This story was originally published by Verite News; For more Oct. 11 election results, click here
The so-called jailhouse lawyer Calvin Duncan got more votes than everyone else in the Election Day race to become the next Clerk of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and is headed for a runoff against incumbent Darren Lombard.
With 100% of precincts reporting on Saturday night (Oct. 11), Duncan led the race with 47% of the vote to Lombard’s 46%. Since neither candidate got 50% plus one of the votes, the race is headed for a runoff on Saturday, Nov. 15.
“I’m elated. I’m happy. It makes me feel that God is still in control, because what I’m trying to do is the just thing,” Duncan told Verite News.
But it wasn’t the only reason for celebration in the Duncan camp. An amendment to New Orleans’ Home Rule Charter also passed in today’s elections.
The ballot measure, called the “Fair Chance Amendment” by supporters, was a temperature check on the sentiments of New Orleanians’ will to add a history of conviction to the city’s Bill of Rights alongside other categories like race, gender, and sexual orientation, so that no city law discriminates against them. The city passed tighter restrictions on the “ban the box” ordinance earlier this year. VOTE supported both policy changes.
According to the ordinance that passed in the City Council in April, a majority of votes in favor of the ballot measure means that the city’s Home Rule Charter will be amended on January 1, 2026.
Many supporters of the amendment were at the Bourbon Square Jazz Bar where Duncan, who was formerly incarcerated and now a lawyer, was hosting a watch party. For them, the writing on the wall early in the night.
Ronald Marshall, chief policy analyst at Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) flashed a bright smile and just said one word “yes.”
While waiting for the official tally, by 9:00 p.m. Marshall felt confident that the “Fair Chance Amendment,” as VOTE dubbed it, was going to pass, but he wanted to wait for the call before any celebration.
But by 10:30 p.m. Marshall along with Duncan and Norris Henderson, founder and executive director of VOTE, climbed onto a small stage at the bar to address the cheering attendees.
“Now we have it enshrined in our city charter, so these people can no longer discriminate against formerly incarcerated people when it comes to employment,” Henderson said.