{"id":2212173,"date":"2024-04-03T12:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T16:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-voters-approve-bans-on-private-funding-for-elections\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T12:04:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T16:04:25","slug":"wisconsin-voters-approve-bans-on-private-funding-for-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-voters-approve-bans-on-private-funding-for-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin voters support prohibitions on private election funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwisconsin-voters-approve-bans-on-private-funding-for-elections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2212173&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Wisconsin voters approved Republican-led\u200d constitutional amendments\u2064 to change how \u2062elections are \u2062conducted in\u200d a politically competitive state. The amendments prohibit state and local governments from using\u200c private funds for \u200celections \u2064and ensure only election officials handle election-related tasks. This\u200c decision\u2062 addresses \u200dconcerns\u2063 over outside influence in elections and \u200daims to \u200bclarify \u2063election \u2063administration processes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Wisconsin\">Wisconsin<\/a> voters approved a pair of Republican-led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2948092\/wisconsin-voters-private-funding-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"constitutional amendments\">constitutional amendments<\/a> on Tuesday that will change <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"how elections\">how elections<\/a> are conducted in one of the country\u2019s\u00a0most politically competitive states. <\/p>\n<p>One measure will bar state and local governments from using private funds to conduct elections, while the other mandates that only election officials can carry out election-related tasks. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Voters in the state\u2019s presidential primary election register their votes at UW-Madison\u2019s Memorial Union in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo\/John Hart, Wisconsin State Journal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With 99% of the votes in, 54.4% of voters had approved the first question, and 58.5% had approved the second, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/projects\/election-results-2024\/wisconsin\/?r=50002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to\">according to<\/a> the <em>Associated Press<\/em>. A majority of Wisconsin voters must vote in favor of a constitutional amendment for it to go into effect.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans\u00a0have complained the state has turned into a magnet for \u201cdark money\u201d and that its elections were influenced by outside special interest groups. They also claimed that designating election-linked tasks to election workers would help clarify and streamline election administration. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats disagreed and accused Republicans of bowing down to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"former President Donald Trump\">former President Donald Trump<\/a>, who lost to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/?source=%2Fnews%2Fbiden-wants-shut-gitmo-down-construction-9-11-trial-ramps-up&#038;utm_source=google&#038;utm_medium=cpc&#038;utm_campaign=WE_DSA_Section-News_Avid(Audience)&#038;gad_source=1&#038;gclid=CjwKCAjw_LOwBhBFEiwAmSEQARB5QHPfrwgySFopnk_8bstuuRAT_5hAaFlIlnoC4F1Hr0o0tMN2JBoCKfEQAvD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"former President Donald Trump\">President Joe Biden<\/a> in the state four years ago. They argued the amendments would create problems in administering elections in November, in which results could determine the winner of the presidential election, as well as the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. <\/p>\n<p>Republicans pitched the two questions to voters after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tony-evers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Democratic Gov. Tony Evers\">Gov. Tony Evers<\/a> (D-WI) vetoed a GOP bill\u00a0that would have prevented local governments from taking outside funding for elections. Unlike bills, constitutional amendments cannot be vetoed. <\/p>\n<p>Republicans have scrutinized millions of dollars in private grants, which they refer to as \u201cZuckerbucks,\u201d that went to the state\u2019s five largest cities to help them run elections during the pandemic. The money came from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which is funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. <\/p>\n<p>Election clerks and Democrats said the money\u00a0helped them with the unexpected costs related to running an election during lockdowns and a global pandemic. They added that the extra funding did not jeopardize their ability to run an election fairly. <\/p>\n<p>Republicans were not convinced and vowed to stop similar efforts. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWisconsin has spoken and the message is clear: Elections belong to voters, not out-of-state billionaires,\u201d\u00a0Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said in a statement. \u201cThanks to the efforts by the Republican Party of Wisconsin and grassroots organizing, Wisconsinites have turned the page on Zuckerbucks and secured our elections from dark money donors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans\u00a0also scored a win on the second ballot measure by claiming it will clarify who is allowed to perform election-related tasks and arguing that the goal is to prohibit private consultants from having too much power over elections. <\/p>\n<p>There is already a law on the books stating only election officials can conduct elections in the state. Part of the problem with the GOP-backed proposal, opponents argued, is it could be interpreted so broadly that it may exclude election volunteers or municipal staff who are not sworn election officials. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur democracy depends on local election officials having the staff and resources to do their jobs,\u201d the Wisconsin chapter of the ACLU said in its \u201cno\u201d pitch to voters. \u201cThe same politicians who put these questions on the ballot stripped millions in funding from the state budget to support election administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leading up to Tuesday\u2019s primary\u00a0election, high-profile Republicans such as\u00a0Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) posted videos in support of the measures. Johnson\u2019s office was involved in a scheme to deliver fake elector materials to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, while Jordan, a close ally of Trump, has repeatedly pushed false claims about widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election. <\/p>\n<p>Trump also repeated those false claims, saying he won the state during a radio interview on the eve of the primary election. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a reelection the second time,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/politifactwisconsin\/2024\/04\/01\/ahead-of-rally-trump-repeats-false-claims-he-won-wisconsin-in-2020\/73166391007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> on WISN-AM\u2019s Dan O\u2019Donnell show. \u201cWe won in Wisconsin, as you know, the first time. The second time, we did much better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s true Trump won in 2016, he lost in 2020. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin voters endorsed Republican-backed constitutional amendments to modify election procedures in a key battleground state. The amendments prohibit the use of private funds by state and local governments for elections and require that only election officials handle election-related duties. This decision marks a significant change in election conduct in Wisconsin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2212174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24093640195124.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24093640195124.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}