The Council for a Better Louisiana supports the six constitutional amendments on the November 6th ballot. The 2nd amendment, requiring unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases, has received national attention, with over $2.3 million raised to support a YES campaign.

CABL President Barry Erwin explains why they’re backing the historic legal change.

"This is a vestige of a past period of real racism in our state that goes back to the 1800's.  We don't want to be the only state that has this."

The amendment has received support from both the Republican and Democratic state parties.
The first amendment on the ballot is a bit of a redo of a previous law that used to be on the books that banned convicted felons from running for office. This version of the law would keep convicted felons out of office for five years after their sentence ends, a move Erwin does not view as being controversial.
"I think it's a high bar that people can expect to have for running for office.  We expect our elected officials to have integrity, credibility, all of those things."

The fourth amendment on the ballot covers the question of whether the state should use gas tax money to pay for the state police. A series of other legislation starting in 2015 started the process of making sure fuel tax money went to infrastructure, and Erwin says this will seal the deal on that for good.

"There's been a growing sense within the legislature and I think the public too, that they want their gasoline tax dollars to go for infrastructure."

The other amendments cover property tax questions and the sharing of government equipment between agencies.

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