On Saturday, voters in Louisiana will decide on four proposed amendments to the state constitution during the last statewide election of 2024.
These amendments could potentially alter the methods by which state officials oversee judges, consider spending legislation, and manage properties belonging to delinquent taxpayers.
Amendment No. 1 focuses on reforming the way investigations and disciplinary actions against judges for misconduct are handled.
This amendment would expand the Judiciary Commission from its current nine members to 14, by incorporating five political appointees selected by the House speaker, the Senate president, and the governor.
Additionally, it would empower the Supreme Court to initiate investigations against judges or impose discipline through a simple majority vote.
The second and third amendments aim to provide legislators with more time to prepare and review spending bills before they are put to a vote.
Amendment No. 2 proposes a 48-hour waiting period that must elapse before a vote on spending legislation can occur, along with the requirement that lawmakers receive a written summary of proposed changes at the beginning of this period.
This was prompted by events during the 2023 legislative session, when lawmakers hastily approved a budget package valued at $45 billion in the final moments of the session with minimal clarity about its contents.
Amendment No. 3 would permit legislative sessions to be extended by up to six days for the sole purpose of finalizing and passing spending bills.
Meanwhile, Amendment No. 4 proposes a shift in the protocol for dealing with properties owned by individuals who have fallen behind on tax payments.
Currently, such properties are subject to mandatory sales; this amendment suggests replacing that system with a tax lien framework.
This proposal emerges in response to a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed a Minnesota county’s appropriation of a 94-year-old woman’s property unconstitutional, due to the lack of “just compensation.”
Following the ruling, the Louisiana State Law Institute indicated that current laws in Louisiana may not comply with this new legal standard.
The approval of these proposals requires a straightforward majority of the votes cast.
Polls close at 9 p.m. EST on Election Day.
The voting outcomes will be reported, with winners announced for each of the four amendments.
Any registered voter in Louisiana is eligible to vote in this election.
Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes; the largest include East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany, Lafayette, Caddo, Calcasieu, Ouachita, Livingston, and Tangipahoa.
In the context of partisan races, East Baton Rouge, Orleans, and Caddo are significant Democratic areas, while Jefferson and St. Tammany generally lean Republican.
During Louisiana’s primary elections, candidates for roles other than president share a ballot, regardless of party.
If no candidate secures a majority of the votes, the two candidates with the highest votes advance to the general election.
This particular year, however, each race produced a winner who received over 50% of the votes, making further elections unnecessary.
Without any additional statewide or congressional races scheduled, voter turnout for this election is expected to be significantly lower than in the previous election on November 5.
Nevertheless, local races, such as the mayoral contest in Baton Rouge, may enhance participation in East Baton Rouge parish.
Votes are meticulously counted, with declarations of winners occurring only when it is apparent that no scenario remains for trailing candidates to close the gap.
If a recount is warranted, a voter must request and finance one for absentee or early voting results.
A victory may be declared even amidst a recount if the leading margin is sizable enough to render changes in result unlikely.
As of November 1, Louisiana had over 3 million registered voters, with roughly 37% affiliated with the Democratic Party, 35% with the Republican Party, and the remaining 28% identifying as independents or with other parties.
Voter turnout for the presidential election was around 66%, a drop from 70% in 2020, and an even steeper decline was seen during the December election, where only 16% of voters participated in a ballot measure.
For the December 2022 ballot, turnout was about 14%.
Votes cast prior to Election Day accounted for about 33% of total votes in both the 2019 gubernatorial election and the December 2022 election.
As of the latest report, close to 94,000 ballots had been submitted ahead of Saturday’s election, with a distribution of 44% from Democrats and 41% from Republicans.
When it comes to the vote-counting process, results from the November 5 election commenced by 9:06 p.m. EST, concluding around 11:56 p.m. EST with nearly 99% of the total votes tallied.
Looking ahead, there are 696 days remaining until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,431 days until the 2028 general election.
