A streetcar rolls past a voting precinct in New Orleans. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
In a stunning rejection of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana voters turned down all four of his constitutional amendments Saturday, including the governor’s plan to overhaul the state’s tax and budget laws.
Nearly two-thirds of voters rejected all of the amendments in an election that could have broader political implications for the rest of Landry’s term.
The governor, who has sometimes relied on strong-arm tactics to get his agenda through the Louisiana Legislature, could become more vulnerable to pushback after failing to pass his most ambitious policy proposal at the ballot box.
Landry’s priority for the election, Amendment 2, would have lowered the maximum income tax rate the state could enact and restricted annual state budget increases. It also would have made it more difficult to enact new tax breaks.
The proposal was expected to produce a financial windfall for Landry and state legislators later this year. Amendment 2 would have moved hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue from state savings accounts into Louisiana’s general fund, where Landry and state legislators could have spent it more easily.
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Landry had attempted to sweeten voters on Amendment 2 by tying it to compensation for public school teachers. Had it passed, temporary stipends worth $2,000 and $1,000 that teachers and school support staff have received for the past two years were expected to become permanent.
Now, the educators are at risk of a pay cut since Landry hasn’t included money for their stipend in his current budget proposal.
In a statement after the outcome was certain, the governor attributed the defeat of Amendment 2 to billionaire George Soros, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who conservatives have targeted for several years for his support of liberal causes.
“Soros and far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2,” Landry said. “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. … This is not the end for us, and we will continue to fight to make the generational changes for Louisiana to succeed.”
The most recent tax records available show Soros’ Open Societies Foundations gave $1.25 million in 2023 to an affiliate of the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit with revenue totaling $260 million that put money into efforts to defeat Amendment 3. It’s not clear whether any of the Soros’ foundation’s 2023 donation was spent in Louisiana on the election.
Landry had support for Amendment 2 from another controversial billionaire. Conservative Republican Charles Koch is the founder of Americans for Prosperity, a group that knocked on doors, ran phone banks and sent out direct mail in favor of the proposal.
Opponents of Amendment 2 celebrated its defeat Saturday night. They include William Most, an attorney who unsuccessfully sued to have the proposal removed from the ballot. He has argued that the language put before voters was convoluted and misleading, making it illegal.
“I think this is a full-throated rejection of attempts to trick Louisiana voters into voting for something they don’t want,” Most said. “… This sends a clear message that if state officials want to change our constitution, they can’t do it through trickery or deceit.”
Landry and the Republican-dominated legislature might have inadvertently stirred up public opposition to Amendment 2 by putting it on the same ballot as Amendment 3, a juvenile justice measure that drew the ire of Democrats and national anti-incarceration groups.
Amendment 3, which 66% of voters opposed, would have made it easier to send more minors to adult jails and prisons for longer sentences. It spurred national criminal justice reform organizations, such as the Vera Institute and Southern Poverty Law Center, to spend more than $500,000 to turn voters against it.
Sarah Omojola, Louisiana director for the Vera Institute, said the results for Amendment 3 show voters are starting to reject incarceration as the sole option for criminal justice. She added that high incarceration rates have only served to destabilize communities rather than reduce crime.
“In defeating Amendment 3, voters made clear their desire for the things that actually make our communities safer — like quality education and opportunity,” Omojola said in a statement.
While those organizations focused on defeating Amendment 3, they also became the backbone of a “No on All” campaign working to vote down all four of the constitutional amendments Landry was pushing.
Supporters of the tax proposal in Amendment 2 said they believed the criminal justice issue had a negative effect on their measure in interviews earlier this week.
“[Amendment 3] is a huge motivation of the groups that are saying no to everything. That seems to be the motivating factor,” said Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute, a conservative think tank that helped push the tax and budget amendment.
Landry’s team started to see trouble during the early voting period for the election. John Couvillon, an experienced Louisiana pollster, said Democrats and Black voters showed up in far greater numbers than Republicans during the early voting period.
“I have just never seen an early vote this strong [for Democrats],” Couvillon said.
In addition to Amendment 3, Couvillon said left-leaning voters may also be motivated to vote against Republicans because of concerns about President Donald Trump. Landry is also closely aligned with the Trump administration.
However, opposition to Amendment 2, and the budget and tax changes, also came from some conservative activists. Religious groups and nonprofits were unhappy the amendment would have weakened constitutional protections for property tax exemptions they enjoy.
Woody Jenkins, chairman of the East Baton Rouge Republican Party and a former state representative, was among those who opposed the amendment. In an interview Saturday night, he noted that even though the “entire political establishment of the state” supported the proposals, voters had an especially hard time digesting Amendment 2.
“Members of the public don’t want to vote on something they don’t understand,” Jenkins said. “… They don’t want a massive revision of the constitution with everything but the kitchen sink in it.”
The defeat of Amendments 2 and 3 also likely led to the downfall of Amendment 1, which failed with 65% of voters against the proposal. It would have allowed the formation of specialty courts in Louisiana with jurisdiction outside current parish and judicial districts.
Amendment 4 also failed, with 64% of voters. It would have adjusted the rules for special elections to fill vacant or new judgeships, primarily on the Louisiana Supreme Court.
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