Guide to Louisiana's March 29 election

🗓️ Dates to know: Early voting began March 15 and continues through 6pm Saturday.

• March 25: Last day to request an absentee ballot for this election.
• March 28: Deadline for those absentee ballots to be returned.
• Saturday, March 29: All remaining voters can make their selections in person at their local polling stations. Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm.
• See other voter deadlines and find your polling location.

Zoom in: Three of the constitutional amendments represent changes to Louisiana's judicial system, criminal justice, elections management.

• Amendment 2, however, is a doozy: It represents a massive rewrite to Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution and would represent an approval of the tax code changes lawmakers set in motion last fall.
• See the wording of each here.
• Voters will also make some local municipal decisions, including some Jefferson Parish races.

Here's a brief look at each amendment.

Constitutional Amendment 1 would allow the Legislature to create specialty courts outside geographic boundaries and give the Supreme Court additional oversight of out-of-state lawyers who work here.

• Louisiana already has dozens of specialty courts, like family or drug courts, but they're usually limited to in-parish work.
• A "yes" vote would allow the Legislature to establish new, regional or statewide courts, which could help relieve some burden on busy rural judges, WWL reports, but also may take away power from existing judges and jurisdictions.

Constitutional Amendment 2 would OK sweeping changes to Article VII of the state's constitution, which outlines the tax code.

• The changes, which cover a 115-page bill, include doubling the standard deduction for seniors, prohibiting some new sales tax exemptions and making others harder to pass, reducing the maximum tax rate and merging state savings accounts.
• The amendment would also shift some existing tax laws, like some property tax exemptions, from the constitution into statutes, which are easier to edit in the future.

Constitutional Amendment 3 would change how the state charges people under 17 as adults with crimes.

• Currently, there's a list within the constitution of 16 crimes that can cause people under 17 to be charged as adults in the state's judicial system. It includes murder, rape, armed robbery and manslaughter.
• A "yes" vote would move that list out of the constitution and into statutes, which are easier for the legislature to change. It's not clear what changes, including adding crimes to that list, that the legislature might want to make.

Constitutional Amendment 4 would adjust the timeline for filling judicial positions.

• If approved, the calendar for filling judgeships would align with the regular elections calendar, which shifted after lawmakers closed primaries for some races.

Go deeper:

• The Public Affairs Research Council also has a one-pager on the amendments.
• The Times-Picayune as an overview of the local elections.