EDRIElection Dispute Resolution Index

La. R.S. 18:1401 enumerates multiple categories of parties with standing to contest elections and related matters: (1) qualified electors objecting to candidacy in primaries (subsection A); (2) qualified electors objecting to unaffiliated candidates in general elections for party primary offices (subsection A(2)); (3) candidates contesting elections for advancement or election (subsection B); (4) persons in interest contesting proposition elections (subsection C); (5) qualified electors objecting to special election calls (subsection D); (6) public officers and designated petition officials contesting recall certification (subsection E); and (7) public officers contesting recall elections (subsection F). The statute does not rely on open-ended discretionary language or judicial determination of standing; instead it explicitly identifies who may bring actions and under what circumstances. This satisfies the criterion that standing be enumerated rather than left to case-by-case judicial interpretation.

La. R.S. 18:1403 explicitly and unambiguously specifies that district courts hold exclusive original jurisdiction over election contests. The statute further clarifies venue by providing that where both criminal and civil district courts exist in a judicial district, the civil district court has exclusive jurisdiction. This addresses both the court of original jurisdiction and the specific court within a multi-court district, providing clear statutory specification of venue and jurisdiction for election disputes. The codification is precise and leaves no ambiguity about where such actions must be brought.

This section references a deadline for filing an election contest action in R.S. 18:1405(B) but does not itself specify or codify that deadline. The section only incorporates the deadline by reference. To fully satisfy CONT.EDRI.3, the statutory text under review should itself contain the deadline specification. While the criterion is met in the broader statutory scheme (the deadline exists and is prescribed elsewhere), this particular section does not independently satisfy the requirement because it merely cross-references rather than specifies the filing deadline. A complete evaluation would require examining R.S. 18:1405(B) directly.

Louisiana R.S. 18:567.3 codifies both the standard of proof and evidentiary rules for election disputes. The standard of proof is clearly established as 'preponderance of the evidence' in subsection G(1) and G(2). The evidentiary rules are explicitly codified in subsection F(4), which states 'The Louisiana and federal rules of evidence shall not apply to this hearing.' This creates a clear, statutory deviation from normal rules of evidence applicable to these proceedings. Additionally, the statute specifies what constitutes admissible evidence (testimony under oath, tangible evidence presented at hearing) and establishes procedures for evidence presentation. The statute also requires compilation and maintenance of an official record containing specific types of evidence. This satisfies the full criterion by establishing both the standard of proof AND specific evidentiary rules in statute.

La. R.S. 18:1453 codifies recount procedures directly in statute. The section specifies: (1) who counts (counters appointed by the trial judge); (2) how (in open court or other location determined by the trial judge, with notice to interested parties and parties/representatives permitted to attend, but not as an adversary proceeding); (3) what evidence is produced (registrars and clerks of court are ordered to produce absentee by mail ballots, early voting ballots, vote count records, and other relevant documents); and (4) the public announcement and delivery of results to the secretary of state. These procedural elements are established directly in statutory text rather than delegated to regulation or administrative directive.

No matching sections in corpus.

This statute provides explicit cost-allocation rules tied to recount outcomes: costs fall on the losing petitioner if no error occurred or error was immaterial; costs are borne by no party if a change-determinative error is found. However, the provision applies only to 'absentee by mail and early voting ballots,' not to all ballot types or recount scenarios. The statute leaves silent how costs are allocated for recounts of other ballot types (e.g., in-person voting machines, provisional ballots) or in other procedural contexts. While RECT.3 asks whether cost allocation is 'by statute,' this section satisfies that requirement only partially—it codifies allocation for a narrow category of ballots but does not comprehensively address recount cost allocation across all recount triggers or ballot types that Louisiana law permits.

No matching sections in corpus.

La. R.S. 18:513(A) explicitly codifies the certification deadline as a mandatory duty ('shall certify') occurring within a specific, numerically defined timeframe (thirty days after the general election date). The deadline is set by statute, not left to administrative discretion. The section applies across multiple categories of elected offices (state legislature, Congress, presidential electors, party committees, and other offices), with subsection (B) providing additional deadline specifications for when governors issue commissions. This satisfies the criterion's requirement that the certification deadline be statutorily fixed rather than discretionary.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: Section La. R.S. 18:177 addresses reinstatement of voter registration after suspension due to incarceration or mental incompetency. It governs the procedural requirements and documentation needed for a suspended voter to restore their registration status. This section contains no language, mechanism, or reference to certification stays, recounts, election contests, or any procedure to halt or delay certification while disputes are pending. The criterion TIME.2 specifically requires a statutory mechanism to stay certification during pending recount or contest proceedings. This section is entirely outside the scope of election dispute resolution framework and certification timing.