Wisconsin voters are heading to the polls to decide the fate of the balance of the state’s supreme court, among other nonpartisan races. While both national and state media have hawked over the monumental judicial election, voters should be aware of other issues on the ballot.
Elections for mayor, city council and school board and other positions are also notable races on the ballot. Keeping up with municipal, county and state candidates can be exhausting, yet no other section of the ballot is as confusing as the three statewide referendum questions.
Unlike the referendum questions on Dane County ballots last fall, the two questions about pre-trial detention and cash bail will be binding. In other words, voters will directly determine if changes to the state constitution will be made. The third referendum question is an advisory referendum on welfare policy.
So, what are these questions and why are they so confusing?
“Shall section 8 (2) of article I of the constitution be amended to allow a court to impose on an accused person being released before conviction conditions that are designed to protect the community from serious harm?”
This question is criticized for deliberately misleading voters away from the reality of the kind of power courts already have in Wisconsin. According to UW Law professor Keith Lindsay, Wisconsin courts have the authority to “impose protective measures” under current law. So, a vote for this measure is not based on an interest in public safety that courts already can address, but rather on a loss of legal rights for defendants.
The language in the question is also vital. The proposal changes the constitutional phrase “serious bodily harm” to “serious harm,” creating an expansive, intentionally vague standard for pre-trial detention.
“Shall section 8 (2) of article I of the constitution be amended to allow a court to impose cash bail on a person accused of a violent crime based on the totality of the circumstances, including the accused’s previous convictions for a violent crime, the probability that the accused will fail to appear, the need to protect the community from serious harm and prevent witness intimidation, and potential affirmative defenses?”
Voting for this measure is voting to expand the use of a broken cash bail system. The American Civil Liberties Association of Wisconsin opposes the proposal, claiming it would “exacerbate inequities.”
Expanding cash bail would create a double standard of justice — one for the wealthy and a separate one for the low-income who may not afford bail.
The referendum questions, pushed onto the ballot by Republicans, are a powerful rhetorical tool that takes advantage of Wisconsin voters’ concerns over public safety.
Congressional term limits are necessary to ensure accountable representatives
The Wisconsin state government must do better in ensuring referendums, especially binding ones, are written fairly and transparently. To avoid abuses from the dominating party in the Legislature, the government should set up an independent bipartisan committee to oversee referendums on Wisconsin ballots or risk losing parts to partisan engineering.
Jack Rogers ([email protected]) is a freshman studying economics and Chinese.
