Press Release: Republican Legislature: Giving People of Wisconsin Power to Initiate Ballot Initiatives is “Never Going to Happen”

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 01/08/2025 11:16 AM CST
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2025
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
Republican Legislature: Giving People of Wisconsin Power to Initiate Ballot Initiatives is “Never Going to Happen”
Republicans Poised to Add Sixth Constitutional Amendment to Ballot in a Year’s Time While Rejecting Gov. Evers’ Call to Allow Wisconsinites to Initiate Constitutional Amendments
Governor moving forward with plans to require Legislature to give people of Wisconsin power put binding referenda and constitutional amendments on the ballot despite Republican opposition
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today blasted Republican lawmakers for passing yet another Republican-backed constitutional amendment—their sixth in the last year’s time—even as they plan to reject the governor’s proposal to give the same power to the people of Wisconsin, today saying the governor’s proposal is “D-O-A. Dead on arrival. It’s never going to happen.”

In Wisconsin, only the Legislature can approve and place ballot questions on the ballot. Gov. Evers earlier this week announced he will include a proposal in his 2025-27 Executive Budget to require the Wisconsin State Legislature to create a pathway to allow the people of Wisconsin to put binding referenda on the ballot, enabling Wisconsinites to enact statutory and constitutional changes through a majority vote at the ballot box without the Legislature’s approval.

“Republicans’ message to Wisconsinites is crystal clear—anything that gives the people of Wisconsin a voice and direct input on the policies of our state is ‘dead on arrival.’ That’s breathtaking,” said Gov. Evers. “Republican lawmakers in the next week are set to add yet another constitutional amendment to the ballot while telling Wisconsinites they can’t have that same power. If Republicans are going to continue to legislate by constitutional amendment, then they should be willing to give Wisconsinites that same opportunity. Pretty simple stuff.” 

Gov. Evers today released a video message highlighting his proposal that is available for use here.

Unlike many other red and blue states across the nation—including some of Wisconsin’s Midwestern neighboring states—Wisconsinites do not have the power to propose new laws or constitutional amendments through a binding ballot initiative process, which would otherwise enable the people of Wisconsin to enact policy changes through a simple statewide majority vote. In Wisconsin, only the Legislature can approve and place ballot questions on the ballot, leaving Wisconsinites little recourse when the Legislature fails to enact policies that have broad public support.

The governor’s proposal would empower the people of Wisconsin to put issues and areas that have long been supported by a majority of Wisconsinites but have been repeatedly rejected by the Republican majority in the State Legislature to a vote on a statewide ballot, including legalizing and regulating marijuana, ensuring access to safe and legal abortion, expanding BadgerCare, and enacting commonsense gun safety reform policies, among other critical priorities of statewide importance and support. Unfortunately, within hours of the governor’s announcement, both Republican leaders voiced their opposition to the governor’s proposal and plans to reject it outright.

This all comes as Wisconsinites saw five statewide referenda questions in 2024—the most in a single year in over four decades, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel—all of which were drafted, legislatively passed, and placed on the ballot by Republican lawmakers, largely without direct input from the people of Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers have also telegraphed plans to put three additional referenda on the ballot as soon as April this year, amending Wisconsin’s constitution to address issues already addressed in various ways under existing state and federal law. Republicans’ ongoing weaponization of the constitutional amendment process is a way to circumvent the governor’s veto to enact their radical agenda, all while consistently ignoring and obstructing commonsense policies that Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support.  

The Wisconsin State Assembly is expected to vote on the amendment next week. This is the second consideration of this proposal by the Wisconsin State Legislature, and if passed as expected by the Republican majority, the proposal will appear on the ballot for the April 2025 election. If subsequently passed by the voters in Wisconsin, the state constitution will be amended.  

This is a continuation of Republican lawmakers’ attacks on democracy and efforts to circumvent the will of the people, make it harder to vote, and undermine the votes of millions of Wisconsinites—from the Lame Duck Session of 2018 to threatening to impeach newly elected officials. In response to Republicans’ efforts to obstruct the basic functions of democracy, Gov. Evers has vetoed every single Republican-backed bill that would have added unnecessary and harmful barriers to voting in Wisconsin, including but not limited to: 
  • Limiting how a municipality can conduct an event in the community designed to help citizens return absentee ballots;  
  • Restricting who can return a ballot on behalf of a voter;   
  • Restricting the use of indefinitely confined status when applying for an absentee ballot;   
  • Eliminating certain exemptions for voter identification requirements when voting absentee;   
  • Making it a felony to incorrectly attest that a person is indefinitely confined;   
  • Modifies how voting at qualified nursing homes and residential facilities is conducted, including shortening the window in which special voting deputies and assistants can help residents exercise their right to vote;  
  • Requiring family members of a resident voter to be notified of when the voting will take place with or without the voter’s input;   
  • Creating a new designation of “absentee voting assistant” so that employees of the homes or facilities can provide voting assistance, but makes it a felony for an employee to coerce a resident to take or not take an action in regard to voting;
  • Decreasing the distance of election observers from tables to no more than three feet only for recount activities;
  • Prohibiting clerks from helping correct minor errors on returned absentee ballots, such as adding the zip code;
  • Requiring clerks to notify a voter of a defect with their ballot online and does not require they use other means to notify a voter, which could result in a voter being unaware their ballot had a defect;
  • Requiring municipalities that live stream or broadcast election night proceedings to retain a copy of the entire broadcast for 22 months;
  • Creating a procedure for conducting an election during a public health emergency by creating the status of “personal care voting assistant,” a healthcare worker at a facility who has minimal training in election procedures and does not have supervision by an election official; and 
  • Changing the minimum and maximum allowed distance between election observers and the election processes they are observing, which could prevent election workers from effectively and efficiently carrying out their duties without interference.
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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