 The Wisconsin Constitution displayed in the State Capitol rotunda. Photograph by Margo Kirchner. By Alexandria Staubach
Wisconsin voters in April will see two referendum questions focused on perceived voting issues. Senate Joint Resolution 78 passed the Legislature in November and will appear on the April 2 ballot as two questions about amending the state constitution. If approved by a majority of voters, the amendments would enshrine in the Wisconsin Constitution bans on private funding for election administration and the involvement of third parties in elections. The proposed amendments passed the Senate and Assembly along party lines. They passed in two successive legislative sessions as required by the state constitution’s amendment process. Constitutional amendment resolutions avoid the governor. They go directly from the Legislature to voters for approval. Rather than creating statutes, which can be changed more easily if they cause problems later, the laws become part of the document underlying all of Wisconsin's government and laws. Republican legislators introduced the resolution in response to grant money supplied by the nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to various election offices around the country during the 2020 election cycle to alleviate the burden of COVID-19 related costs. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and tech billionaire, supplied more than $400 million to CTCL. As a result, the funds have been referred to as “Zuckerbucks.” The first question addresses those Zuckerbucks: “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 will place in the state constitution a prohibition on any level of government in the state applying for or accepting nongovernmental funds or equipment for election administration. Currently, Wisconsin law does not restrict the Wisconsin Election Commission or municipalities from accepting grants or other private money to facilitate the administration of an election. The second question addresses the involvement of outside people in elections: “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?” Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay) testified about this proposed amendment to Senate and Assembly committees in October 2023. He stated that a stipulation of the CTCL grant money required third-party oversight from Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein, who then worked for the nonprofit National Vote at Home Institute. According to Wimberger, Rubenstein “orchestrated the fall election and acted as a city clerk would act, though paid by CTCL, including managing staff and having access to ballots.” Wimberger’s assertion was part of the larger tent of theories undermining Wisconsin’s 2020 election results. It was debunked by Green Bay’s city attorney, who after investigation said the city was “allowed, but not required, to receive advisory services from persons knowledgeable in various areas of election administration” and that although Rubenstein provided “best practice support” he “had no decision-making authority.” Rubenstein also provided best-practice support in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Wauwatosa and West Allis. In at least the case of Green Bay, he was hired directly by the city. Current statutory law already provides that elections are administered only by “election officials” and defines an election official as “an individual who is charged with any duties relating to the conduct of an election.” A “yes” vote on question 2 will put the restrictions permitting only election officials designated by law to administer elections into the state constitution. Elections officials include a municipal clerk, who is responsible for conducting elections in a municipality; a chief election inspector and election inspectors, or poll workers, who staff polling places on election day; election registration officials, who carry out registration duties on election day; special voting deputies, who are appointed by the municipal clerk to carry out absentee voting at qualified retirement homes; greeters, who acknowledge voters and assist in answering questions about the polling place but may not participate in any election inspector duties unless acting as a substitute; and tabulators, who aid election inspectors in counting and tallying votes after polls close. All such election officials are required to take and file an oath and record set amounts of training for every term they serve.
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Two candidates are vying for a seat on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court bench. The seat in Branch 43 is open due to Judge Marshall Murray's decision not to run for re-election. The election is April 2, 2024. Candidate Rochelle Johnson-Bent (below left) is an attorney in the Milwaukee Public Schools system. Candidate Marisabel Cabrera (below right) is an elected Wisconsin Assembly representative and attorney at Cabrera Law Office. The candidates joined WJI in person on Jan. 31, 2024, to introduce themselves and answer questions from attendees. The event was held as a luncheon at Riverfront Pizzeria in Milwaukee, hence the imperfect visual quality and some background noise at times.  Only 10 of 56 circuit court races in Wisconsin this year are contested, and only two races require a primary.
Primaries will be held on Feb. 20 in Kenosha County, where William Michel and Heather Iverson take on recently appointed incumbent Frank Gagliardi, and Winnebago County, where Michael D. Rust, LaKeisha D. Haase, and Eric R. Heywood vie for the open seat created when Judge Teresa Basiliere filed notice that she would not run. The top two vote-getters in each contest will compete against each other in the Spring election on Apr. 2. Contested races with two candidates for the Apr. 2 Spring election:
Wisconsin Justice Initiative has asked all candidates in contested races to complete questionnaires. WJI will print the results verbatim (editing only for length) in the blog in the coming weeks. The two court of appeals judges up for election this year, Pedro Colon in District 1 and JoAnne Kloppenburg in District 4, are running unopposed. By Alexandria Staubach Gov. Tony Evers has been busy considering bills from the Legislature, tackling 51 bills on Dec. 6 alone. In what WJI sees as a win for the criminal justice system, Evers vetoed Senate Bill 86/Assembly Bill 57, which would have erased prosecutorial discretion to dismiss or amend certain charges without prior authorization from the court and prohibited deferred-prosecution sentences for crimes. WJI opposed the bill’s lack of clear procedure for dismissal authorization and its prohibition of deferred prosecutions in appropriate cases. Those outcomes would have increased burdens on the criminal justice system without providing appropriate resources to deal with the fallout. Voting and criminal justice legislation signed into law by Evers included the following: Assembly Bill 335 (Wisconsin Act 52) Specifies that if a candidate is convicted of certain election crimes, a court must order dissolution of the candidate’s committee and return of unencumbered campaign funds; also requires the court to appoint a new treasurer for the committee to carry this out. Senate Bill 283 (Wisconsin Act 53) Provides that if a municipality, county, or commission chooses to broadcast canvassing proceedings live in any election, including live stream or on the internet, the same entity must record the broadcast; the recording must be retained for 22 months. Senate Bill 433 (Wisconsin Act 54) Modifies current law so the requirement that presidential primary absentee ballots be sent at least 47 days in advance of the election applies only to military and overseas voters; all other voters will be sent the presidential primary absentee ballot at least 21 days in advance. Assembly Bill 36 (Wisconsin Act 58) Creates a six-month time limit for the state crime laboratories to process sexual assault kits and an expedited 60-day timeline under certain circumstances. Assembly Bill 166 (Wisconsin Act 61) Expands the definition of “sexual contact” to include instruction by a victim to touch bodily fluids with the purpose to degrade or humiliate the victim sexually or arouse or gratify the perpetrator for purposes of crimes against children and sexual assault.   Milwaukee Common Council unanimously approves new early voting site on Dec. 12, 2023. Photograph by Alexandria Staubach. By Alexandria Staubach The Milwaukee Common Council this morning unanimously approved a new early-voting site that will be located at N. 60th St. and W. Capitol Dr. The site replaces a popular one in the Midtown Center. In the 2020 and 2022 elections nearly 30% of the absentee ballots cast during early voting from the city of Milwaukee came from the Midtown Center site, accounting for more than 18,200 ballots in 2020 and 8,500 ballots in 2022. The Midtown Center site was described as “the most popular in the Midwest” by more than one alder, including Mark Chambers Jr., who sponsored the measure and highlighted its importance to Milwaukee’s Black and Brown communities. Chambers said the site would be ADA accessible and on a well-used bus line. He said he looks forward to another robust voting cycle. A coalition of stakeholders campaigned for the new site after Midtown Center was purchased by an Atlanta-based investor who sought more than double the rent for less square footage. Contract negotiations between the new owner and city devolved earlier this year. Today at City Hall hopes were high that the new voting site would be just as productive. “We have the opportunity to be more potent” and “we can drive even more people to this location,” said Gregory Lewis, executive director of Souls to Polls and board chairperson for Power to the Polls. At a press conference following the vote, Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), applauded the Milwaukee Common Council for its unanimous vote and “their work supporting this mission.” Calena Roberts, Wisconsin state field director for Power to the Polls, exclaimed that “one door has closed, and another has opened wider!” The coalition advocating for the new site included Souls to the Polls, BLOC, the Wisconsin Working Families Party, SEIU Wisconsin, Leaders Igniting Transformation Wisconsin, Power to the Polls Wisconsin, EXPO Wisconsin, ACLU of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
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