Republican lawmakers continue to push election amendments to the state constitution that would change elections administration in Wisconsin. The Senate and Assembly last week gave final approval to two constitutional amendments that head to voters in statewide elections in 2024. In April, voters will decide whether the state should outlaw private funding for elections. Republican state senator Joan Ballweg of Markesan says its in response to a nonprofit that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, mostly funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to local election offices in 2020. “If there are folks that would like to give grants to the state to help with elections that would be fine. That money could be allocated to all counties and municipalities,” Ballweg told WFDL news. “It is not right for a particular entity to pick and choose who they think they’re going to make an infusion of cash into.” And next November, voters will decide whether to specify in the state constitution that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. “We’re just trying to clarify,” Ballweg said. “As some local units of government have allowed non-documented immigrants to vote in elections. We’re saying only United States citizens should be able to vote for their representation.” Currently, the Wisconsin Constitution says that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector, but it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections.
