Louisiana 2019 ballot measures
- Primary: Oct. 12
- General election: Nov. 16
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 16 (in-person and mail) or Oct. 26 (online)
- Early voting: Nov. 2-Nov. 9
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 15
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m (7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for elections that fall on a Saturday)
In 2019, four statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Louisiana on October 12, 2019. Two were approved, and two were defeated.
On the ballot
October 12:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Taxes | Extends the ad valorem tax exemption for certain property destined for the Outer Continental Shelf | |
| LRCA | Amendment 2 | Education | Provides for additional uses of the Education Excellence Fund | |
| LRCA | Amendment 3 | Government | Allows legislature to expend jurisdiction of Board of Tax Appeals to constitutional issues | |
| LRCA | Amendment 4 | Taxes | Authorizes New Orleans to exempt properties from taxes to, according to the amendment, incentivize affordable housing |
Getting measures on the ballot
Citizens
In Louisiana, citizens do not have the power to initiate statewide initiatives or referendums. As of 2019, voters of Louisiana had never voted on a ballot measure to authorize a statewide initiative and referendum process.
Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments, to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years. The Louisiana Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 70 votes in the Louisiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Louisiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Referral of 2019 constitutional amendments
The following table illustrates the vote requirements for each constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes each amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on each amendment in each legislative chamber:
| Louisiana Amendment 4, New Orleans Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 26 | Yes votes: 28 (71.79%) | No votes: 9 (23.08%) | Yes: 12; No: 1 | Yes: 16; No: 8 |
| House: | Required: 70 | Yes votes: 92 (87.6%) | No votes: 2 (1.9%) | Yes: 33; No: 0 | Yes: 55; No: 2 |
| Louisiana Amendment 1, Property Tax Exemption for Stored Materials Routed for Outer Continental Shelf | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 26 | Yes votes: 35 (89.7%) | No votes: 0 (0.0%) | Yes: 11; No: 0 | Yes: 24; No: 0 |
| House: | Required: 70 | Yes votes: 91 (86.7%) | No votes: 4 (3.8%) | Yes: 30; No: 4 | Yes: 57; No: 0 |
Summary of campaign contributions
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2019
The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees had amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:
- Note: Two of the constitutional amendments did not receive any contributions.
| Ballot Measure: | Support contributions: | Opposition contributions: | Outcome: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Amendment 4 | $486,331.37 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 1 | $250,000.00 | $0.00 |
Historical facts
- See also: List of Louisiana ballot measures
The following statistics are based on ballot measures between 1995 and 2018 in Louisiana:
- Ballots featured 185 constitutional amendments (including both odd and even years)
- An average of five measures appeared on odd-year statewide ballots (compared to an average of 10 measures for even-years)
- The number of ballot measures on odd-year statewide ballots ranged from zero to 16 (compared to even-year ranges of a minimum of four to a maximum of 24)
- Voters approved 75% (139 of 185) and rejected 25% (46 of 185) of the total number of constitutional amendments appearing on both odd and even-year ballots
| Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Odd-year average | Odd-year median | Odd-year minimum | Odd-year maximum | |
| 185 | 139 | 75.1% | 46 | 24.9% | 5.3 | 3.5 | 0 | 16 | |
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | No Right to Abortion in Constitution Amendment | Abortion | States that there is no right to abortion or abortion funding in the state constitution | 
|
| LRCA | Unclaimed Property Trust Fund Amendment | Taxes | Creates the Louisiana Unclaimed Property Support Fund designed to fund a revolving loan commission for local government infrastructure | 
|
| LRCA | Payments in Lieu of Property Taxes Option Amendment | Taxes | Authorizes a property tax exemption for property that is subject to an agreement with local government; allows certain property owners to make payments instead of paying property taxes |
|
See also
- 2019 ballot measures
- 2019 local ballot measures in Louisiana
- List of Louisiana ballot measures
- Louisiana Legislature
External links
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