Grassroots coalition highlights harmful impacts and deceptive and undemocratic nature of March 29 ballot-amendments-webinar
Yesterday, policy and legal experts met for a webinar to discuss the four constitutional amendments set to appear on Louisiana’s March 29 ballot. Hosted by the Say No to Them All, Y’all campaign, the webinar provided information about the misleading language and the rushed process behind the passage of the bills during the two-week special session last November.
The event featured insights from Sarah Whittington, director of advocacy at the ACLU of Louisiana; William Most, lead attorney on the lawsuit against Amendment 2; Kristen Rome, executive director of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights; and Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana. Together, these experts shed light on the potential impact of the proposed constitutional changes.
Roundup of Amendments:
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Amendment 1 – Allows politicians to create special courts, setting up a two-tiered justice system where lawmakers can establish favorable courts for allies and harsh courts for opponents. Legal experts will break down how this amendment would allow politicians to handpick judges in these courts to enable politically motivated prosecutions and “get out of jail free” cards for their allies.
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Amendment 2 – A massive rewrite of the tax code that guts education and transportation funding to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. This 109-page amendment will be condensed into a single, 91-word question on the ballot amendments webinar that includes false claims about teachers getting a pay raise—when, in reality, some teachers can even expect cuts.
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Amendment 3 – Expands the power of legislators to send kids to adult prisons for less serious crimes while failing to explain which crimes are included. Louisiana law already allows prosecutors to charge kids who commit serious crimes as adults, so experts are raising concerns about potential hidden agendas and consequences.
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Amendment 4 – Changes the dates of judicial elections to low-turnout dates—making it easier for political insiders to cherrypick judges, which undermines the electoral process and the fairness of our judicial system.
The Say No to Them All, Y’all campaign, which launched in concert with the webinar, is urging voters to reject these power grabs and demand an honest, transparent process for any changes to Louisiana’s constitution.
Quotes from Speakers
“These amendments are designed to benefit Baton Rouge insiders, not people like you and me. Amendment 1 was put on the ballot to create a kangaroo court, without any explanation of the kinds of court legislators want to make, or the costs,” said Sarah Whittington, advocacy director at the ACLU of Louisiana. “Similarly, Amendment 4 opens the door to letting political appointees game elections. Right now, judges who are appointed cannot run for the same seat later on. This amendment changes that, giving politically connected appointees a huge advantage and making it harder for everyday citizens to run for judge.”
“Nobody asked for this amendment. It puts kids’ lives at risk and was developed without any data to justify it” said Kristen Rome, executive director of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. “The legislator who authored the bill couldn’t even name what crimes she wanted to make eligible for transfer to adult court, yet she still wants the power to dictate them. We cannot allow politicians to further jeopardize the lives and futures of our kids by using them as political pawns in a system already built against them.”
“Nobody in the state understands everything that’s in Amendment 2,” said Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana. “It was rushed through in a special session and then boiled down from 109 pages to 91 misleading words, conveniently leaving out some of the most important and harmful elements. You wouldn’t know from the ballot language that it guts education funding and jeopardizes the financial stability of our state government. You wouldn’t know that it ties the hands of future lawmakers in an effort to enshrine politics favoring the wealthy in our state constitution. This is a back-handed way to try to slip through the constitutional rewrite that Jeff Landry twice failed to orchestrate through the proper channels, and we’re not falling for it.”
Next Steps:
The Say No to Them All, Y’all campaign will engage voters through digital outreach, community events, and grassroots mobilization efforts to ensure every Louisianan knows what’s really at stake in this election.
For more information, visit NoToThemAll.org.
About ‘Say No to Them All, Y’all’
‘Say No to Them All, Y’all’ is a grassroots campaign dedicated to educating Louisiana voters about the misleading constitutional amendments on the March 29 ballot. The campaign is powered by community leaders, advocacy groups, and everyday Louisianans who believe in government accountability, transparency, and fair representation.
