In New Orleans, voters in Louisiana decisively turned down four proposed constitutional amendments supported by Republican Governor Jeff Landry, which touched on issues of crime, judicial processes, and financial management. According to early results released by the secretary of state’s office following the close of polls on Saturday evening, each amendment was defeated by a margin exceeding 60%.
Governor Landry and his supporters had actively promoted one particular amendment aimed at overhauling the revenue and finance section of the state’s constitution. Lawmakers across party lines had backed the amendment during a special tax reform session held in November, promoting it as a measure to increase teacher salaries, address over-spending, and eliminate specific tax preferences enshrined in the constitution. However, critics from various political viewpoints criticized the amendment, arguing it lacked transparency due to condensing a complex bill exceeding 100 pages into a brief 91-word ballot question.
Although the amendment had the endorsement of major teachers’ unions, a coalition of liberal advocacy organizations and prominent conservative religious figures stood against it. They were particularly concerned about plans to dissolve educational trust funds and remove constitutional safeguards for certain tax exclusions enjoyed by properties owned by religious institutions.
Another amendment proposal sought to expand the range of crimes that could result in juveniles being tried as adults. This plan was met with significant opposition from criminal justice reform groups, who denounced it as an excessively punitive measure that failed to effectively address the underlying causes of youth crime. The other proposed amendments entailed creating regional specialty courts, a move critics argued could undermine local court authority, and increasing the flexibility in scheduling elections for the state’s Supreme Court.
In response to the rejection, Governor Landry expressed his disappointment but pledged to continue striving for “generational changes” in Louisiana. He stated, “We do not see this as a failure. We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a State that is conditioned for failure.” He attributed the defeat to opposition from left-wing billionaire George Soros and leftist liberals. The organization Soros founded, Open Society Foundations, did not provide immediate commentary on the matter.
The Louisiana Democratic Party described the vote outcome as “a resounding defeat” for Governor Landry, adding, “Together, with voters from every party, people came to the conclusion that the constitutional amendments were at best misguided – at worst an attempt to give tax breaks to the rich while locking up more of our children. That is not the Louisiana values we stand for.”