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Our call — vote YES
The measure
This is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. Louisiana's constitution currently allows bail after conviction, at a judge's discretion. This amendment (HB 51) prohibits any post-conviction bail for a defendant convicted of an aggravated offense against a victim under 18 — a statutory list that includes aggravated and first-degree rape, sexual battery, kidnapping of a child, molestation of a juvenile, and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, per the PAR guide and Ballotpedia News.
What YES does
A YES vote removes judicial discretion in these cases: conviction for a listed aggravated offense against a minor means no release on bail between conviction and sentencing.
What NO does
A NO vote retains case-by-case judicial discretion over post-conviction bail for these offenders.
The math
The PAR guide publishes no dollar fiscal estimate for this amendment. Louisiana's constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to place an amendment on the ballot, and a majority of voters to enact it — all ten Louisiana measures in this batch are legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
OUR CALL
Our call: YES.
PAR records the case that moved this amendment: a judge released a man convicted of raping an 8-year-old girl on bail before sentencing, and he lived near his victim. A conviction — proof beyond a reasonable doubt — is not an accusation; bail after it, for the worst offenses against children, is a risk no family should be asked to carry. YES.
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Sources
- Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Guide to the Fall 2026 Constitutional Amendments — https://parlouisiana.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/PAR-Guide-to-the-Fall-2026-Constitutional-Amendments.pdf
- Ballotpedia News, Louisiana 2026 constitutional amendments — https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/06/03/louisiana-voters-will-decide-on-10-legislatively-referred-ballot-measures-in-nov-2026/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.