Louisiana Governor

Description

The Governor of the State of Louisiana is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Louisiana. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms. The governor has the right to grant reprieves, issue pardons, commute sentences and return fines and forfeitures for crimes against the state. In this role, the governor serves as the court of last resort. Additionally the governor serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the state, except when they are called into service of the federal government. He may call these forces to preserve law and order, to suppress insurrection, to repel invasion or in other times of emergency. At the outset of each regular legislative session, the governor must give an address to the General Assembly, including the condition of the state and its finances. The governor may also include recommendations in her address and make such addresses at other times, such as the commencement of an extraordinary session. The governor also submits a budget to the legislature and may compel reports from department heads on any matter, save investigations into the governor's office. The salary for this position is $130,000/year.

Application Guidelines

1) Contact the Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Operations to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. Obtain the required qualifying forms. 2) Complete the required qualifying forms and submit the qualifying forms to the Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Operations. The qualifying forms require either the submission of a qualifying fee or nomination papers. Additional paperwork, such as campaign finance forms, must be filed as well. 3) If you are running for a position contested during the federal election, the qualifying window is from the 3rd Wednesday in July until the following Friday. If you are running for a position contested during the gubernatorial election (state representatives and state senators are elected during this type of election), the filing window takes place from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August until the following Thursday. Petition signature requirements vary by office. Candidates qualify with the Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Operations. Louisiana has a “jungle” primary system where all candidates regardless of political party affiliation appear on the same primary ballot. The primary for federal positions occurs on the general election date in November. If no candidate attains a majority of the vote during the primary, a Louisiana general election is held the 2nd Saturday in December. The primary for gubernatorial positions is held the 2nd to last Saturday in October and the gubernatorial general is held 4 Saturdays afterwards. If you have any questions or concerns you are encouraged to contact the Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Operations at (225) 922-0900 or visit the Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Operations website: http://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/BecomeACandidate/Pages/default.aspx.