Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Louisiana voters rejected all five constitutional amendments on Saturday, delivering a broad setback to several proposals involving education funding, tax policy, civil service rules, and judicial retirement age changes.
One defeated amendment would have allowed lawmakers greater authority to move state employees outside civil service protections without requiring approval from the Civil Service Commission. Opponents argued the proposal weakened protections against political favoritism in state hiring.
Another rejected amendment involved the proposed St. George community school system in East Baton Rouge Parish. Voters’ decision means schools in the newly incorporated city will remain part of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.
Voters also turned down a proposal to fund teacher and support staff pay raises using savings tied to Louisiana’s teachers’ retirement debt. Critics warned the plan could weaken long-term education trust funds that currently support early childhood, K-12, and higher education programs.
Additional amendments involving business inventory property taxes and raising the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75 also failed statewide.
The election results were viewed as a significant rebuke to multiple proposals backed by Republican leadership and business interests in the state Legislature. Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana analyses had highlighted concerns surrounding several of the measures before the vote.
East Baton Rouge Superintendent LaMont Cole said the results reflected voters’ desire for “accountability, stability, and the future of public education,” urging the community to move forward without division.
The outcome keeps Louisiana’s current constitutional and tax structures largely unchanged heading into the 2027 legislative cycle.
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