Louisiana § RS 18:1461.5 - Election offenses involving bribery, threats or intimidation of election officials or candidates; penalties

§ RS 18:1461.5. Election offenses involving bribery, threats or intimidation of election officials or candidates; penalties

A.  No person shall knowingly, willfully, or intentionally:

(1)  Offer money or anything of apparent present or prospective value or use, directly or indirectly, or engage in any form of intimidation to influence the action or encourage inaction of any election official with regard to the duties of his office.

(2)  Give or offer to give, directly or indirectly, any money or anything of apparent present or prospective value to any person who has withdrawn or who was eliminated prior or subsequent to the primary election as a candidate for public office, for the purpose of securing or giving his political support to any remaining candidate or candidates for public office in the primary or general election.

(3)  When such person is a candidate for public office who has withdrawn or was eliminated prior to or subsequent to the primary election, accept or offer to accept, directly or indirectly, any money, or anything of apparent present or prospective value that is given for the purpose of securing or giving his political support to any remaining candidate or candidates for public office in the primary or general election.

(4)(a)  Give or offer to give, directly or indirectly, any money or any thing of apparent present or prospective value to a candidate for public office for the purpose of securing the candidate's withdrawal from an election.

(b)  Solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, money or any thing of apparent present or prospective value to secure the withdrawal from an election of a candidate for public office.

B.  Whoever violates any provision of this Section shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars or be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or both, for the first offense.  On a second offense, or any subsequent offense, the penalty shall be a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment at hard labor for not more than five years, or both.

C.  In the trial of a person charged with a violation of this Section, either the bribe-giver or the bribe-taker may give evidence, or make affidavit against the other, and may receive immunity from prosecution in favor of the first informer, except for perjury in giving such testimony.

Acts 2010, No. 797, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 585, §1.