MADISON (WKOW) — Wisconsin voters made their voices heard in Tuesday's presidential primary and spring election.
They approved two constitutional amendments that prohibit the use of private funds for campaign financing and require that only election officials can administer elections.
“We will continue to work with county clerks, neighborhood clerks, and the Wisconsin State Board of Elections to conduct these two referendums as legally as possible and continue to work together to ensure election security.” It’s a safe and secure election,” Wausau City Clerk Caitlin Bernarde said.
The amendment was voted on by the Republican-controlled Legislature in response to grants given to dozens of Wisconsin communities in 2020. The grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life was funded by a $300 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. and his wife Priscilla Chan.
Eighty-five percent of the funds went to the five largest cities in the state that President Joe Biden won in 2020. Republicans, who dubbed the money “Zuckerbucks,” said it was an attempt to tilt votes in favor of Democrats.
Democrats opposed both bills, arguing they would make it more difficult to hold elections in presidential battleground states.
Approximately 200 communities received grants. Secretary Bernardo said the $50,000 Wausau received was used by officials to pay for a number of election expenses exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes $8,478 in increased average mailing costs for absentee ballots, $20,742 in express voting machine purchases and $9,496 in staffing for drive-through voting events.
“Fortunately, we don't have to rely on funding on a regular basis,” she says. “We received her grant in 2020, which helped us in this unique situation.”
Bernarde said emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic will put a strain on the budgets of local governments, which are responsible for ensuring election costs are covered.
“In a community the size of Wausau, and the much smaller towns surrounding it, it can be much more difficult to meet the obligations required by state law,” she said.
But she said she is working with local city leaders to ensure contingency plans are in place for situations that may require additional funding.
“While we are going through the budgeting process for 2024, to ensure that these costs can be covered and to make the best possible guess at the funding required, without knowing any potential threats or “We had a lot of conversations about the situation this busy year might bring us,” she said.
The second question approved by voters enshrines a state law in the constitution that requires only election officials to conduct elections. Bernardo said she and other clerks share concerns that the amendment's language is unclear.
“What are the duties that fall under that election administration, and who is the election administrator?” she asked. “I have been working with county clerks and talking with other clerks about what steps we must take to ensure that we are eligible to be election officials once this bill goes into effect. This provision leaves room for “interpretation of who the election official is and what his specific election duties are.'' ”
Ultimately, she said, officials across the state will work together to properly conduct the new referendum.
“It takes a lot of people and a lot of steps to conduct an election, whether the population is small or large,” she says. “This takes a lot of people, a lot of steps, a lot of money. They're going to make it happen. And clerks across Wisconsin will work together to make sure it happens in 2024. I know that.”
