The December 10th Election is approaching as early voting has ended.

While there are local races across the state - including the runoff for Lafayette City Court Judge featuring Roya Boustany and Jules Edwards - there are also three Constitutional Amendment proposals up for your vote.

Results from City Judge November 8 Primary
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Brief History of the Louisiana State Constitution

The Louisiana State Constitution is the 11th version and was approved by voters in 1974. That's according to ballotpedia.org, which points out that the current constitution has been amended 203 times, most recently in 2021.

Louisiana tends to say "yes" to proposed Constitutional Amendments, approving 77 of the 108 proposed amendments between 2006 and 2021. As ballotpedia.org points out, that's the most of any state during that time frame.

In the November 8 Primary Election, voters approved 3 of the 8 proposed Constitutional Amendments.

PAR's Guides to the Constitutional Amendments

Every election cycle that contains any proposed Constitutional Amendments, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana puts out an excellent guide to them. Amendment proposals are full of legal jargon and PAR does a fantastic job of putting that language in layman's terms. They make it clear not only what the Constitutional Amendment actually says but also what a Yes or No vote actually means for you.

December Constitutional Amendments
December Constitutional Amendments
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December Constitutional Amendments
December Constitutional Amendments
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Moon Griffon's Guide to the 3 Constitutional Amendments

Each election cycle, voters ask "The Voice of Louisiana" Moon Griffon to give his take on proposed Constitutional Amendments.

(Amendment Questions and Notes provided by the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office.)

AMENDMENT 1

Do you support an amendment to provide that no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to register and vote in this state? (Amends Article I, Section 10)

Note: Present constitution provides that every citizen of the state has the right to register and vote upon reaching 18 years of age; provides exceptions. Proposed constitutional amendment expressly limits this right to vote to U.S. and Louisiana citizens. Prohibits allowing noncitizens to register and vote.

Moon Griffon: "That's a no-brainer. This is just putting another layer on the existing law and giving it more teeth."

AMENDMENT 2

Do you support an amendment to make appointed members of the State Civil Service Commission subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate? (Amends Article X, Section 3(B)(1) and (C))

Note: Present constitution provides for gubernatorial appointment of certain members to the State Civil Service Commission. Proposed constitution retains present constitution and requires members appointed by the governor to be confirmed by the Senate.

Moon Griffon: "Yes. Having the Senate sign off or reject who the Governor wants to appoint is another check and balance in the system."

AMENDMENT 3

Do you support an amendment to make appointed members of the State Police Commission subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate? (Amends Article X, Section 43(C))

Note: Present constitution provides that gubernatorial appointees to the State Police Commission are not subject to Senate confirmation. Proposed constitutional amendment requires Senate confirmation for appointed and nonelected members of the State Police Commission.

Moon Griffon: "Yes. Having the Senate sign off or reject who the Governor wants to appoint is another check and balance in the system."

Very seldom do I support Constitutional Amendment proposals," says Griffon. "But all three of these are just common sense so I will vote 'Yes'  on all of them.

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