Wisconsin voters are set to decide next month whether to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help run the state's elections, one of two Republican-backed ballot measures that Democrats say are aimed at making it more difficult to hold elections in the battleground state. Presidential.
The state's April 2 election constitutional amendments also include a change that allows only election officials appointed by law to administer elections. If approved by a majority of voters, the amendments will be added to the state constitution.
Early in-person absentee voting is scheduled to begin Tuesday and can be offered through March 31.
Since 2020, Republicans in at least 27 states have banned or restricted granting special elections.
Wisconsin's measures are supported by Republicans and conservative groups and opposed by a range of state watchdogs and liberal groups including the ACLU, Common Cause Wisconsin, Conservation Voters of Wisconsin, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
No Democratic lawmaker voted for the amendment, which was split into two ballot questions in April.
The Wisconsin actions stem from false claims made by former President Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.
“People need to trust that elections are conducted fairly and impartially,” state Sen. Eric Wimberger, who co-wrote the amendments, said in a letter posted on X. “Wisconsin’s status as a swing state makes election integrity measures important locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Opponents say that these measures aim to make it more difficult to hold elections.
The amendments specifically address Republicans' complaint about grant money that came to Wisconsin in 2020 from the Center for Technology and Civic Life, a liberal group that fights for voter access and is funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
The state's five largest cities, all of which Biden won in 2020, received $8.8 million. They were among nearly 200 Wisconsin communities to receive about $10 million as part of $350 million provided nationally to help with the cost of holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were available.
Republicans, who called the money “Zuckerbucks,” complained that the bulk of the money went to Democratic strongholds, and claimed it was an attempt by the billionaire to tip the vote in favor of the Democrats.
“In order to uphold justice and preserve the integrity of our democratic process, it is essential to maintain a nonpartisan election system free of outside financial influences,” said Kyle Coenen, policy director at the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. , testified in favor of the measure.
Zuckerberg and Chan have repeatedly said the one-time donation was intended to bolster election infrastructure at the height of the pandemic to help people vote.
Republicans, who control the Wisconsin Legislature, introduced the constitutional amendment measure to circumvent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who almost certainly would have vetoed it had the measure been a regular bill. Amendments are not subject to governor approval.
Three courts and the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission have dismissed complaints challenging the legality of the grant money.
The other question on the ballot, regarding who can be a poll worker, was separated from the private funds question.
Wisconsin law already explains the requirements for poll work: People who work as election inspectors and tabulators, greet voters and serve in other roles. For example, any poll worker must be approved by the municipality from a list of candidates submitted by the two major parties, be an eligible voter in the county in which the election is being held, and not be a candidate for or associated with a candidate on the list. Ballot.
It is unclear how adoption of the amendment would change current practice, other than putting current requirements in state law into the Constitution. This would make changing requirements more difficult.
Opponents of the amendment worry that its adoption could lead to attempts to stifle existing practices that promote voter participation.
Wisconsin voters have approved 148 of 200 proposed constitutional amendments since the state constitution was adopted in 1848, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau. Since Evers took office, voters have approved three.
But after the presidential election in April, there is more on the way.
In the August primary, voters will be asked to change the law to give the Legislature a say in how federal money is spent, rather than having the governor decide.
An amendment to the November ballot states that only U.S. citizens 18 or older can vote in the election. The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen 18 years of age or older is an eligible voter. But it does not specifically state that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in state or local elections.
Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections, and state constitutions do not explicitly allow noncitizens to vote in state or local elections.
However, there has been pressure on states to clarify that only US citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.
Bauer writes for the Associated Press.
