, forms, and instructions as to the use of
voting systems, as defined by R.S. 18:1351, in the conduct of early voting, which shall be
approved by the attorney general and thereafter shall be applied uniformly by each registrar
of voters in the state.
(8)(a) Prescribe uniform rules, regulations, forms, and instructions as to standards
for effective nonpartisan voter education, which shall be approved by the attorney general
and thereafter shall be implemented uniformly by each registrar of voters in the state. In
developing the standards, the secretary of state shall review current voter education programs
within the state. The standards shall address but shall not be limited to voter education
concerning voter registration, balloting procedures for voting absentee by mail, during early
voting, and at the polling places, distribution of sample ballots, and effective voter education
methods, including the use of public service announcements and other public awareness
methods. By December fifteenth of each general election year, each registrar of voters shall
report to the secretary of state a detailed description of the voter education programs
implemented in his parish. The secretary of state, upon receipt of such information, shall
prepare a report on the effectiveness of voter education programs and shall submit the report
to the governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives
by January thirty-first of each year following a general election.
(b) Develop activities, events, informational posters and pamphlets, and public
service announcements for the implementation of an annual voter registration week and
generally be responsible for implementation of such week. It is the policy of the state of
Louisiana to encourage full participation in voting by all citizens of this state. To this end,
in years when the president of the United States proclaims a National Voter Registration Day,
the official state voter registration week shall be the full week in which the National Voter
Registration Day occurs, unless the National Voter Registration Day occurs after the close
of the registration records for the regular fall primary election. In years when the president
of the United States does not proclaim a National Voter Registration Day or the National
Voter Registration Day occurs after the close of the registration records for the regular fall
primary election, the official state voter registration week shall be two weeks prior to the
close of registration records for the regular fall primary election.
(9) Provide for the registration of third-party voter registration organizations that
conduct third-party voter registration drives in the state of Louisiana.
(10)(a) Develop and implement a pilot program for new voting technology and
equipment.
(b) The secretary of state shall work with two members from the House Committee
on House and Governmental Affairs designated by the chairman of that committee and two
members from the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs designated by the
chairman of that committee in developing the program. After the development of the
program, the secretary of state shall submit the details of the program to the House
Committee on House and Governmental Affairs and the Senate Committee on Senate and
Governmental Affairs. The secretary of state shall also submit to the committees the details
of any subsequent change to the program.
B. The commissioner of elections shall be appointed by the secretary of state subject
to Senate confirmation. He shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary of state at a salary
fixed by the secretary of state, which salary shall not exceed the amount approved for such
position by the legislature while in session. The commissioner of elections shall have the
same qualifications as required for statewide elected officials. He shall have such
responsibilities and perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the secretary of state.
C. The department of state shall be responsible for assistance to registrars,
administration of rules and regulations of the secretary of state relating to the registration of
voters, and matters pertaining to the reporting, compilation, and dissemination of registration
statistics and information.
D. The secretary of state may enter into cooperative agreements with other states or
written agreements with state and federal governmental agencies and private vendors that
provide voter registration eligibility or address data to share voter registration information
or data for purposes of voter list maintenance of the state voter registration computer system.
The secretary of state shall include in any such cooperative agreement a provision for the
privacy of the information or data that complies fully with applicable state and federal law.
E.(1) The secretary of state shall publish a revised final version of this Code on the
website of the secretary of state within thirty days of receiving a revised final version of this
Code from the legislature following final adjournment of a session of the legislature which
results in changes to this Code.
(2) No later than ninety days after final adjournment of a session of the legislature
which results in changes to this Code, the secretary of state shall publish on the website of
the secretary of state links to each legislative instrument enacted during the session affecting
this Code, the effective date of the instrument, and provide the keyword and oneliner of each
such instrument as it appears on the legislature's website. The secretary of state website shall
include a link to the legislature's bill information page for the public to access the text of the
enacted instrument and the résumé digest of each instrument.

Legislative History

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1977, No. 523, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, No. 451, §1, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2001, No. 1181, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 286, §1, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2004, No. 526, §2, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 220, §§1, 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 403, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 136, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2013, No. 383, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2014, No. 59, §1, eff. May 16, 2014; Acts 2016, No. 281, §1, eff. May 31, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 176, §1, eff. June 14, 2017; Acts 2019, No. 374, §1, eff. June 19, 2019; Acts 2021, No. 480, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2024, No. 701, §1; Acts 2025, No. 386, §1; Acts 2025, No. 499, §1, eff. June 30, 2025.