Early-voting pay factors in to ROVERS, state AG opines

Compensation earned for services provided by parish registrars of voters and their permanent employees in performing election duties associated with early voting is eligible for contributions to the Registrar of Voters Employees’ Retirement System (ROVERS), according to a legal opinion provided by the Louisiana Attorney General’s office.

Moreover, said Assistant Attorney General Angelique Duhon Freel, the Louisiana Secretary of State is responsible for payment of the employer contribution to ROVERS out of funds appropriated to the secretary of state’s office for that specific purpose “because (it) is an expense incurred by the registrar of voters and registrars’ permanent employees.

Freel’s opinion was provided pursuant to a request by Lorraine C. Dees of Jennings, ROVERS director. The ruling would appear to apply statewide because of the general nature of Dees’s inquiry and because the opinion did not cite any parish by name.

ROVERS was created by state statute in 1955 to provide retirement benefits for parish registrars of voters, their deputies, and their permanent employees. The statute mandates that seven percent of each employee’s pay shall be deducted to fund the retirement system.

Early voting is conducted for seven days, beginning 14 days prior to any scheduled election, and during early voting, the registrar’s office shall maintain regular office hours, remaining open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, state law stipulates. The hours from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day Saturday comprise the hours applicable to Dees’ inquiry and Freel’s opinion. It is those hours for which funds were appropriated for the secretary of state, the opinion said.