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The Ballot Measure:
Last week, Wisconsinites voted on two ballot measures aimed at decreasing Gov. Tony Evers (D) executive powers by amending the state’s constitution.
Republican legislators described the measures as ways to add another layer of “accountability, efficiency, and transparency” to Wisconsin government, and both measures passed the Republican-led State Legislature before they were put in front of voters.
The first question asked voters if “section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution” should be “created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?” Voting “yes” would mean a voter wanted the constitution amended to say that that legislature cannot delegate its power to earmark money; voting “no” would be a vote against amending the constitution.
The second question asked if another section in article three of the state’s constitution, section 35(2) should 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.” A “yes” on that question would mean a voter wanted to amend the state’s constitution to make the Governor need legislative approval before he can spend federal money given to Wisconsin; a “no” would be against adding that amendment.
Both ballot measures failed.
The Backlash:
Some of the backlash that the ballot measures received bashed them as a “blatant power grab,” as described by Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Communications Director Sam Paisley.
But some people say that the ballot measures also failed because they were simply too confusing—and voters couldn’t understand what they were voting for or against.
One Wisconsin voter even meme’d the ballot measure using the “two buttons” meme format which shows a man sweating and anxious by having to choose between two choices, which they shared on Reddit.
“Voting on ballot measures,” the meme said, alongside a hyperbolically confusing question. “Shall the proposal to not prohibit the discontinuation of unfunded non-essential services, which may not not include unnecessary public safety measures, not be rejected?”
Other Wisconsin Redditors related.
“There needs to be a law against this,” one Redditor wrote. “If an 18 year old reads it and goes ‘huh’ first, [then] it needs to be rewritten.”
“I’m 33 with a masters degree and I was like ‘uhhh,’” another person said.
Some even hypothesized that the phrasing was strategic.
“When you need the voters to be stupid. You write ballots in legal vernacular to [ensure] most wont understand,” a Redditor commented. “But states that do want voter participation will put the initiative in common language.”
The Background:
Redditors may have been on to something. According to the American Bar Association, ballot measure “inaccessibility” via “insidiously complicated language, designed to abstract contentious details” is actually a human rights issue that disenfranchises voters.
And one Wisconsinite Redditor shared his strategy when voting on confusing ballot questions: “vote NO on any ballot measure that is not clear. That way nothing changes.”
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