Legal challenge against Amendment 1 and Amendment 3 on March ballot
Five Louisiana voters and Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) have filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Nancy Landry to remove two unconstitutional amendments from the March 29, 2025, ballot. The lawsuit details multiple ways the Louisiana Legislature circumvented the law to advance these proposals, marking the third lawsuit against this ballot and the first legal challenge to expose the irregular and questionable passage of proposed Amendment 1 (Act 2) and Amendment 3 (Act 3) during the rushed Third Extraordinary Session in November.
The plaintiffs—residents of East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Orleans, and Tangipahoa parishes—argue that the Legislature ignored essential legal safeguards designed to uphold the integrity of the Louisiana Constitution to advance proposed Amendments 1 and 3.
“It’s unbelievable that they’re trying to sell this as something about out-of-state lawyers,” said lead plaintiff Darlene Joseph Jones. “Amendment 1 gives politicians the power to create a whole new court system—with handpicked magistrates and rules stacked even more against everyday people. Amendments 1 and 3 are just covert ways to lock our people up and throw away the key.”
A Constitutional Process Violated
“The Louisiana Constitution is a remarkable document, crafted to protect the inalienable rights of all our state’s people and environment,” said Emily Posner, VOTE’s General Counsel. “The diverse group of delegates who drafted it understood that no constitution is perfect, which is why they established a clear process for making changes. But our ultra-conservative Legislature has ignored these rules entirely to force through its anti-democratic agenda.”
“They want people to respect the law, but they don’t follow it themselves,” said Norris Henderson, VOTE’s Founder and Executive Director. “They’re circumventing the entire process for constitutional amendments. Each one does more than one thing—that alone violates the law. The same rules they expect us to follow, they’ve ignored. They assume nobody’s paying attention, but we know how these systems work. They always talk about truth in sentencing, but following the process should be the bare minimum for elected officials.”
“Not only were hearings for Act 2 [proposed Amendment 1] scheduled with less than 24 hours’ notice, but I was there when the bill failed in committee. You can see the video,” said Bruce Reilly, VOTE’s Deputy Director, who testified against SB 1 in the House Judiciary Committee. “Instead of properly reporting that the bill failed, legislative leaders made up a new phrase and said it was ‘discharged.’ And the next day, the same bill that was ‘discharged’ somehow passed in a different committee? That ain’t right.”
Rushed Process, Hidden Agendas
VOTE, a 501(c)(3) grassroots organization with members across Louisiana, and coalition and advocacy groups across the state, have been educating the public on the four rushed constitutional amendments—each using vague, misleading language to push major policy changes. Typically, constitutional amendments are vetted in full legislative sessions and placed on high turnout Fall ballots. Instead, these were fast-tracked through a special session and scheduled for a historically low-turnout spring election, just weeks after Mardi Gras.
The stakes are high, and voters deserve transparency. Early voting begins Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Filing: Jones v. Landry Petition for Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunctive Relief
Websites:
www.voiceoftheexperienced.org/noonall
www.notothemall.org