What to know about the two constitutional amendments on your ballot

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- On Tuesday, voters will weigh in on two referendum questions that could impact how elections are administered in Wisconsin.

One deals with private funding and another addresses who's working at the polls. Both seek to amend the state constitution.

Here's what you need to know.

Banning Private Funds

The first question asks whether private funds should be used to help conduct elections.

QUESTION 1: "Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?"

A "yes" vote would ban local governments from accepting or applying for private grant money to help administer elections.

Voting "no" would allow this to continue as opponents argue our elections are underfunded.

The question stems from concerns in 2020 when an organization supported by Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerburg donated $10.6 million to more than 200 Wisconsin communities to help carry out the election during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emily Lau, a staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Institute, said while the question was authored by Republicans, she said both sides of the aisle have criticized funding our elections.

"It's not necessarily a political issue since there are concerns on both sides that money could be used to influence elections," Lau said. "At the same time though, these elections are not being funded publicly so in the absence of that, these private sources of funding are becoming vital to an underfunded election."

Restricting Who Works at the Polls

The second ballot question asks whether only election officials can perform certain duties on Election Day.

QUESTION 2: "Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?"

The constitutional amendment essentially would restrict who can work on elections.

Lau noted there's already a current law that addresses this. It states only election officials can conduct elections. If approved by voters, Lau predicts a court may have to step in and clarify who this applies to.

"It's relatively vague," Lau said. "There are some questions as to what exactly this would prohibit, who would this apply to? Does this apply to clerk staff, vendors who might service voting machines?"

Timeline

If the ballot measures are approved by voters, they would go into effect immediately.

Republicans were able to bypass Gov. Tony Evers place the amendments on the ballot after passing the measures during back-to-back legislative sessions. Evers cannot veto constitutional amendments, an option that's become more popular among Republican lawmakers under divided government.

What's Next?

This fall, three more referendums will appear on ballots.

During the August primary, voters will be asked a pair of questions about whether the Legislature should have more oversight when spending federal funding. Right now, a governor has sole-authority over that.

Another referendum question that will appear on the November 5 ballot seeks to ban non-citizens from voting in any state or local election.