Governor Evers asks voters to vote ‘no’ at the Aug. 13 election

EAU CLAIRE — Governor Tony Evers (D) visited Eau Claire Monday in order to encourage voters to vote ‘no’ on two questions that will be present on the Aug. 13 ballot.

The questions read: “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?” and “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?”

Evers said that this change to the constitution would “make it more difficult at the state level to get the (federal) money out to people that need it.”

Describing these questions as highly confusing, Karen Boss, an Eau Claire County resident and board member of the Wisconsin Conservation Voters, said, “Right now the governor and the legislature are both taking part in the distribution and the decision making process of distributing federal funding. These amendments could slow or block federal funding for emergencies like floods or a bridge collapse or a pandemic. During a crisis like that, communities cannot afford the delays that could be caused by political gridlock over how to spend emergency funding.”

Evers said that Republicans have been trying to push amendments like these since the pandemic, but added that those voting Republican “should get in too. I mean, this could be flipped. In a few years, there might be a Republican governor with a Democratic legislature.”

He described how non-emergency federal money is currently being held up in Madison due to political gridlock even after a law has been signed.

He added that “this ability for the legislature to hold back federal money is a relatively new phenomenon.”

Boss said, “These amendments would eliminate the checks and balances by tricking voters into giving the sole responsibility for spending federal funds to the legislature.”

“We are encouraging people to get out and vote and make it a higher percentage than normal,” said Evers. “Most importantly, if you’re going to vote, turn the ballot over and vote ‘no’ on the first question and on the second.”