weren't a mandate.
in an election that analysts and politicos thought might bring out 10-12%, closer to normal for an off-cycle election. Then, after early voting results showed heavy Black and Democratic participation, the thinking was that there might be a 15-18% turnout. Regardless, 79% of registered voters didn't cast a ballot.
But still, what a clear message to Gov. Jeff Landry.Â
Unlike some, I'm not stunned by Saturday's results. In the fall I , which would have given the Legislature the chance to add more crimes to put more of our children in prison and give them hard-to-remove felony records. About six weeks ago I thought the election would be competitive. Anti-amendment advocates had developed a strategy that I thought was working. At home, at coffee shops, at restaurants, at church, at events I heard people talking about voting early, and voting and getting other people to vote "no." Two weeks ago, I thought this might be more than a squeaker — if there were to be a strong Black turnout. New Orleans Black talk station WBOK talked about the amendments every day for weeks. If you had listened, you could've heard hosts and guests talk about how harmful the amendments would be.
And you could've heard the amendments read on the air.
Not the ballot language. The actual amendments.
During early voting, things really picked up. I saw more "I voted" stickers. When I voted early, there was a line of about 20 people ahead of me and another 10-15 behind me.
I knew the election was over for Landry and his ilk when they stopped talking about three amendments and focused on Amendment 2, the governor's hide-and-seek, duck-and-dodge effort to further much-needed tax reform with lots of surprises that would be bad news for Louisiana, including houses of faith.
What made the news was the strong, anti-amendment message — "Say No to All Four."
Gary Chambers Jr.Â
The governor and allies saw things weren't going well in the days leading to election day, so they put Curtis James Jackson — AKA 50 Cent — up to promote Amendment 2 with a video and used his name in a text. That's when I knew Landry had given up on getting the three other amendments approved, focusing on Amendment 2, his "tax reform" measure that would have harmed so many people in so many ways. 50 got what he deserved — clapback, pushback and "you ain't from here" comments.
Black Baton Rouge-based advocate Gary Chambers Jr. was among a number of people who actively campaigned against all four amendments. The Rev. Torin Sanders of Sixth Baptist Church in New Orleans held a gathering about the harmful amendments at his church. State Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, held an Instagram live session to pound the bad batch of amendments. Together New Orleans organized a campaign, including boots on the ground with door knocking, calls and texts. The Power Coalition held town halls across the state, and Chambers joined them. I went to one expecting 15-20 people. There were scores of people. Black and White. Professional and working class. They were there to hear more about the amendments -- and to help. They picked up yard and neutral ground signs and flyers. They traded contact information to organize.
Chambers attended all but one Power Coalition town hall. He saw Black and White people at each one. "People are concerned about their money," he shared with me Tuesday. "People want more opportunity, and people believe the Legislature needs to stand up and give them better."
Columnist Will Sutton went to cast his early voting ballots the afternoon of March 22 at Lake Vista Community Center in New Orleans. There was a line of voters waiting to cast ballots in front of him and behind him.
Chambers didn't say "Black people want...." He said "people." All people. People voted "no" casting ballots saying "Yes, we want more in our pockets, we want more from our tax dollars and we want better, guv."
That's what happened Saturday.
The last time there were four constitutional amendments on the ballot, Election Day turnout was 11% percent.
This time the Election Day turnout was 21% percent. Of the early voting turnout, 37% was Black. Majority White precincts rejected the amendments 53%-43%. Majority Black precincts said no 92%-8%. Orleans Parish turnout was 31% -- 10 points higher than the state turnout average -- and Orleans voted no with 91%.Â
Most Black folks want a Landry reset. Most people want that, too.
Don't mistake Saturday's results as the end of Landry and the Republican-controlled state Legislature. It wasn't a mandate. It was a beatdown, a whipping. It was a clear, strong message: Paraphrasing Simon and Garfunkel, "Slow down. You move too fast. Make Louisiana last. We want to feel groovy."
I'll feel groovy when voices like yours and mine are a part of the process — and when efforts like those who made it happen are better financed.
