By Lauren Burke
At a moment when the nation is looking to take the political temperature of a country rocked by rapid-fire decisions on the federal level, Louisiana residents overwhelmingly rejected four ballot initiatives put in front of voters on March 29. The moment was a defeat for Republican Governor Jeff Landry. Grassroots organizers in Louisiana running the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, led by Gary Chambers and Ashley Shelton, led a series of town hall meetings from February 20 to March 11 to educate voters on the four initiatives and encourage them to “just say no” to all of them. Voters appeared to have listened. Close to two-thirds of voters in Louisiana rejected all the amendments. The moment takes place against the backdrop of raucous and packed town halls across the nation featuring citizens asking pointed questions about what they can do to protect democracy.
Amendment 1 in Louisiana would have allowed the Louisiana legislature to create trial courts with specialized jurisdiction and allowed the state Supreme Court to discipline out-of-state lawyers. The voters rejected the idea.
Amendment 2 would have changed Louisiana’s tax policy and cut funding for early childhood education, according to a flyer prepared by the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. The voters rejected the idea.
Amendment 3, which was rejected by 66% of voters, would have made it easier to place children in adult jails and prisons and for longer sentences. National justice reform organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center, spent over half a million dollars in opposition to Amendment 3.
Amendment 4, also rejected, would have allowed election dates for court vacancies to occur at the earliest date allowed by state law — which could be a date likely to result in a very low turnout.
The March 29 defeat of all four constitutional amendments in Louisiana is followed by other signs that voters may be registering discontent regarding GOP policy decisions more broadly. On March 25, Democrat James Andrew Malone won a special election in a Pennsylvania state Senate district President Trump won +15. On March 27, Trump pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations because polls were showing the GOP was going to lose her NY seat to a Democrat. Another political test will emerge from Wisconsin on April 1. The results of a vote for a State Supreme Court race are widely being viewed as a referendum on President Trump.
