Louisiana voters scorned four constitutional amendments on ballots Saturday with a decisive "no" vote on all the measures from many parishes across the state.
The results set tongues wagging among politicos and advocates through the weekend, who are now working to break down what doomed the amendments — and in some cases, how to capitalize on that success.
The proposals included potential constitutional changes on specialty courts, taxes, how teenagers are prosecuted and more. The most closely watched result was Amendment 2, which included a sweeping tax revamp championed by Gov. Jeff Landry.
After a review of returns and turnout, results were likely driven in part by "Democratic anger" against Landry, or perhaps even President Donald Trump, one pollster and analyst said.
"When you saw a party line vote like that for all four amendments, you really cannot escape that conclusion that you just had this big, massive 'no' vote," said John Couvillon of the firm JMC Enterprises of Louisiana/JMC Analytics and Polling.
The governor's aides did not immediately return a request for comment.
Couvillon explained that constitutional amendments tend to be lower-profile contests in Louisiana, often getting a bit lost down ballots. But he felt something notable was happening when reviewing turnout from early voting, which showed significant engagement from Louisiana's Black and Democratic voters.
The conventional wisdom from some was that election-day turnout could reverse that, he said. Instead, the opposite happened, including a turnout spike in progressive stronghold Orleans Parish that was about 10 points above the rest of the state, even without local races.
Other factors in play included rural parish voters, whom he said tend to be "very suspicious" of tax changes. Some evangelical leaders also had come out against Amendment 2, fearing it would lead to taxes on churches.
"When I saw that that message was allowed to percolate without an adequate pushback from the governor's side, that's a powerful constituency to antagonize," Couvillon said.
Underperformance from Republican voters also "sealed the deal" on Saturday. He pointed to returns from higher-income areas, such as Jefferson Parish, against Amendment 2 as an early indicator.
Overall, he said the results could lead to a reset from the governor's team.
"I think the context has changed for Governor Landry in terms of four unequivocal losses, which is two to one 'no' votes on every single amendment,” Couvillon said. “That's a pretty significant cut that he has to find a way to kind of, I guess, regroup, for lack of a better term.”
The results were widely interpreted as a political loss for Landry, who distributed a statement late Saturday night that seemed to express pique with the results.
“The primary goal of Amendment 2 was to create a better opportunity for our citizens. To work towards inviting people into our State rather than have them leave. Unfortunately, [George] Soros and far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2,” Landry said.
The governor added that "positive change" is a challenge to implement in a state that is "conditioned for failure."
The business lobbying group Louisiana Association of Business and Industry supported all the amendments except Amendment 3, a measure on youth prosecution on which it took no position. The group said over the weekend that it would continue to advocate for tax code reforms.
"Saturday’s result on constitutional Amendment 2 makes clear the need to return to the drawing board in order to build consensus on such a critical issue that impacts every Louisianan," the group said in a statement on behalf of its president and CEO, Will Green. “While this outcome isn’t what we had hoped for, we remain deeply motivated to build on the achievements of the past year.
“Our commitment to ensuring that Louisiana’s citizens and job creators receive the fair, straightforward tax code they rightfully deserve remains stronger than ever."
In advance of the election, the amendments drew visible opposition in the form of signage, media appearances and get-out-the-vote efforts from grassroots, advocacy and policy groups across the state, including the ACLU of Louisiana, the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights, the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice and others.
The amendments' opponents celebrated a win over the weekend, particularly in a state climate that is often viewed as dismal or difficult for the political left.
"Tonight’s vote sends a resounding message that the agenda behind these amendments never had a mandate and that voters are sick of being lied to, shut out and taken for granted," the "No to Them All" coalition, which opposed the amendments, said in a statement. "If our elected leaders want to make changes to our constitution in the future, we the people of Louisiana have two words of advice for them: 'Do Better.'"
The election results likely moot a legal challenge pending in East Baton Rouge Parish to Amendments 1 and 3, which had argued the process by which they were placed on ballots was unconstitutional.
That lawsuit was filed by a group of voter plaintiffs from around the state and Voice of the Experienced, the advocacy group led by formerly incarcerated people.
VOTE said in an Instagram post over the weekend that officials tried to push through "shady constitutional amendments in a low-turnout election, but the people were watching."
"This is just the beginning. We showed up, and we're not stopping now," the group wrote.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
