Sid Edwards recall, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2026)
| Sid Edwards recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2026 Recalls in Louisiana Louisiana recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mayor Sid Edwards is underway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Recall supporters
Baton Rouge resident Marian Hills was named as chairman on the recall petition, which lists the following as grounds for recalling Edwards:[1]
| “ |
Failure to provide effective leadership and administration of parish government; failure to demonstrate transparency and accountability to the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish; and failure to act consistently in the best interest of the residents of the parish, resulting in a loss of public confidence in the office of Mayor-President.[2] |
” |
Recall opponents
Edwards issued the following statement in response to the recall:[3]
| “ |
This is just the latest attempt to distract from the fact that in my first year in office we recorded the lowest number of homicides in six years, helped more than 100 homeless individuals off the streets and into rehabilitation, and removed more blight than at any point in our parish’s history. I challenge the media and the public to look into the background of the individuals who filed this effort and ask themselves whether they are truly serious — or simply seeking attention.[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Louisiana
No specific grounds are required for recall in Louisiana. The recall process starts by filing a copy of the recall petition with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The number of signatures required on the petition depends on the size of the jurisdiction, with the smallest jurisdictions (fewer than 1,000 eligible voters) requiring signatures equal to 40% of eligible voters in the jurisdiction and the largest jurisdictions (100,000 or more eligible voters) requiring signatures equal to 20% of eligible voters in the jurisdiction.[4] Recall supporters have 180 days to circulate petitions.[5]
The recall petition was filed on January 30, 2026. Organizers have until July 29, 2026, to submit at least 47,297 valid signatures to put the recall on the ballot.[1]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2025 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
Election history
2024
See also: Mayoral election in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2024)
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 Mayor of Baton Rouge
Emile Edwards defeated incumbent Sharon Weston Broome in the general election for Mayor of Baton Rouge on December 7, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Emile Edwards (R) | 54.1 | 57,308 |
 | Sharon Weston Broome (D) | 45.9 | 48,587 | |
| Total votes: 105,895 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Baton Rouge
The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Baton Rouge on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Emile Edwards (R) | 34.4 | 64,862 |
| ✔ | | Sharon Weston Broome (D) | 31.2 | 58,844 |
 | Edward James (D) | 28.4 | 53,510 | |
| Steve Myers (R) | 2.4 | 4,541 | ||
| Tambra Cook (R) | 1.4 | 2,587 | ||
| Nathaniel Hearn (R) | 1.1 | 2,120 | ||
| Ryan Carter (Independent) | 0.8 | 1,527 | ||
| William Roundtree (Independent) | 0.3 | 656 | ||
| Total votes: 188,647 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Gregory Taylor (Independent)
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Recall campaigns in Louisiana
- Political recall efforts, 2026
- Mayoral recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 WAFB, "Petition filed to recall EBR Mayor-President Sid Edwards," February 2, 2026
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Advocate, "Two Baton Rouge residents start long-shot petition to recall Mayor Sid Edwards," February 3, 2026
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "House Bill 54," accessed February 5, 2019
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Recall an Elected Official," accessed February 17, 2023
