Brown County Republican Party rallies in support of 'yes' vote on constitutional amendment questions

BELLEVUE — Nick Ratajczyk has voted for Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Constitution Party candidates. He's participated in every midterm election since 2010 and presidential election since 2012 as a Bellevue resident. He's one of the less common Wisconsinites to also vote in primaries and on constitutional referendums; he just didn't know how to cast his ballot Aug. 13.

He scanned the "Ultra MAGA" pouches, the "Election Integrity Matters" sign on the far wall, and the faces of the four state representatives and senators in the room for answers just before Thursday morning's press conference at the Republican Party of Brown County 's headquarters advocating a "Yes" vote on the state's constitutional amendment.

There was a man who already knew how he would vote. "So are we supposed to vote 'Yes' or 'No' on this bill?" he asked half-jokingly to a staffer.

"Well, if you don't know by now ..." she said, trailing off with a laugh.

Wisconsinites will make yes-or-no choices on a two-part referendum on Aug. 13. The outcome may amend a Depression-era law in the state's constitution that redistributes fiscal power between two branches of government.

Voters will be presented with two questions on their ballot. The first asks if the state constitution should be changed so that the Legislature alone determines how money is appropriated. Voters will then decide if the governor should be prohibited from distributing federal money given to the state without approval from the Legislature. The second question has caught voters like Ratajczyk in a political firestorm, trying to make sense of it all.

The first question requires a 12th-grade reading level to understand, according to the Automated Readability Index, a test that determines how readable a piece of text is. That's the same level of comprehension needed to read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time," according to the index.

The first question reads: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”

The second question is even harder, requiring a college graduate level of reading comprehension, its difficulty on par with academic papers.

The second question: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

"The devil's in the details, I want to know more before I vote," Ratajczyk said. "And to hear it from people who deal in it every day, it'd be good to hear it in blue-collar terms," he said, pulling on the collar of his navy shirt.

Voters like Ratajczyk have turned to simplified talking points from the two major political parties for guidance on how to vote.

"Yes" proponents have primarily aligned with the Republican Party that brought forward the amendments endorsed by the Badger Institute and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

Supporters of a "No" vote have historically been affiliated with the Democratic Party, including the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

Ratajczyk and nearly 20 others waited Thursday morning to hear state Republican Reps. John Macco of the 88th Assembly District and Ty Bodden of the 59th pitch the Republican stance on the referendum vote: "Vote YES for Checks and Balances; Vote YES on Questions 1 & 2!" as the sign next to their podium said (seventh-grade reading level).

The representatives gave remarks on the two legislative sessions in 2021 and 2023 that brought the referendum to the public, their thoughts on the amendments' importance, and offered their arguments on voting on Aug. 13.

Here are the main takeaways:

Anger and distrust over political parties spill over into referendum

A woman who walked into the press conference minutes before the start had already made up her mind how to respond to her neighbor who put up "Vote No" lawn signs. She would put her up own "Vote Yes" signs. It would be a standoff.

“I just want to cause hate and discontent,” she said to staffers.

Americans have long felt distrustful of the political process, especially of members of the other political party. But on this referendum measure that doesn't nominate or elect a person into office, anger and distrust against the other side are still prevalent.

Macco made his thoughts clear about what he thought of proponents on the "No" side before the press conference began: “disingenuous.”

“It’s the level of—I don’t want to say education, but get your facts straight and check your depth of knowledge,” he said to an attendee about "No" voters before the press conference.

When asked what argument from the "No" side they had the most personal quarrels with, both Macco and Bodden responded that they believed those on the "No" side were making their points off a foundation of disinformation, that they were “making disingenuous arguments that are just factually not true.”

Democrats have similar grievances against former president Donald Trump who continues to question the validity of the 2020 election results that some see parallels to in this referendum. (T he 2020 elections claims are false , and Biden won Wisconsin by 21,000 votes.)

"These amendments are nothing but a GOP power grab," said Christy Welch, a Democratic candidate for the 88th Assembly District, the district that Macco is retiring from.

Macco and Bodden argued that accusations of a "power grab" were unfounded as the referendum would apply to all future administrations regardless of party affiliation.

Not just a party split, but a Legislature v. governor jostle for power

Since the Great Depression, the state constitution granted Wisconsin governors the power to receive and allocate federal funds in times of emergency, to promote education, to advance the health of residents, and to support agriculture.

Many Republican lawmakers disapproved of Gov. Tony Evers' use of that power when allocating federal relief given during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that there was too much power vested in the governor without oversight.

"We need to make sure the decisions must be made close to the people," Bodden said during the press conference. "This is why we're called 'representatives.'"

During the press conference, Macco characterized the governor's allocation of federal funds to a Milwaukee mall redevelopment project ($15 million), a public market in Madison ($4 million), and an addition to the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon ($7 million) as "pet projects."

If the amendment passes, the governor would need legislative approval to accept unplanned, emergency aid from the federal government, slowing the allocation. Supporters of voting "No" point to the $25 million lost in federal funding to pay unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic due to slow action by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

"When there is a crisis, we don't have time to wait for the slow-moving Legislature to get funds to our fellow Wisconsinites," read a statement that the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin signed onto. The governor, in any case, is also just as accountable to voters, they argue, and easier to hold accountable than dozens of legislators.

Macco and Bodden assured that the Department of Military Affairs had enough funds in a disaster and would be reimbursed by Federal Emergency Management Agency. They added that the argument discounts the Legislature and governor working together.

The distribution of power by the governor and the Legislature to use and distribute federal funding differs by state regardless of party control.

Since 2011, Connecticut has been under Democratic control of the governor's mansion, Senate, and House of Representatives — called a "trifecta" — and requires the governor submit approval to the legislature on how to distribute federal money given to the state.

In 2021, Eric Holcomb, the Republican governor of Indiana — a longtime Republican trifecta state — attempted to veto a bill that would give its legislature authority to spend unanticipated federal funds while in session; the Republican legislature overrode the veto.

'You Decide'

Press conference attendees could pick up a referendum op-ed written by Rep. Robert Wittke of the 62nd Assembly District that left readers with the imperative, "YOU DECIDE."

Ratajczyk's voting record nearly guaranteed he would vote in the August election, a high-value voter for both "Yes" and "No" camps. He had been standing for nearly an hour, listening to the press conference with his hat in his hands.

"I was concerned about emergency situations, which (the press conference) touched on," Ratajczyk said. "They didn't really say what happens to the money if the Legislature and the governor don't agree. What happens then?"

He paused. He wasn't sure if the blue-collar explanations revealed anything the white-collar questions obscured.

Voters may vote on the referendum on Aug. 13 at their nearest polling station .

Question 1 would add the following text to Article IV of the state constitution: "The legislature may not designate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated . "

Question 2 would add the following text to Article IV of the state constitution: "The governor may not allocate any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule."

Jesse Lin covers the community of Green Bay and politics in northeastern Wisconsin . Contact him at jlin@gannett.com or call 920-431-8247.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County Republican Party rallies in support of 'yes' vote on constitutional amendment questions