§424. Commissioners-in-charge

A. Number. There shall be one commissioner-in-charge at every precinct.

B. Qualifications. A commissioner-in-charge shall possess the following qualifications:

(1) He shall be a qualified voter in the parish in which he is to serve who is able to perform the essential duties of a commissioner-in-charge as described in the informational pamphlet developed by the secretary of state pursuant to R.S. 18:421(C).

(2) He shall not be a candidate for election to public office nor be a member of the immediate family of a candidate for election to public office in the precinct in which he serves.

(3) He shall not have been convicted of an election offense enumerated in Chapter 10 of this Title.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in R.S. 18:433, he shall have successfully completed a general course of instruction for commissioners-in-charge and provided his correct party affiliation to the clerk.

(5) He shall have served as a commissioner in at least two elections during the last four years.

C. Powers and duties. (1) The commissioner-in-charge shall receive the sealed key envelope from the deputy parish custodian of voting machines at least thirty minutes before the polls open on election day. The commissioner-in-charge shall administer the oath to the commissioners and preside over the election, the printing of the results from the voting machines, and the closing of the polling place. He also shall deliver the keys to the voting machines, if applicable, the original of the machine certificates, the original of the signed list of commissioners, results cartridges, and one of the official election results reports to the clerk of court.

(2) The commissioner-in-charge shall not electioneer, engage in political discussions, unnecessarily delay a voter at the polls, or prepare a list of persons voting at the polling place other than the official poll lists.

D. Oath of office. Every commissioner-in-charge shall take the constitutional oath or affirmation. The original oath, signed by the commissioner-in-charge and the officer administering the oath, shall be filed with the parish board of election supervisors before the day of the first election during the term of office for which he has been selected to serve as commissioner-in-charge.

E. Notice of service. The clerk of court of each parish shall transmit to the Department of State the names, addresses, and social security numbers of all persons who served as commissioners-in-charge on election day in that parish no later than seven days after the election. Upon receipt of such information from the parish clerks of court, the Department of State shall compensate any commissioner-in-charge who has served at a polling place on an election day the amount provided in R.S. 18:426.1 within thirty days.

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 471, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1978, No. 292, §1, eff. July 6, 1978; Acts 1979, No. 229, §1, eff. July 13, 1979; Acts 1979, No. 229, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980; Acts 1980, No. 506, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; 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 1993, No. 418, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1993, No. 465, §1; Acts 1995, No. 310, §1; Acts 1999, No. 254, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 130, §1, eff. April 23, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 1124, §1, eff. July 2, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 526, §2, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2004, No. 693, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2016, No. 281, §1, eff. May 31, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 176, §1, eff. June 14, 2017.