Explanation of Referenda Questions on Spring 2023 Statewide Ballot

REFERENDA QUESTIONS ON WISCONSIN STATEWIDE BALLOT
SPRING 2023 – ELECTION DAY, APRIL 4, 2023

The state legislature has approved three (3) referenda questions on the statewide ballot for this spring’s nonpartisan general election.

Questions 1 and 2 are “binding” referenda, meaning if they pass, the state constitution will be amended to include language as reflected in the questions. If they fail, the state constitution will not be amended.

Here are the questions taken directly from the ballot, with some annotation Wisconsin Family Council is supplying to help voters understand what each question involves. Simply put, both questions give judges more flexibility when setting bail. Voters indicate either “yes” or “no” in response to the questions.

State of Wisconsin Conditions of Release Before Conviction Referendum – Question 1

QUESTION 1: “Conditions of release before conviction. 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?”

Question 1 is about whether or not a judge can consider “serious harm” (public safety) when setting conditions of bail.  A “yes” vote will amend the Wisconsin constitution as noted; a “no” vote means the noted section of the Wisconsin constitution will remain as it currently is.

Under current law, judges can only consider conditions that prevent the risk of death or potentially life-threatening injury. For example, a pedophile awaiting trial currently can’t be prevented from going to a playground as a condition of bail, because that condition (banning the pedophile from playgrounds) isn’t really necessary to prevent a risk of injury potentially resulting in death. It would just be preventing sexual assault.

State of Wisconsin Cash Bail Before Conviction Referendum – Question 2

QUESTION 2: “Cash bail before conviction. 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?”

Question 2 deals with whether a judge can consider the “totality of the circumstances” when setting cash bail for violent crimes. A “yes” vote will amend the Wisconsin constitution as noted; a “no” vote means the noted section of the Wisconsin constitution will remain as it currently is.

Currently in Wisconsin a judge is limited to a single factor (flight risk) when setting cash bail. This question allows a judge to look at additional factors (past criminal convictions, serious harm, etc.) when setting cash bail for violent crimes.

The third question on the statewide ballot is strictly advisory, meaning if the “yes” votes outnumber the “no” votes, nothing changes in our law; and if the “no” votes outnumber the “yes” votes nothing changes in our law. The state legislature put this question to the voters to get a sense of what citizens think about this issue. The question is very straight-forward.

State of Wisconsin Welfare Benefits Referendum – Question 3

QUESTION 3: “Shall able-bodied, childless adults be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits?”

A printable pdf of this post is available HERE.

Wisconsin Family Action PAC Endorses Janel Brandtjen for State Senate

Madison, WI – Wisconsin Family Action PAC (WFA PAC), the state’s only conservative pro-family PAC, announced today it has endorsed Janel Brandtjen in the special election for Senate District 8.

Julaine Appling, WFA PAC director, issued the following statement regarding this endorsement.

“Janel Brandtjen will passionately promote and defend the values we and our constituents hold dear. She understands that a true conservative protects and promotes marriage, family, life, and religious freedom, as well as free enterprise as well as responsible spending and taxation. We are confident Janel will stand strong for parental rights in schools and for educational freedom by supporting efforts to expand school choice in our state. Importantly, Janel will provide leadership on critical issues, not just vote the right way.

“We are proud to endorse Janel Brandtjen and encourage voters in Senate District 8 to support her in every way as we head towards the primary on Tuesday, February 21.”

The winner of the primary will advance to the special general election on Tuesday, April 4.

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Authorized and paid for by Wisconsin Family Action PAC, Leslie Harrison, Treasurer.  Not authorized by any candidate or by any candidate’s agent or committee.

Copy available online.

Primary Election Analysis

Primary Election Analysis

Election #3 of 4 for 2022 is now in the books for Wisconsin. After Tuesday’s fall partisan primary, the November 8 partisan general election ballots are set. Now we have 90 days of hard-hitting, probably almost non-stop political TV, radio, digital, text, phone calls, and mail ads, all designed to convince us to vote for a particular candidate.

But today, not yet 24 hours since the close of the polls yesterday, it’s time for a bit of reflection on the primary results. If our numbers are anywhere near accurate (and we think they’re close), turnout yesterday was about 26% of registered voters, which is higher than many other similar primaries. Big races brought people out.

Democrats didn’t have any meaningful statewide primary once 3 candidates for US Senate dropped out within the last couple of weeks, each throwing their support to Mandela Barnes. As a result, Republican voters far outnumbered Democrats. So, does any of this matter?

Yes, it does matter. Essentially the lower voter turnout (compared to fall elections which usually have turnouts at 60% or more) means that a very small number of eligible voters chose who will be on the November ballot and potentially who will be our next US Senator, members of congress, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and state treasurer, as well as who will serve in our state Senate and Assembly. What that voter turnout means is that each vote was very powerful. If you voted, which we certainly hope you did, it means you made a difference—and we thank you for that.

As for the number of Democrats vs. Republican ballots cast, that doesn’t mean much at all as it relates to outcomes. But it well might matter in the long-run. In any given election, Wisconsin is purple. We can go “red” or “blue” at any moment. One intangible that definitely impacts an election in a state like ours is voter enthusiasm, which creates momentum. Without some research and comparison, we don’t know how yesterday’s Republican numbers compare with previous August primaries. If they are larger, then it could mean enthusiasm and momentum are right now with the GOP.  We won’t really know that until the November election. All that said, here’s our first-blush analysis of the primary election results.

Analysis

Tim Michaels won the GOP gubernatorial primary. Does that mean his money is buying the office—or could be buying the office? Or did the voters really think he’s better suited to go up against incumbent Democrat Tony Evers?  Or did his messaging resonate with voters better than Rebecca Kleefisch’s? Or was Rebecca seen as establishment and Michels as truly the outsider who had built a successful business—kind of like Donald Trump? If anyone tells you authoritatively that they know the answer, we’d be really skeptical. So many things go into how a voter decides to vote; it’s difficult to get a clear picture in any election of the motivation of voters. Some research will be done, we’re sure, on this race; and we will eventually learn more, but even that won’t be 100% definitive.

The bottom line is Michels has by most everyone’s opinion an uphill battle to beat Tony Evers. Beating an incumbent is never easy, and this election will be no exception. Michels will have to be extremely disciplined in his messaging and in his general campaigning. We hope he’s got great people around him giving him great and appropriate advice. Time will tell.

No real surprise that Roger Roth won the GOP lieutenant governor race. Roger is well-known and liked by many. He sold us out a couple of sessions ago on an important pro-life bill; so we are very guarded when it comes to Roger.

The Attorney General race is one of our very favorite wins, with Eric Toney coming out on top. Our WFA PAC endorsed Eric Toney because he has the right positions on our core issues, has the right experience, and we believe had good people around him. Toney was significantly outspent by Adam Jarchow, but Toney’s experience and straight-forward messaging resonated with voters. Jarchow lying about Toney didn’t help Jarchow’s cause. Karen Mueller did better than we thought she would, way out-performing Tim Ramthun’s gubernatorial performance, with 3.5 times more votes (152,392 v. 41,695). Mueller was heavily aligned with Ramthun. We look forward to Eric Toney beating Josh Kaul this November and bringing back not just common sense, but a true regard for the law, to the AG’s office.

A key assembly GOP race was in Assembly District 63, where long-time and powerful incumbent Robin Vos was challenged by newcomer Adam Steen. Vos is the current (and longest serving) Assembly Speaker. Wisconsin Family Action PAC endorsed Steen, and Wisconsin Family Action, Inc., ran a sophisticated and full-on targeted campaign in support of Trump-endorsed Steen. We targeted nearly 28,000 voters and contacted them about 25 times each by a variety of means and with a variety of messages. At the end of the night, Steen lost, but only by 260 votes out of nearly 10,000 total votes cast. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, Vos “narrowly defeats” and “barely overcome[s]” in the race, which was a “stunning margin.” We agree. We are glad we engaged and don’t regret in the least the investment we made. We’ll analyze the results and see how our targeted universe performed.

Other State Senate and Assembly races happened, but nothing really shocking. What would be great is if the GOP could in November gain veto-proof majorities in the Assembly and the Senate. In the Senate the majority party would need to hold all of its current seats and pick up one seat. Before a number of recent resignations, the Assembly had 61 Republicans, just five short of a veto-proof majority. So statistically, this goal is achievable—which, if accomplished, would mean the ability to override Evers’ vetoes, should he win a second term in November.

In the Secretary of State and State Treasurer races (both non-policy-making offices), the results were not surprising with long-time Republican Assembly Representative Amy Loudenbeck winning the Secretary of State race. Jay Schroeder, who has run for nearly every office imaginable, lost once again but had a decent showing, largely because an election integrity group out of Virginia engaged in the race and sent numerous mailers out on behalf of Schroeder. Neither John Leiber nor Orlando Owens were particularly well-known, but Leiber solidly bested Owens.

Congressional primaries were similarly not shocking with GOP incumbents handily beating their GOP challengers. Ron Johnson, of course, resoundingly won his GOP US Senate primary, and is set to face Mandela Barnes, the current Lieutenant Governor, a race that has the attention of the entire nation because the balance of the US Senate is at stake.

Full election results are available here.

 

The governor’s endorsements are revealing

The governor’s endorsements are revealing

This week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced its endorsement of Governor Evers in his reelection campaign. The press release says the governor “has shown the people…exactly who he is: a champion for women’s health and a leader who will fight to ensure…everyone has access to the health care they need, when they need it. The stakes of this year’s elections couldn’t be higher…with the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and the possibility that Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban could go into effect.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spent $750,000 to help get Evers elected the first time. In the last two years, he has rewarded them with over $2 million in taxpayer funds. 

The Human Rights Campaign PAC also announced its endorsement of Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul for reelection. 

“Human rights,” apparently, is a subjective term. The organization praised both Evers and Kaul for their “support” of the LGBT community, which implies that a lack of promotion of the LGBT agenda is somehow pitted against natural human rights. “From day one of his governorship, Governor Evers has prioritized the advancement of equality for the LGBTQ+ community. He enacted non-discrimination protections for transgender state employees and has stood strong against efforts by anti-equality forces in the state legislature to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation,” reads the organization’s statement for Gov. Evers.

As we well know, religious freedom and free speech rights–values fundamental to our nation’s founding–have been trampled upon in the name of so-called “equality.” 

Endorsements matter because they tell voters about shared values and beliefs. We know exactly where the Human Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood’s priorities lie through their endorsements–and the governor’s, too. 

If pro-abortion and LGBT radicals are singing their praises for Gov. Evers, we can only expect that he will double down in promoting these ideologies if he were to be reelected.  

Planned Parenthood’s main concern is expanding abortion in Wisconsin, and it knows that so long as Evers remains governor, it will continue to receive financial support, regardless of how taxpayers want their money to be spent. 

The Human Rights campaign is not actually concerned with protecting human rights, but rather with promoting lies about human sexuality. Under the guise of “equality,” the organization is advancing promiscuity and mass delusion, and endorsing candidates who will support its radical position.

These endorsements can impact voter behavior, which is critical in tight races. 

WFA PAC has issued a few endorsements for this fall, and there are still more to come. So far, WFA PAC has endorsed Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson for governor and David Varnam for lieutenant governor. 

Each of these candidates gives evidence of a commitment to defending the sanctity of human life, parents’ rights, education freedom, limited government, capitalism and the free market, religious freedom and more.

They understand that Wisconsin’s most important natural resource is the family, and they are committed to strengthening, promoting, and preserving it.

They strongly support the biological reality that life begins at conception and deserves protection from that moment.

WFA PAC’s endorsements act as a “seal of approval” that says to voters “this candidate has been carefully and fully vetted.” 

These candidates reflect WFA’s values and beliefs, just as Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign’s endorsements reflect theirs. 

Stay tuned for more endorsements from WFA as the fall election approaches. 

Pro-Family PAC Announces Spring General Election Endorsements

Madison – Wisconsin Family Action Political Action Committee (WFA PAC) announced today that it has endorsed the following candidates in the respective races for the spring nonpartisan general election on Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Brown County Board of Supervisors
Mike LaBouvé – District 19
Denmark School District
Craig Janssen
De Pere City Council
Kelly Ruh – District 2
Green Bay City Council
Melinda Eck – District 11

Jennifer Grant – District 1

Hobart, Village  Board of Trustees
Vanya Koepke
West De Pere School Board
Jason Dorn
WFA PAC endorses local candidates who have either proven track records of strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life, and religious freedom or who give strong evidence of doing that if they are elected. These candidates have been fully vetted, and we are confident they will stand strong on conservative principles as they govern in their respective positions. WFA PAC encourages voters in their districts to support them in the weeks leading up to the April 5 election and to certainly vote for them.
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Authorized and paid for by Wisconsin Family Action PAC, Leslie Harrison, Treasurer.  Not authorized by any candidate or by any candidate’s agent or committee.

Copy available online here.

Pro-Family PAC Makes Gubernatorial Endorsement

Madison – Wisconsin Family Action Political Action Committee (WFA PAC) announced today that it has endorsed Kevin Nicholson for governor.

Julaine Appling, WFA PAC Director, issued the following statement:

“Wisconsin Family Action PAC endorses candidates based on three criteria: their positions on our core issues and our assessment of the strength of their commitment to those positions, their character and personal integrity as leaders demonstrated by their past and current track records, and their ability to conduct a viable campaign for the office for which they are running. We see our endorsement as a kind of ‘seal of approval’ that says to voters ‘this candidate has been carefully and fully vetted.’

“Sometimes that means we put our seal of approval on more than one candidate for a single office, leaving it to the voters to make nuanced choices between two (and occasionally more) fully vetted candidates. This is one of those times.

“Kevin Nicholson, while he admittedly has no legislative or governing track record, has verbalized commitment to the positions WFA PAC holds on issues such as marriage and family, the sanctity of human life, and religious freedom in our state. But over the past four years, he’s done more than talk about his beliefs and commitment; he’s been actively involved in an organization that has promoted his core values and beliefs—the sanctity of human life, parents’ rights, education freedom, limited government, capitalism and the free market, reduced tax burden, religious freedom and more. We expect that Kevin will govern and lead consistent with what he says and what he has been doing.

“The endgame comes in November when the primary winner takes on Tony Evers head-to-head. The candidates we have endorsed for governor, Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson, are equipped to do that. We need the best we have to ensure Tony Evers and his liberal, destructive ideas are finished in The Badger State. Fortunately, we have that in the gubernatorial candidates WFA PAC has put its seal of approval on.”

Additional endorsements for other offices for this fall’s elections will be issued over the next several months.

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Authorized and paid for by Wisconsin Family Action PAC, Leslie Harrison, Treasurer.  Not authorized by any candidate or by any candidate’s agent or committee.

Copy available online here.