Wisconsin Voters Approve Constitutional Amendments On Private Election Funding, Securing Ban On ‘Zuckerbucks’
Wisconsin voters actively supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of private funds for elections.
Republicans proposed the amendment in response to their frustration with the influx of money from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, nicknamed “Zuckerbucks.” It passed on Tuesday, the Post Millennial reports.
“Wisconsin has spoken and the message is clear: elections belong to voters, not out-of-state billionaires,” GOP Chairman Brian Schimming said.
Republicans proposed a second question to amend the state constitution to specify that only actual election officials could administer elections.
Though this requirement was already a part of state law, solidifying it in the constitution strengthens the practice, making it less susceptible to legislative alterations, ABC reports.
Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, highlighted that by adopting the amendments, “voters sent a clear message that they want to keep private money out of election administration.”
“Whether you identify with the left or the right, ensuring the fairness and integrity of our elections should be a shared priority,” he said in a statement.
Democrats notably opposed both measures, with not a single Dem lawmaker voting for the amendment. They contended that the measures would complicate the process of conducting elections in the crucial presidential battleground state.
They also expressed apprehension about the potential ambiguity in the interpretation and implementation of the broadly written provision concerning election workers by local election officials.
The Associated Press reports that both constitutional amendments on the ballot were responses to grant money received by Wisconsin in 2020 from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a liberal organization that advocates for voter access.
The organization received a $300 million donation from Zuckerberg and his wife that year, aimed at assisting election officials in purchasing supplies and managing elections during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans, who dubbed the funds as “Zuckerbucks,” raised complaints that the majority of the funds were allocated to Democratic strongholds. They alleged that this distribution was an effort by the billionaire to sway the vote in favor of Democrats.
Since 2020, republicans in at least 27 states have outlawed or restricted private election grants.
Republicans and conservative groups, such as the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and Election Integrity for Wisconsin, backed the Wisconsin measures.
On the other side, an array of government watchdog and liberal organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause Wisconsin, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, opposed them.
The constitutional amendments were introduced by Republicans, who hold control of the Legislature, as a means to bypass a potential veto by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who would likely have opposed the measures. Amendments, notably, are not subject to the governor’s approval.
Wisconsin voters have previously approved 148 out of 200 proposed constitutional amendments since the state constitution was adopted in 1848, per the Legislative Reference Bureau.
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