Louisiana Secretary of State

	Louisiana Secretary of State
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2022 FY Budget:	$98,097,376
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Louisiana Constitution, Article IV, Section 7
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin; Republican Party; Assumed office: 2018-05-09
	Elections
Next election:	November 18, 2023
Last election:	November 16, 2019
	Other Louisiana Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Secretary of State for Louisiana is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The secretary of state is popularly elected every four years, and re-election is not restricted by term limits. The officeholder serves as the chief election officer of the state, the official state archivist, and the keeper of the great seal of the state of Louisiana.^[1]

Louisiana has a divided government where neither party holds a triplex. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor, while the Republican Party controls the offices of attorney general and secretary of state.

Current officeholder[edit]

The current officeholder is Republican Kyle Ardoin, who became acting secretary of state after the former officeholder Tom Schedler resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct.^[2]

Authority[edit]

Article 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution establishes a Department of State, headed by the office of Secretary of State:

There shall be a Department of State. The secretary of state shall head the department...^[3]

Qualifications[edit]

Article 4, Section 2 of the Louisiana Constitution enumerates the qualifications for holding the office of Secretary of State:

To be eligible for any statewide elective office, a person, by the date of his qualification as a candidate, shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, be an elector, and have been a citizen of the United States and of this state for at least the preceding five years. In addition, the attorney general shall have been admitted to the practice of law in the state for at least the five years preceding this election. During his tenure in office, a statewide elected official shall hold no other public office except by virtue of his elected office.^[3]

at least 25 years old
an elector
a United States citizen for the last five years
a resident of Louisiana for the last five years

Elections[edit]

Louisiana state government organizational chart

As with other state executive officers, the secretary of state is elected to serve for a term of four years in length, which runs concurrently with the term of the governor. The election is held in November and the statewide official takes office the following January. In accordance with the Louisiana Constitution. There is no term limit for this office. ^[3]

Results[edit]

2019[edit]

See also: Louisiana Secretary of State election, 2019

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

General election

General election for Louisiana Secretary of State

Incumbent Kyle Ardoin defeated Gwen Collins-Greenup in the general election for Louisiana Secretary of State on November 16, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kyle Ardoin (R)	59.1	867,607
	Gwen Collins-Greenup (D)	40.9	601,126

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,468,733 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana Secretary of State

Incumbent Kyle Ardoin and Gwen Collins-Greenup defeated Thomas Kennedy III and Amanda Smith in the primary for Louisiana Secretary of State on October 12, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kyle Ardoin (R)	41.1	528,253
✔	Gwen Collins-Greenup (D)	33.8	434,587
	Thomas Kennedy III (R)	19.0	244,646
	Amanda Smith (R)	6.1	78,986

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,286,472
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018[edit]

See also: Louisiana Secretary of State election, 2018

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

General election

Special general election for Louisiana Secretary of State

Incumbent Kyle Ardoin defeated Gwen Collins-Greenup in the special general election for Louisiana Secretary of State on December 8, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kyle Ardoin (R)	59.3	306,568
	Gwen Collins-Greenup (D)	40.7	210,085

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 516,653
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana Secretary of State

The following candidates ran in the special primary for Louisiana Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kyle Ardoin (R)	20.5	298,657
✔	Gwen Collins-Greenup (D)	19.8	289,097
	Renee Fontenot Free (D)	16.4	239,116
	Rick Edmonds (R)	11.3	164,955
	Julie Stokes (R)	11.2	163,773
	Thomas Kennedy III (R)	9.4	137,050
	A.G. Crowe (R)	4.9	71,495
	Heather Cloud (R)	4.9	71,195
	Matthew Moreau (Independent)	1.5	21,579

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,456,917
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015[edit]

See also: Louisiana Secretary of State election, 2015

There was a regularly scheduled election for secretary of state in 2015. Tom Schedler (R) was eligible for re-election. The primary election took place on October 24, 2015.

There were only two candidates on the ballot in the blanket primary election. Incumbent Secretary of State Tom Schedler won a majority of votes, eliminating the need for a general election contest in November.^[4]

Secretary of State of Louisiana, Blanket Primary, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Schedler	62.2%	649,153
	Democrat	Chris Tyson	37.8%	394,153
Total Votes				1,043,306
Election Results Louisiana Secretary of State.

Vacancies[edit]

Article 4, Section 16 of the Louisiana Constitution outlines how vacancies in the office of secretary of state should be filled:

(A) A vacancy in a statewide elective office other than that of governor or lieutenant governor shall be filled by the first assistant. If the unexpired term exceeds one year, the first assistant shall serve only until the person elected as provided in Paragraph (B) of this Section takes office.

(B) If the unexpired term exceeds one year, the office shall be filled by election at the next regularly scheduled congressional or statewide election; however, if no such election date is available within one year of the vacancy, the office shall be filled by election at a special election called by the governor for such purpose.^[3]

Duties[edit]

Article 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution establishes a Department of State, headed by the secretary of state:

There shall be a Department of State. The secretary of state shall head the department and shall be the chief election officer of the state. He shall prepare and certify the ballots for all elections, promulgate all election returns, and administer the election laws, except those relating to voter registration and custody of voting machines. He shall administer the state corporation and trademark laws; serve as keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Louisiana and attest therewith all official laws, documents, proclamations, and commissions; administer and preserve the official archives of the state; promulgate and publish all laws enacted by the legislature and retain the originals thereof; and countersign and keep an official registry of all commissions. He may administer oaths, and shall have other powers and perform other duties authorized by this constitution or provided by law.^[3]

Divisions[edit]

Updated January 20, 2021

Accounting
Archives
Commercial
Commissions
Elections
Museums
Notary
Publications
Voter Outreach^[5]

State budget[edit]

See also: Louisiana state budget and finances

The Office of the Secretary of State's budget for fiscal year 2022 was $98,097,376.^[6]

Compensation[edit]

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salary of the secretary, along with the rest of Louisiana's elected executives, is determined by the Louisiana State Legislature. Article IV, Section 4 of the Louisiana Constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.^[3]

Louisiana Constitution, Article IV, Section 4

Compensation Section 4. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the compensation of each statewide elected official shall be provided by law. An increase in the salary of a statewide elected official shall not become effective until the commencement of the subsequent term for that office following the adoption or enactment of the increase.^[3]