Bill Heading To Governor’s Desk To Make It Easier To Recall Elected Official

It will be easier to recall an elected official in Louisiana, if the Governor signs a bill into law that has cleared the legislature. A 31-1 senate vote sent HB 54 by Mandeville Rep. Paul Hollis to the governor’s desk. The bill lowers the threshold on how many signatures are needed to have a recall election held.

“The folks to try to have real-time accountability, they just go out and get 20% of the registered voters to sign a petition for recall and it used to be 33 and a third percent.”

Hollis says the effort is difficult at best, but at least he says with this legislation the process is a little easier.

“I don’t think it’s easy and it’s still high compared to most states, but the big point is that I do think that in extreme scenarios that people can have real-time accountability.”

Hollis says even with this change to our recall laws, Louisiana still has a high standard when it comes to the process of removing an elected official.

“Most states make the number of signatures needed based on the number of people who voted in the previous election. Louisiana is different because we base it on a much larger number.”