A guest column by RNLA Wisconsin Chair Lane Ruhland regarding Wisconsin referendum Questions 1 and 2 was published today by WisPolitics.com. These referendum questions are on the ballot this Tuesday, April 2. Ruhland makes the case to vote in favor of these two Questions, which together would ban third-party funding of elections, or so-called "Zuckerbucks,” if approved by Wisconsin voters.
From the guest column, Dark money groups threaten Wisconsin’s election confidence:
During the 2020 presidential election, an out-of-state Democratic operative, backed by millions of dollars from left-leaning dark money groups, hijacked Green Bay’s election operations. On April 2, voters have the opportunity to amend Wisconsin’s constitution to ensure this subversion of the electoral process never happens again.
Elections are inherently political—but election administration should not be. Despite that, as has been well documented, these same Democratic-aligned groups also infiltrated elections operations in Racine, Kenosha, Madison and Milwaukee–the so-called Big Five Democrat strongholds in the state. In short, hyper-partisan liberals gave money to local government officials in areas with predominantly Democrat voters, buying access to elections operations to sway turnout and outcomes.
By voting yes on both Question 1 and Question 2, Wisconsin voters can prohibit the use of private funds in election administration and also ensure only legally designated election officials can perform election tasks. These ballot initiatives will bring much needed fairness to elections, ultimately leading to greater confidence in outcomes, if passed.