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Laws governing ballot measures in Louisiana
From Ballotpedia
This page provides an overview of resources addressing the laws and procedures that govern statewide and local ballot measures in Louisiana, including constitutional amendments, signature requirements, recall procedures, and campaign finance regulations.
Explore the links below for more information:
- Types of ballot measures in Louisiana
- Amending the Louisiana Constitution
- Laws governing local ballot measures in Louisiana
- Laws governing recall in Louisiana
- Laws governing state constitutional conventions in Louisiana
- Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures
- Changes to laws governing ballot measures in Louisiana
Laws governing ballot measures in Louisiana
Types of ballot measures in Louisiana
- In Louisiana, citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures at the state level.
- In Louisiana, the state legislature can refer constitutional amendments.
Amending the Louisiana Constitution
- Louisiana became a state in 1812. The current state constitution was ratified in 1974.
- The Louisiana Constitution can be amended in one way:
- Legislatively referred constitutional amendment: The Louisiana State Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot with a two-thirds (66.67%) vote during one legislative session.
Laws governing local ballot measures in Louisiana
- The power and process of petitioning for the amendment of charters is granted in Article VI, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution for all 23 home-rule counties and all 31 home-rule cities, towns, and villages.
Laws governing recall in Louisiana
- Under Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1300.1, all elected state officials —except judges—can be subject to recall.[1]
Laws governing state constitutional conventions in Louisiana
- According to Article XIII, Section 2 of the Louisiana Constitution, the state legislature can provide for the calling of a constitutional convention by law enacted by two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the legislature.
Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures
- PACs that support or oppose ballot measures in Louisiana must register and report campaign finance.
Changes to laws governing ballot measures in Louisiana
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
- House Bill 592: The bill required that the Secretary of State review proposed ballot questions to ensure that they do not exceed 200 words in length, do not include bolded, underlined, or crossed out words, and that they are in the form of a question. HB 592 also requires that the entity that submitted a ballot question is responsible for ensuring that the ballot question is composed of simple, unbiased, and concise language.[2]
| HB 592 Vote | Senate | House | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | NV | Yes | No | NV | |
| Total | 38 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 9 | 14 |
| Democratic (D) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| Republican (R) | 27 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 5 |
- House Bill 693: The legislation made changes to campaign finance law in Louisiana, including prohibiting foreign nationals from directly or indirectly making or promising to make contributions in connection with a ballot measure, the recall of a public officer, or any political committee, expanding on the existing ban related to elections for political office.[3]
| HB 693 Vote | Senate | House | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | NV | Yes | No | NV | |
| Total | 31 | 6 | 2 | 55 | 42 | 8 |
| Democratic (D) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 5 |
| Republican (R) | 22 | 5 | 1 | 50 | 20 | 3 |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "RS 18:1300.1," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "House Bill 592," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "House Bill 693," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "HB 221," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "Senate Bill 23," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "House Bill 54," accessed October 3, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "Senate Bill 457," accessed October 3, 2025
