BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The felon who was elected mayor of the small Louisiana town of Ball has lost another round in his effort to move into the office.

A three-judge appeals court panel has upheld a district judge's decision that Democrat Roy Hebron cannot be seated as Ball's mayor. At issue is a new constitutional restriction that voters passed statewide on the same November ballot as Hebron's election.

The provision requires felons to wait five years after their sentences before seeking office. Hebron falls short of that standard since he was under corrections supervision for a hurricane-related fraud conviction through 2017. Republican Neil Kavanagh, the Ball mayor who was ousted by Hebron's victory, challenged Hebron's win.

Hebron's lawyer Charles Elliott said Friday he will appeal the latest ruling to the state Supreme Court.