MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats are proposing different ways to make statewide ballot referendums easier for voters to understand.
As referendums have become more frequent in recent years, so have complaints from voters that the wording of the questions makes it difficult to comprehend what a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote would accomplish.
“People just do not understand what the questions are asking,” said Democratic Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin.
“We need to provide some assistance to make these understandable and people can make an informed decision,” said Republican Rep. Jerry O’Connor. “And that’s really my goal, is to have people make an informed decision.”
The sticking point is exactly how to get more information in front of voters. O’Connor said he doesn’t want to cram more information onto ballots or get rid of the current, precise language used to describe referendums. Habush Sinykin said she wants to see clear questions on the ballot so that voters who haven’t done their research ahead of getting to the voting booth can still make an informed decision.
Watch: Democrats and Republicans want to make ballot referendums easier to understand. Can they agree on how?
Habush Sinykin co-authored a bill alongside other Democrats that would require referendum questions to be written in plain language and explain whether the proposed changes already exist elsewhere in state law.
O’Connor is one of the co-authors of a Republican bill that would require proposed constitutional amendments to include an informational notice that would be posted at polling sites, sent to absentee voters and posted online. That notice would include a plain-language summary of the amendment and an explanation of what a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote would do.
“It allows people to really get a grip on what is involved in that referenda and how they want to vote on it,” he said.
Republicans have increasingly used referendums to work around Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, since the governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment. Proposed constitutional amendments must be passed by the full Legislature in two consecutive sessions and then approved by a majority of the state’s voters.
Most recently, voters approved a Republican-backed amendment in April to enshrine the state’s existing voter ID laws in the Wisconsin Constitution.
Habush Sinykin said that created confusion for some voters who didn’t know whether the state already had such voter ID requirements. Her proposal, she said, would fix that.
“All the jargon and the confusing language will be replaced with plain language, and even more importantly there will be context for it,” Habush Sinykin said. “They will know whether or not there is a need to amend our state constitution if what is being asked is already in our Wisconsin state law.”
Both lawmakers said they hope to work across the aisle to address confusion over ballot referendums, but both also said they had not yet reached out to members of the other party to start those conversations. Any bill will have to make it through the Republican-controlled Legislature and then be signed by Evers in order to become law.
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