Louisiana 2020 ballot measures
- Election date: Nov. 3 (first round); Dec. 5 (second round)
- Registration deadline(s): First round: Oct. 5; Oct. 13 (hand-delivered, online); Second round: Nov. 4; Nov. 14 (online)
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: First round: Oct. 16; Second round: Nov. 20
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): First round: Nov. 2 (received); Second round: Dec. 4 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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Seven statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Louisiana on November 3, 2020, and one statewide ballot measure was certified to appear on the ballot on December 5, 2020. Of the eight 2020 measures, voters approved five and rejected three.
On the ballot
November 3:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Abortion | States that there is no right to abortion or abortion funding in the state constitution | |
| LRCA | Amendment 2 | Taxes and Natural resources | Allows the presence or production of oil or gas to be taken into account when assessing the fair market value of an oil or gas well for ad valorem property tax purposes | |
| LRCA | Amendment 3 | State gov't finance | Allows the Louisiana State Legislature, through a two-thirds vote in each chamber, to use up to one-third of the revenue in the Budget Stabilization Fund to cover the state's costs associated with a federally-declared disaster | |
| LRCA | Amendment 4 | State gov't finance | Changes the state's expenditures limit growth formula | |
| LRCA | Amendment 5 | 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 | |
| LRCA | Amendment 6 | Taxes | Increases the income limit from $50,000 to $100,000 for those who qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption | |
| LRCA | Amendment 7 | State gov't finance | Creates the Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund and allocates investment revenue to the general fund |
In addition to statewide constitutional amendments, measures legalizing sports betting on a parish-by-parish basis were on the ballot in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes on November 3.
December 5:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Education | Allows the governor to appoint an at-large member to the board of supervisors for the University of Louisiana System from out-of-state |
Summary of campaign contributions
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020
The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees received in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:
| Ballot Measure | Support Contributions | Oppose Contributions | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Amendment 1, Allow for Out-of-State Members to the University Board of Supervisors Amendment (December 2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 1, No Right to Abortion in Constitution Amendment (2020) | $681,191.75 | $428,824.22 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 2, Include Oil and Gas Value in Tax Assessment of Wells Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 3, Use of Budget Stabilization Fund for Declared Disasters Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 4, Expenditures Limit Growth Formula Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 5, Payments in Lieu of Property Taxes Option Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $922,803.35 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 6, Homestead Exemption Special Assessment Income Limit Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Louisiana Amendment 7, Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
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 2020 constitutional amendment
The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:
| Louisiana Amendment 4, Expenditures Limit Growth Formula Amendment | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 26 | Yes votes: 34 (87.18%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: 9; No: 0 | Yes: 25; No: 0 |
| House: | Required: 70 | Yes votes: 101 (97.11%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: 32; No: 0 | Yes: 67; No: 0 |
Historical facts
- See also: List of Louisiana ballot measures
The following statistics are based on legislatively referred constitutional amendments between 1995 and 2019 in Louisiana:
- Ballots featured 189 constitutional amendments.
- Even-year ballots featured 121 constitutional amendments.
- An average of 10 measures appeared on even-year statewide ballots.
- The number of ballot measures on even-year statewide ballots ranged from four to 21.
- Voters approved 75 percent (141 of 189) and rejected 25 percent (48 of 189) of the constitutional amendments.
| Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| 189 | 141 | 74.6% | 48 | 25.4% | 10.1 | 8.0 | 4 | 21 | |
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Require Two-Thirds Vote of Legislature to Create or Alter Special Funds Amendment (HB 465) | State gov't finance | Would have required a two-thirds supermajority vote in the state legislature to create a special fund, increase or decrease the amount of money dedicated to the fund, or alter the purposes for which special fund money may be used | 
|
| LRCA | Capital Investment Projects Property Tax Exemption Amendment (HB 36) | Taxes | Would have authorized standard, local, and executive property tax exemptions for capital investment projects and requires laws passed to administer exemptions receive a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers of the state legislature |
|
| LRCA | Tax Exemptions for Capital Investment Projects and Non-residential Immovable Property Amendment (HB 41) | Taxes | Would have established ad valorem property tax exemptions for certain capital investment projects and non-residential immovable property |
|
See also
External links
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State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
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