Statewide turnout for the Oct. 14 primary ballot is expected to be 20% or less, and Jeremy Alford says that’s the best we can expect for the election, despite the interesting personalities, hardcore politics and important policy issues.
“So you can imagine how difficult it can be to get that same portion of the electorate to give a flying hoot about constitutional amendments,” Alford writes in his new column. “They appear on the bottom of major statewide ballots in Louisiana, and it’s always a head-shaker to discover hordes of voters ignoring that section.”
Voter neglect is a troubling trend Alford says he writes about on a regular basis. The Nov. 8, 2016, presidential election drew more than 2 million votes in Louisiana, he notes. By comparison, the first six constitutional amendments on the same ballot received 1.8 million votes total.
A subsequent referendum received even fewer votes—meaning voters simply gave up and offered no opinions the lower they got on the ballot.
“Hopefully this year will be different,” he says. “There are a total of three constitutional amendments on the Oct. 14 ballot and all of them deserve your attention. But you’re likely to hear more noise being made about No. 1 on the list. A broad coalition is putting its influence—and its money— behind the proposed change to Louisiana’s guiding charter.”
That amendment, if approved, would ban property tax assessments from being applied to construction work materials.
The second constitutional amendment you’ll see on the October ballot creates a property tax exemption for the home of a wife or husband who lost their spouse in the line of public service. The third would dedicate the cash generated from any prospective increase in gas taxes to a special construction fund.
“They’re definitely not the sexiest things on the ballot, but constitutional amendments are important,” Alford says. “These proposals represent the most concrete ways lawmakers and voters can put ideas into the law. As such, they deserve your attention and, yes, your votes.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
