Voters in the tiny village of Elizabeth, Louisiana will see only one name on their November ballot for police chief: Christopher Paul, a 48-year-old man currently out on bond after being charged with raping two 13-year-old girls nearly two decades ago. With no opponent left in the race, residents of the roughly 400-person Allen Parish community are confronting the prospect of a convicted-crime-free but criminally charged man taking over their police department in January.
Paul was booked on two counts of child rape after turning himself in on September 8, according to the Daily Mail. The alleged assaults involve two girls who were 13 years old at the time, with the accusations dating back to 2005 and 2006. The investigation began after the Allen Parish Sheriff's Office received an official complaint on August 3, 2026, and detectives working for Sheriff Doug Hebert obtained an arrest warrant following interviews with witnesses and alleged victims, according to Boing Boing. Per Louisiana First News, Paul was released on $60,000 bond.
How One Candidate Became the Only Candidate
Paul wasn't always running unopposed. His rival, Zachary Lacaze, dropped out of the race in late September after being reported for a possible violation of the federal Hatch Act, the law restricting certain political activities of federal civil service employees, and being told following a JAG investigation that he could no longer run, the same Boing Boing report notes. Lacaze held a civilian security job at Fort Johnson, formerly known as Fort Polk, in Vernon Parish, and had been running as a nonpartisan candidate. He has said his full-time job provides for his wife and son, per the Daily Mail's reporting.
That left Paul, who is running as a Republican, as the sole remaining name on the ballot. The abrupt disqualification sparked outrage among social media users who questioned why a man facing felony child rape charges was still eligible to run while his only opponent was knocked out by an unrelated federal employment rule.
Why Elizabeth Can't Simply Pull Him From the Ballot
Elizabeth Mayor Mandy Green has publicly acknowledged the discomfort but said local officials have no legal mechanism to intervene. Green has stated that the charges against Paul are allegations, not a conviction, and that people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, according to the Daily Mail's reporting. She has also said that she and the Board of Aldermen cannot overrule the ballot, since the police chief role answers directly to Elizabeth voters rather than to municipal leadership.
Green's hands are tied by state law. Under Louisiana's Lawrason Act, the listed qualifications for an elected village police chief include being a registered voter, living in the municipality for at least six months, and having no felony conviction, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. Representatives from the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office have confirmed that criminal charges or pending indictments do not disqualify a candidate from running for or holding office, since statutory disqualification requires a final felony conviction, as noted in a public post shared on Facebook.
Elizabeth Considers Appointing the Police Chief
The village is considering switching the police chief position from elected to appointed.
In response, the Elizabeth Board of Aldermen introduced Ordinance 24-20 to call a special election asking voters to convert the police chief position from an elected office to an appointed one, which would let municipal leaders impose POST certification and other professional qualification standards going forward, according to village council meeting minutes. But the timing doesn't help this election cycle: that referendum is scheduled for December 12, 2026, well after the November vote, meaning any structural change to the office would take effect only after Paul's prospective swearing-in. If Paul wins, state law would still require him to complete a mandatory 32-hour New Chief Management Course through the Law Enforcement Executive Management Institute within one year of election or appointment, or risk forfeiting state supplemental pay, according to the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police.
A Town Hall and a Town Waiting to See What Happens
Elizabeth will hold a town hall meeting on October 12 at 6:30 p.m., giving residents a chance to weigh in on the matter, per the Daily Mail's reporting. For now, Paul remains the only name voters will see on the November ballot and, barring a conviction or resignation, is positioned to take office as Elizabeth's police chief come January.
