Wisconsin voters have rejected two proposed state constitutional amendments that would have made the governor share power with the Legislature over how to spend discretionary federal funds.
Thanks to big margins in Dane, Milwaukee and other traditionally Democratic counties, the ballot questions lost by 15 percentage points. That means the governor will retain the sole spending power.
The Republican-authored proposals to give the currently GOP-controlled Legislature equal clout did win in conservative Waukesha County. Some voters outside the Brookfield Conference Center were unwilling to give their last name, but did agree to speak briefly into an audio recorder.
Sheila says she voted yes to power sharing: “Because I didn’t want one or the other to have all the power to make decisions on the money. I wanted them to combine it. I’m assuming how that was going to work if we said yes to both."
But other county residents — including a man who gave his name as John — voted no.
“Mainly just because I feel like it was a power grab to take power away from the governor, and put it in the Legislature. During times we need emergency funding, it’d be better to have funds allocated right away, versus trying to get people together to vote on the issue," John said.
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had also used the term attempted "power grab" to describe the GOP proposals. In a written statement Tuesday night, Evers said he’s "incredibly proud of the investments he’s directed to support farmers, working families and small businesses. Also to expand high speed internet and hold the line on child care costs."
Jay Heck of the watchdog group Common Cause Wisconsin said the rejection of the ballot questions is good news for the public.
“It makes sense that the governor, who is elected by all the people of this state, should be in charge of figuring out how best to distribute that money, rather than leaving it in the hands of a small, powerful legislative committee — the Joint Committee on Finance, which is run by a couple of (currently Republican) legislators who only represent tens of thousands of voters, rather than the whole state," Heck told WUWM.
Heck said there are still plenty of regulations making sure the governor properly uses federal funds.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler also praised Tuesday's vote, and credits a coalition for helping defeat the ballot proposals.
"Democrats organized. Gov. Evers barnstormed the state. Democratic legislators held town halls. Wisconsin Conservation Voters and tons of other organizations put out the word," Wikler said.
He added that he hopes to see the same energy in the November elections.
And, Wikler said if voters disagree with gubernatorial decisions, they can change governors every four years. The next scheduled chance is in 2026.
