§1279. Vacancies; representatives in congress
When a vacancy occurs in the office of representative in congress, the governor shall
determine the dates on which the special elections shall be held and the dates of the
qualifying period and shall issue a proclamation ordering a special election and specifying
the dates on which the primary and general elections will be held and the dates of the
qualifying period for the election. Within twenty-four hours after issuing the proclamation,
the governor shall send a copy of the proclamation to the secretary of state, who shall within
twenty-four hours of receipt of the information notify all election officials having any duty
to perform in connection with a special election to fill such vacancy, including the parish
boards of election supervisors for the parish or parishes in which the vacancy occurred.
Immediately thereafter the secretary of state shall publish the proclamation in the official
journal of each parish in which the election is to be held. The election shall be conducted in
the same manner and at the same places and the returns shall be certified as in regular
congressional elections. If at a primary or general election in a congressional district one
representative in congress is to be elected for a full term and another to fill a vacancy, the
ballots containing the names of the candidates shall, as a part of the title of the office,
designate the term for which the candidates are respectively nominated.
Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 545, §1, eff.
Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1980, No. 792, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1981, No. 76, §1, eff. June 26,
1981; Acts 1997, No. 1420, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 2006, No. 560, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007;
Acts 2007, No. 240, §1; Acts 2010, No. 570, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2022, No. 274, §1,
eff. June 3, 2022.