Wisconsin 2024

 

The folks who currently sit in Wisconsin legislative seats that were found to be excessively and illegally gerrymandered are attempting to change the Wisconsin Constitution AGAIN.

After we all vote and decide the November 2024 election, we will have an entirely new legislative body than what we have today in Wisconsin. The maps have been redrawn (I urge you to check your address and see your new districts and leadership). The current legislature approved the new maps.

And yet they are again trying to make state-wide constitutional power changes in the August primary.

They succeeded in convincing enough voters this spring to make 2 changes to the state constitution regarding elections. We have yet to see how those amendments will affect election funding and administration. Will there be big unexpected and unapproved expenses? Will we have smooth elections with enough staffing? We do know that the state does not fully fund our election needs and that there has been much argument over expanding or restricting voting right access in Wisconsin and elsewhere. We’ll see.

Now, there’s another attempt with 2 additional changes to our state constitution, which the League of Women Voters has analyzed and determined are, as they had said about April’s changes, are too vague and not helpful and should be VOTE NOs.

Here’s my issue: I have a serious problem with making ANY changes to ANY state’s constitution that are asked for by ANY group of people who were in power because they cheated to get there. 

Constitutional changes should be carefully crafted and vetted. Their ramifications must be weighed across time before being put into place. A state’s constitution should not be made the playground of sore losers trying to punish those they feel wronged them.

Sometimes the state gets allocated chunks of money from the federal government. The two amendments being proposed to voters seek to give the legislature sole control over these monies. If you recall, some COVID money stipulated that the money given had to be used for specific COVID-related expenses or losses. At the time, the governor was willing and able to do that while our legislature complained. Evers eventually vetoed a bill brought up by the legislature that sought to seize control of those funds. These new amendment requests seem, in my mind, to be another attempt to circumvent balances of power between the 3 branches of Wisconsin government. 

Federal money can be for things like a pandemic. Or a huge tornado. Or a devastating drought. Or a chemical spill. Basically, any situation that a state seeks help with from DC and receives funds. It’s national money for our combined benefit so it should be allocated as the nation indicates with the support of the elected officials of the state. All the officials. Not just the state legislature, and especially not one whose operation has been manipulated so grossly for so many years that it finally caught up with them through the efforts of citizens and the court system.

If a Republican or other takes the governorship and leaves the legislature as Democrat-controlled, I would want both offices to work together. If federal money came in, I’d hope the 2 branches would work together with whatever restrictions are placed by the grantor. Neither would “win” all the time.

To me, life’s not about “winning”. It’s about working for overall positive movement. It’s hard. It takes time. It takes compromising and negotiation.