BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana has a new, temporary secretary of state.

Kyle Ardoin has officially taken over the job as the state's chief elections official on an interim basis.

Tom Schedler ended his tenure in the elected job Tuesday, resigning amid allegations he sexually harassed an employee who worked for him announced his resignation last week. The Republican had been in office since 2010.

Ardoin, who had been Schedler's first assistant, will work in the job until a special election is held this fall and a new secretary of state is chosen to fill the remainder of the term that ends in January 2020.

Schedler decided to step down amid intensifying scrutiny about the harassment allegations filed by an employee in a February lawsuit and increasing calls for him to leave the position.