§470. Disposition of notices of candidacy; qualifying fees; nomination petitions

            A. Notices of candidacy. (1) Upon receipt and acceptance of a notice of candidacy that meets the requirements of R.S. 18:463, the secretary of state or the clerk of court, as the case may be, shall endorse upon it the date and time of filing and either the amount of the qualifying fee paid by the candidate or a statement that a nominating petition was filed by the candidate. The acceptance of a notice of candidacy that meets the requirements of R.S. 18:463 by the secretary of state or the clerk of court is mandatory and ministerial and the secretary of state or the clerk of court shall not have discretion to verify the qualifications of a potential candidate. If a candidate qualifies in person, a certified copy of the original notice of candidacy shall be furnished to the candidate at the time he qualifies with the qualifying official but after the date and time have been endorsed thereon. If a candidate qualifies by submitting his notice of candidacy by certified mail, commercial carrier, or agent, the qualifying official shall mail a certified copy of the original notice of candidacy after the date and time have been endorsed thereon to the candidate at the address of his domicile as set forth in the notice of candidacy within forty-eight hours after receipt of the notice of candidacy.

            (2) At the time a candidate files his notice of candidacy with the clerk of court it shall become a public record and shall be recorded by the clerk of court in the same manner as sales of immovables and the recordation of mortgages and miscellaneous acts are recorded with him. The clerk of court shall place all notices of candidacy for each election in a separate book which he shall keep in his office, and each such notice of candidacy shall be the official document and the official public record. The clerk of court shall daily post a list of all the candidates, and the offices for which they qualify, whose notices of candidacy have been filed with his office.

            (3)(a) After the close of the qualifying period, the secretary of state shall transmit a list of the candidates who have qualified with him to the clerk of court in each parish in which the office is to be voted on. After the close of the qualifying period for candidates in a primary election, the clerk of court shall immediately transmit to the secretary of state a certified list of the candidates for each office who have qualified with him. This list shall include the name of each candidate as said candidate designated his name to appear on the ballot on his notice of candidacy form. The clerk shall also immediately forward qualifying fees for candidates to the secretary of state.

            (b) If a notice of candidacy, together with the qualifying fee or a nominating petition, is not filed timely or is filed with the wrong official, the official receiving the papers shall endorse the date and time of receipt upon them and shall return them forthwith, either personally or by registered or certified mail, to the candidate filing them.

            B. Qualifying fees. The secretary of state shall deliver all qualifying fees to the state treasurer, who shall remit all funds to the state treasury in accordance with law.

            Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 523, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1978, No. 292, §1, eff. July 6, 1978; Acts 1980, No. 786, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1988, No. 909, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 1st E.S., No. 1, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 2001, No. 47, §1; Acts 2016, No. 281, §1, eff. May 31, 2016; Acts 2020, No. 208, §1, eff. June 11, 2020.