Unusual unity among Louisiana voters doomed four proposed constitutional amendments

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Unusual alliances led to last Saturday’s resounding defeat of four proposed amendments to Louisiana’s constitution, according to political pundits and opponents of the measures.

More than 60 percent of voters who participated in the March 29 election voted against each amendment.

“Politics sometimes makes for strange bedfellows,” Fox 8 political analyst Mike Sherman said. “A lot of religious organizations on the right allied with progressive liberals on a ‘Vote No on All 4 Amendments’ campaign. It was incredibly successful.”

According to the Secretary of State’s official tally, 65 percent of voters rejected Amendment 1, which would have given the Louisiana Supreme Court jurisdiction to discipline out-of-state lawyers and allowed legislators to create specialty courts.

The same percentage of voters rejected Amendment 2, which would have rewritten the voluminous Article VII of the Louisiana constitution which deals with revenue and finance, the income tax rate and more. The amendment also would have made a $2,000 stipend for public school teachers a permanent pay raise.

Amendment 3, which would have allowed lawmakers to expand the list of crimes for which juveniles could be prosecuted as adults, was opposed by 66 percent of state voters.

And 64 percent of registered voters opposed Amendment 4, which would have allowed for the use of the earliest possible election date to be used to fill judicial vacancies.

“The two things that turn voters out very often are your pocketbook and your freedom,” Sherman said. “For minority voters, the risk of juveniles being charged as adults for more crimes. For religious organizations, fearful they would lose their tax exemptions and have to pay more in taxes, those two things formed a basis for a much higher voter turnout than was initially anticipated.”

William Most, an attorney for plaintiffs who sued in a failed effort to keep Amendment 2 off the ballot, applauded voters’ decision on the amendment.

“I think on Saturday, Louisiana voters sent a very clear message,” Most said. “Which is, if you’re going to try and change our state’s constitution, you can’t do it through trickery and deceit.”

He said passage of the amendment would have had detrimental consequences.

“Among other things, it would destroy constitutionally-protected funds for education and child healthcare,” he said. “It would limit local control over some taxes. And it would increase taxes or allow for increases on taxes on some things and narrow constitutional protections for churches and religious organizations. And voters across the state -- of all kinds and political beliefs -- said, ‘No, that’s not acceptable.’”

Teachers’ unions in the state also responded to the defeat of Amendment 2.

Dr. Tia Mills, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators said, “We respect the outcome of the election and the vote of the people. And ultimately, we’re going to remain committed to doing what’s in the best interest of all educators across the state of Louisiana. And we’re willing to work with any and everyone who can assist us with getting educators to the southern regional (salary) average.”

Larry Carter, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and School Employees, said in a statement, “One major concern for educators and school employees was how this amendment could have affected funding for public education, including converting a $2,000 supplemental pay for teachers and a $1,000 supplemental pay for school employees into permanent salary increases.

“With the amendment failing, funding for future teacher pay increases remains uncertain. Many educators were already worried about the state’s ability to provide much-needed raises. Now, all eyes are on state lawmakers, the governor, BESE and local school boards to see how they will prioritize competitive wages and fair funding for our schools in upcoming budget discussions during the fiscal legislative session that starts April 14.”

Will Green, president and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), lamented the defeat of Amendment 2 and its promise of helping push through Gov. Landry’s tax reform agenda.

“Making Louisiana’s business climate attractive and competitive has long been a top priority for the business community, echoed in LABI’s LA Driven strategic plan,” Green wrote. “To achieve that, we have made clear the need to overhaul Louisiana’s tax code to promote fairness, predictability and transparency.

“Saturday’s result ... makes clear the need to return to the drawing board in order to build consensus on such a critical issue that impacts every Louisianan. While this outcome isn’t what we had hoped for ... our commitment to ensuring that Louisiana’s citizens and job creators receive the fair, straightforward tax code they rightfully deserve remains stronger than ever.”

Landry lashed out Saturday night when the defeat of the amendments became clear, issuing a statement blaming billionaire George Soros and “far left liberals” for allegedly misleading Louisiana’s voters and adding, “Although we are disappointed in tonight’s results, 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.”

Most, the attorney who argued against the ballot wording of Amendment 2, said, “I may not be an expert in Louisiana politics, but I’m pretty sure that two-thirds of Louisiana voters are not George Soros-funded-by far left liberals. So when the governor tries to make claims like that, it just shows how out of touch he is with the actual state.”

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