2024 | Week of March 25 | Radio Transcript #1559
Every election is important. Remember the infamous Zuckerbucks from the 2020 fall elections? I’m talking about the millions of dollars that came into Wisconsin from liberal outside groups and went to a number of our most liberal communities to supposedly “help” with not just the 2020 elections but also elections in 2021 and 2022.
In-depth research conducted on this money revealed that more than $10 million of these Zuckerbucks poured into Wisconsin and went to 216 Wisconsin municipalities involving 39 of our 72 counties since 2020. Our five most populous cities, each considered a Democrat stronghold—Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine—received $8.5 million alone.
A good portion of this money was ostensibly to be used for Personal Protective Equipment to help ensure the safety and health of election workers in light of COVID-19. Again, research shows that very little of the money was used for PPE, in some cases, the municipality didn’t use any of these grant funds for that purpose.
But this money coming in to our municipal clerks wasn’t the only outside problem we had. In addition to money, the liberal organizations also made people available to the election clerks in these municipalities, again, to supposedly “help” the clerks conduct the elections. These were outsiders who had no official authority whatsoever to be directly involved with the conduct of our elections. Official testimony that came out later indicated that these unauthorized individuals in some cases ended up pretty much usurping the authority of the legally authorized election officials.
Concerned individuals began calling for the legislature to step in and ensure this didn’t keep happening.
The Republican-controlled state legislature listened and took action. The result is that this spring “we the people” of Wisconsin get to vote on two referenda related to the outside money and the outside people impacting our elections.
On every ballot across Wisconsin, voters will see two questions, both related to the Zuckerbuck situation but each question dealing with a different aspect of the issue. Question 1 deals with the outside money and asks the voter if he or she wants to amend our state constitution to prohibit “private donations and grants” being applied for, accepted, expended, or used in the conduct of any of our elections.
Question 2 asks Wisconsin voters if they want to amend our state constitution to make it clear that only “election officials designated by law” can be involved in the actual conducting of our elections.
A yes vote on Question 1 means the voter wants to stop outside money from coming into our municipalities during elections. A no vote on Question 1 means the voter thinks the current situation that allows for outside money coming in is fine.
A yes vote on Question 2 means the voter wants only legally authorized Wisconsin election officials to be involved with conducting our elections. A no vote on Question 2 means the voter is ok with the status quo that currently allows unauthorized persons to be involved with the conducting of our elections.
Some might ask why the legislature is looking to amend the state constitution for these provisions rather than just passing a regular bill. The answer to that is the governor has vetoed every election reform bill presented to him. The only way the legislature can get any meaningful election reform done is to bypass the legislature, which amending the constitution does.
While these two constitution-amending questions are on everyone’s ballot, this election is mostly about local government, as all across the state, citizens will be voting for school board members, mayors, city council members, town and village supervisors, and municipal, county, and appellate judges. These are critically important offices because local government is the level of government that most directly impacts our lives and the level of government where we can have the most direct impact.
Our spring nonpartisan general election culminates on Election Day, next Tuesday, April 2. For this election, absentee ballots by mail have been going out for several weeks now, and this week is the last week for early in-person voting, ending in most municipalities at the close of business this Friday.
Like every election, this one is important. Every election has consequences; this one is no different. Voters have the opportunity to have their voice heard on the two referenda questions regarding outside money and outside people impacting our elections as well as on who represents them in their local government. There’s no such thing as an unimportant election.
This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
