Voters in Wisconsin’s April 2 primary have made up their minds on two
election measures introduced and championed by
Republicans in the state and former President Donald J. Trump. Wisconsinites chose yes on a measure restricting private money from entering elections—a concern of many GOP voters and elected officials after the 2020 presidential election, which saw significant donations from tech billionaire
Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg in and beyond the state. Conservatives often refer to the liberal donor’s contributions as “Zuckerbucks.” Specifically, the proposal would alter the constitution “to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or
referendum.” Voters chose yes on a related measure limiting selection of election staff on primaries, referenda, and
elections to “only election officials designated by law.”
President Trump asked his supporters to vote yes on both at his April 2 Green Bay rally, which followed events the same day in Michigan. Advocates of the referenda included Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), who spoke at President Trump’s rally in Green Bay, as well as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who also joined President Trump there.
Democrats in Wisconsin have generally opposed the referenda. Those oppponents include State Sen. Mark Spreitzer, who represents the 15th District. At the Green Bay Trump rally, attendees voiced support for the proposals. Steven Levine, a Navy veteran from Florence, Wisconsin, who was standing with several other men involved in Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) chapters, didn’t vote in the primary. “I would have voted yes for both of those,” he told The Epoch Times of the constitutional amendments. “I feel terrible about that, that I did not get out there and vote. There’s no excuse.” Richard Verheyen, a veteran from Denmark, Wisconsin, dismissed Democrats’ opposition to the amendments on the basis that elections would be underfunded without private money. “That’s B.S.,” he told The Epoch Times. “All the people with money, they can put who they want in office.” “Look at our national budget, how much money we are giving away to other nations. The U.S. should fund its own elections. We don’t need billionaires to do that. That’s why we pay our taxes,” Jose Diaz, a Trump supporter from Green Bay, Wisconsin, told The Epoch Times. He voted yes on both measures, as did an attendee standing near him, Jeff McDonald from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin.