The presidential contest in Wisconsin is all but decided, but voters will have some important choices on their ballots on Tuesday.
The spring primary will feature two constitutional amendments, nearly 100 school referendum questions and local races in communities across the state.
Constitutional Amendments
Wisconsin voters are being asked to ban outside money in the state’s election in a pair of constitutional amendments.
The first amendment deals with the so-called Zuckerbucks. Republican lawmakers pushed the proposal through the legislature after Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a state law that would have banned outside charities and non-profits from spending money on election operations.
The move comes after the Center for Tech and Civic Life spent about $6 million in Wisconsin during the November 2020 election. Almost all of that money went to the state’s five largest and most Democratic cities.
Republican lawmakers have said Zuckerbucks undermine people’s faith in the state’s electoral process.
The other amendment would make it clear only local elected leaders can manage elections. This too is tied to the 2020 election.
Emails showed the CTCL all but took over the election operation in Green Bay. CTCL workers had keys to the election office and access to both ballots and the voting list.
The amendment would specifically exclude anyone who is not an elected official or government worker from election management.
School referenda
Dozens of schools across Wisconsin are asking taxpayers for more money on Tuesday.
Ninety-one school districts have referendum questions on the ballot. Most are for day-to-day operations and to cover what the schools say are the “ongoing costs of inflation.”
The largest school tax question is the $252 million ask by Milwaukee Public Schools.
All of that money is earmarked for teacher salaries and school programs.
Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley said over the weekend if the referendum fails, there will be cuts.
“We have a referendum budget, a ‘yes’ referendum budget and no referendum budget,” Posley said. “And in the ‘no’ referendum budget, there’s major cuts.”
There has been no shortage of critics of the MPS referendum.
Both the city’s chamber and the Greater Milwaukee Committee, along with business leaders and others have said Milwaukee Public Schools are asking for a quarter-billion dollars more each year, for years to come while continuing to deliver some of the worst educational outcomes for kids in the entire country.
Local races
Voters will also be picking leaders for the government that is closest to home. Thousands of school board seats, as well as seats for town council and city council, and even judgeships are on Tuesday’s ballot.
There has been a lot of spending on school board races in Wisconsin.
New campaign finance reports show the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has spent $200,000 on local school board races. The same campaign reports show that Wisconsin Republicans have yet to spend any money on local school board races.
Polls open across Wisconsin at 7 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m.
