Louisiana
What led to ‘No’ votes on all Louisiana amendments? An elections analyst explains
Louisiana voters scorned four constitutional amendments on ballots Saturday with a decisive “no” vote on all the measures from many parishes across the state.
The results set tongues wagging among politicos and advocates through the weekend, who are now working to break down what doomed the amendments — and in some cases, how to capitalize on that success.
The proposals included potential constitutional changes on specialty courts, taxes, how teenagers are prosecuted and more. The most closely watched result was Amendment 2, which included a sweeping tax revamp championed by Gov. Jeff Landry.
After a review of returns and turnout, results were likely driven in part by “Democratic anger” against Landry, or perhaps even President Donald Trump, one pollster and analyst said.
“When you saw a party line vote like that for all four amendments, you really cannot escape that conclusion that you just had this big, massive ‘no’ vote,” said John Couvillon of the firm JMC Enterprises of Louisiana/JMC Analytics and Polling.
The governor’s aides did not immediately return a request for comment.
Louisiana voters rejected all four proposed amendments to the state constitution on Saturday.
Couvillon explained that constitutional amendments tend to be lower-profile contests in Louisiana, often getting a bit lost down ballots. But he felt something notable was happening when reviewing turnout from early voting, which showed significant engagement from Louisiana’s Black and Democratic voters.
The conventional wisdom from some was that election-day turnout could reverse that, he said. Instead, the opposite happened, including a turnout spike in progressive stronghold Orleans Parish that was about 10 points above the rest of the state, even without local races.
Other factors in play included rural parish voters, whom he said tend to be “very suspicious” of tax changes. Some evangelical leaders also had come out against Amendment 2, fearing it would lead to taxes on churches.
“When I saw that that message was allowed to percolate without an adequate pushback from the governor’s side, that’s a powerful constituency to antagonize,” Couvillon said.
Underperformance from Republican voters also “sealed the deal” on Saturday. He pointed to returns from higher-income areas, such as Jefferson Parish, against Amendment 2 as an early indicator.
Overall, he said the results could lead to a reset from the governor’s team.
“I think the context has changed for Governor Landry in terms of four unequivocal losses, which is two to one ‘no’ votes on every single amendment,” Couvillon said. “That’s a pretty significant cut that he has to find a way to kind of, I guess, regroup, for lack of a better term.”
Almost a year after the suburb was incorporated into a city, voters in St. George elected their first leaders on Saturday. Residents also voted against adopting a home rule charter, which would have established the city’s governing structure.
The results were widely interpreted as a political loss for Landry, who distributed a statement late Saturday night that seemed to express pique with the results.
“The primary goal of Amendment 2 was to create a better opportunity for our citizens. To work towards inviting people into our State rather than have them leave. Unfortunately, [George] Soros and far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2,” Landry said.
The governor added that “positive change” is a challenge to implement in a state that is “conditioned for failure.”
The business lobbying group Louisiana Association of Business and Industry supported all the amendments except Amendment 3, a measure on youth prosecution on which it took no position. The group said over the weekend that it would continue to advocate for tax code reforms.
“Saturday’s result on constitutional Amendment 2 makes clear the need to return to the drawing board in order to build consensus on such a critical issue that impacts every Louisianan,” the group said in a statement on behalf of its president and CEO, Will Green. “While this outcome isn’t what we had hoped for, we remain deeply motivated to build on the achievements of the past year.
“Our commitment to ensuring that Louisiana’s citizens and job creators receive the fair, straightforward tax code they rightfully deserve remains stronger than ever.”
Creating the proposed district could deal a blow to East Baton Rouge Parish schools, sapping students and public funding.
In advance of the election, the amendments drew visible opposition in the form of signage, media appearances and get-out-the-vote efforts from grassroots, advocacy and policy groups across the state, including the ACLU of Louisiana, the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice and others.
The amendments’ opponents celebrated a win over the weekend, particularly in a state climate that is often viewed as dismal or difficult for the political left.
“Tonight’s vote sends a resounding message that the agenda behind these amendments never had a mandate and that voters are sick of being lied to, shut out and taken for granted,” the “No to Them All” coalition, which opposed the amendments, said in a statement. “If our elected leaders want to make changes to our constitution in the future, we the people of Louisiana have two words of advice for them: ‘Do Better.’”
The election results likely moot a legal challenge pending in East Baton Rouge Parish to Amendments 1 and 3, which had argued the process by which they were placed on ballots was unconstitutional.
That lawsuit was filed by a group of voter plaintiffs from around the state and Voice of the Experienced, the advocacy group led by formerly incarcerated people.
VOTE said in an Instagram post over the weekend that officials tried to push through “shady constitutional amendments in a low-turnout election, but the people were watching.”
“This is just the beginning. We showed up, and we’re not stopping now,” the group wrote.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
Louisiana
No. Southern Miss Handily Defeats Louisiana Tech in Series Opener
Heading into this weekend’s series at Louisiana Tech, No. 12 Southern Miss was confident it could come into Ruston, La., and get a big road series win while also showing the proper amount of respect for its opponent. Louisiana Tech was also confident, but perhaps those hard feelings toward Southern Miss got in the way of it reaching its goals on Friday night.
“Coach (Lane) Burroughs, he doesn’t like Southern Miss,” Louisiana Tech freshman Casey McCoy said earlier this week before the series began. “We’re going to do everything we can to beat them. We want to sweep them.”
Well, the series has yet to be determined, but you can count out the possibility of a Louisiana Tech sweep, as Southern Miss went into “The Love Shack” and won the first game of the series, 8-3, behind a couple of big home runs and exceptional pitching down the stretch. Bulldogs head coach Lane Burroughs was ejected from the game in the fifth inning for arguing with the umpires.
The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start in Ruston, as lead-off man Ben Higdon hit a single to left field off of Louisiana Tech starting pitcher Declan Dahl in the top of the first inning. Dahl then gave up a two-run home run to Joey Urban on the next at-bat, giving Southern Miss an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Louisiana Tech tied things up at 2-2 after Casey McCoy hit a two-run bomb against Colby Allen. The Bulldogs then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third with a single that scored a man from third.
Just like in Tuesday night’s beatdown of Alabama, Southern Miss got some big fireworks in the fourth inning. Senior second baseman Kyle Morrison hit what was the Golden Eagles’ second grand slam of the game in the fourth inning against the Crimson Tide, and he followed that by hitting his team’s second homer of the game against the Bulldogs on Friday night. It was a three-run shot to centerfield to give his team a 5-3 lead.
Southern Miss added three more insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning thanks to singles from Davis Gillespie and Seth Smith, and the Golden Eagles ended up taking the first game of the series, 8-3. USM’s experience in the batting lineup remains one of the team’s biggest strengths.
Southern Miss senior RHP Colby Allen, who is still adjusting to his new role as the Friday-night starter, was hoping to get more of an extended run in his third start of the season, but some early-inning trouble ended up forcing head coach Christian Ostrander to make a move in the top of the fifth inning. Allen ended the night with five strikeouts, six hits given up, and a total of 87 pitches through 4.2 innings. He was one out away from securing his first win of the season.
Senior LHP Kros Sivley (2-0) got the win on Friday after registering two strikeouts in 1.2 innings with only one hit and no runs given up. Junior RHP Josh Och, who has been outstanding so far this season, got the save, as he struck out the final five batters he faced to end the game.
Before the season started, some believed the Golden Eagles’ starting pitching might be stronger than their bullpen, but through nine games, the opposite has proven to be true. However, it’s a long season, and it wouldn’t surprise us if USM’s starting pitching starts to peak at the right time. We only got to see three arms from Southern Miss on Friday, so Coach Oz has a lot to choose from over the next two days.
According to Warren Nolan’s RPI rankings, Southern Miss currently ranks No. 1 after beating Louisiana Tech on Friday. USM’s in-state rivals, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, rank No. 2 and No. 41, respectively. The Golden Eagles will face both of them in Hattiesburg in the coming weeks, starting with Mississippi State on Tuesday night at Pete Taylor Park. Obviously, it’s way too early to pay too close attention to RPI rankings, but it’s always good to see a team performing well with a tough schedule.
Southern Miss will look to extend its winning streak to nine games on Saturday while also securing a series win over Louisiana Tech. First pitch at “The Love Shack” is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage throughout the weekend.
Louisiana
Louisiana bill would impose tougher penalties for operating unlicensed gambling websites
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New legislation in Baton Rouge would reclassify some illegal gaming-related offenses as racketeering law violations, elevating potential consequences.
Louisiana has already stepped up its enforcement of its gaming laws related to potential illegal gaming but a new bill in the state legislature would give prosecutors’ actions more teeth. The proposal would elevate certain crimes involving unlicensed gaming in the state to a racketeering charge with more severe penalties linked to convictions.
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Louisiana bill changes classification of gaming-related charges
Louisiana Rep. Bryan Fontenot has pre-filed HB 53, which could rewrite the state code as it pertains to unlicensed gaming sites. The legislation has been provisionally assigned to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, as the 2026 session does not begin until March 9.
Under the proposal, the state’s definition of racketeering would expand to include “gambling, gambling by computer, gambling on cockfights, gambling by electronic sweepstakes, unlawful wagering, and bribery of sports participants.” Under current statutes, racketeering convictions carry penalties of fines of “not more than one million dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor for not more than 50 years, or both.”
Additionally, racketeering convictions that result in sentences of fines of at least $10,000 revoke recipients’ eligibility for parole. The enactment of this bill as currently composed could have a significant impact on the operation of sweepstakes-based online casino sites for real money in Louisiana.
At the same time, many of the companies in that space have already ceased potentially infringing actions within Louisiana.
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Louisiana has already been off-limits for sweepstakes casinos
In 2025, Louisiana gaming regulators and law enforcement took multiple actions to restrict residents’ access to unlicensed platforms for playing casino games online. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill shared a public notice about the illegality of sweepstakes-based online gaming sites, in addition to issuing cease-and-desist orders to the companies affiliated with those sites. As a result, many of the operators of those sites geofenced Louisiana out of their service areas.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board supplemented that action with its additional cease-and-desist letters. Fontenot’s bill could add additional weight to these demands if it becomes law.
There is currently no legal framework for playing online casino games or redeeming casino bonus codes in Louisiana. While online sports wagering is legal in most of the state, officials in Baton Rouge have not yet tackled the issue of iGaming.
Even if voters in Louisiana someday do clear the way for the utilization of Fanatics Casino promo codes, that would involve licensed gaming and not affect the implementation of Fontenot’s bill. However, such deliberations do not seem imminent.
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If HB 53 becomes law, Louisiana could levy some of the toughest penalties for illegal gaming activity in the United States. Many potential targets of prosecution have already pulled out of the state.
Louisiana
Governor’s Office of Strategic Community Initiatives | Office of Governor Jeff Landry
Driving Louisiana Forward Program
Commerical Driver’s License (CDL) Training
In partnership with the Louisiana Workforce Commission and South Louisiana Community College, this program aims to provide African American males with financial assistance to obtain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training, strengthening the resilience and contributions of this key demographic and improving equitable access to workforce opportunities. This initiative aims to reduce high unemployment rates within this community but also focuses on ensuring participants come from rural and economically disadvantaged areas.
Earn your CDL Class A license with this comprehensive classroom and behind-the-wheel program to drive tractor[1]trailers, dump trucks, tow trucks, delivery trucks, tanker trucks, and flatbed trucks.
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