MADISON (WKOW) -- The primary election is nearly two weeks away and people will see two referendum questions at the end of their ballot. Governor Tony Evers is urging them to vote "no" on both, while WisGOP members push for "yes."
Governor Evers hosted three media conferences across Wisconsin on Monday. He started in Madison then made his way to La Crosse and Eau Claire.
In Madison, he joined Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Ben Wikler, member of the Board of Wisconsin Conservation Voters Helen Sarakinos and Vice President of the Wisconsin Conservation Voters Cynthia Hirsch.
There, the four democrats urged voters to vote "no" on two referendum questions at the end of August 13th's ballot.
"We're here today [Monday] to speak out against proposed constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot for all Wisconsin voters on August 13 that are a Republican legislative power grab, an attempt to mislead voters to undermine the checks and balances in our state government and remove powers from the governor's office and give more power to legislators that were not elected statewide," Wikler said.
He said if these referendums pass, there would be real consequences. Wikler said emergency funds could get stuck in gridlock rather than reaching first responders and communities that are at risk.
"We know that emergencies happen all the time. There are floods, there are fires, there are tornadoes, there are storms, there are blizzards. With these kinds of emergencies, we need to make sure that funds immediately get to the front lines, to the people and communities and first responders that need those funds," he said.
Gov. Evers said it would permanently change the relationship between any governor and the legislature.
"Voting yes is way, way problematic. It's going to change the balance of power in the state of Wisconsin, and it's going to impact people's lives. So here's the pitch, vote no," Evers said.
Evers said Republicans are used to withholding money and delaying implemenation. He said the $200 million dollars that sits with the Joint Finance Committee is an example. Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said the Governor had options to get that money moved, he just didn't like them.
"The fact that the Governor doesn't like the fact that the legislature doesn't salute and follow him every single word that he wants is not the problem here. The problem is the Governor won't sit down and talk about how to resolve these issues," Schimming said.
Schimming is urging people to vote "yes" because according to him, all that power should not be in the hands of one person.
"It's important that the power of the purse be kept with the people. Under the Democrats position right now of the 133 elected officials at the State Capitol, they want to keep all the power for all of this federal spending with one person," he said.
These two referendum questions, according to political science expert Howard Schweber, are not easy to understand.
"Both of these referenda provisions are written in such general and vague terms about such technical questions," he said.
The first question has to do with delegation of appropriation power. It's worded as followed:
“Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”
"That would establish, create a constitutional amendment preventing the legislature from delegating its authority over expenditures to the executive," Schweber said.
The second question is regarding the allocation of federal monies. It's worded as followed:
“Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”
"It appears to require both houses of the Wisconsin State Legislature to approve any allocation of those federal funds, and in the situation of an emergency, that could obviously hold up the process very considerably or even stymie it," Schweber said.
He said both referendums can be interpreted in several different ways and said it's unreasonable to expect voters to know what's at stake.
"This looks like an effort to erase executive discretion, which would be truly radical, truly contrary to basic constitutional principles, he said. "So when you ask, 'how would I rewrite this referendum question', the answer is, I wouldn't. I would not allow a question of this importance and this complexity to be in a referendum in the first place."
In short, both measures are about giving the legislature more power to limit a governor's ability to spend money. Schweber said he expects them to pass.
"They're being considered in a very low turnout primary election which traditionally favors Republican voters. The one thing voters know about these provisions is that they're favored by Republicans and disfavored by Democrats," he said.
For more information on the 2024 primary election, visit here.
