Wisconsin referendums, voters to decide constitutional amendments
Wisconsin constitutional amendments on November's ballot
You’ll decide whether to change Wisconsin's Constitution. Three statewide referendums are on your ballot. FOX6's political reporter Jason Calvi looks at what’s on the line.
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin voters are currently deciding whether to change Wisconsin's Constitution on issues touching on religion, taxes and race. Three statewide referendums are on the November ballot, which has already been mailed out to those who requested absentee ballots.
The voter's decision is the final say on whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution.
Referendum #1: Veto powers
What To Know:
Question one asks voters a yes or no: "...to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?"
This proposal was sparked by Gov. Tony Evers’ creative use of his veto pen.
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The legislature passed a budget increasing school funding for two school years: 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
However, the governor scratched out a 20 and the hyphen to make the end date 2425, to allow 400 years of school funding increases.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled it was allowed.
The Republican-controlled legislature has pushed this state constitutional amendment to ban the governor from using his or her partial veto to create or increase a fee or tax moving forward.
Referendum #2: Religion
What To Know:
Question two touches on religion. It asks voters if the Wisconsin Constitution should be amended to ban the state or local governments from ordering the closure of places of worship during a state of emergency.
The COVID-19 lockdowns sparked this debate.
Referendum #3: Affirmative Action
What To Know:
The third question asks voters to ban what’s called affirmative action.
It would ban the state from giving preferential treatment or discriminating based on someone's race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.
It would apply when offering government jobs or contracts, as well as in public education.
"I call this constitutional amendment the equality amendment, because what it does is it restores merit, fairness and equality to government practices in Wisconsin all the way from the state capital all the way down to our school boards and everything in between," State Rep. David Murphy said in support of the proposal in January.
"It's going to be unfortunate, where they would have had an opportunity to get ahead. This is one more not, to knock people down," State Rep. Russell Goodwin said in January when asked about the proposal against affirmative action. "Whereas this was to benefit certain people, to help them in situations where they wouldn't get this opportunity in some instances."
The process
What To Know:
Voters have the final say on changing the Wisconsin Constitution.
Before this November vote, the legislature approved the proposal twice, in two consecutive two-year sessions of the legislature.
The governor does not get a veto.
Ballots already being returned
Big picture view:
Some voters have already decided.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission reports 285,000 absentee ballots have been mailed out and more than 5,600 have been returned to clerks, as of Sept. 21.
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Full texts on the ballot
Dig deeper:
"QUESTION 1: Partial veto. Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?"
"QUESTION 2: Freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency. Shall section 18 of article I of the constitution, which deals with religious liberty, be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?"
"QUESTION 3: "Governmental entity discrimination prohibited. Shall section 27 of article I of the constitution be created to prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?"
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the Wisconsin Elections Commission, ballot samples, State Rep. David Murphy, State Rep. Russell Goodwin, and previous FOX6 reporting.