Wisconsinites rally behind Trump-backed election measures in primary.
GREEN BAY, Wisc—Voters in Wisconsin’s April 2 primary have made up their minds on two election measures introduced and championed by Republicans in the state and former President Donald J. Trump.
Wisconsinites chose yes on a measure restricting private money from entering elections—a concern of many GOP voters and elected officials after the 2020 presidential election, which saw significant donations from tech billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in and beyond the state. Conservatives often refer to the liberal donor’s contributions as “Zuckerbucks.”
Specifically, the proposal would alter the constitution “to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum.”
Voters chose yes on a related measure limiting selection of election staff on primaries, referenda, and elections to “only election officials designated by law.”
President Trump asked his supporters to vote yes on both at his April 2 Green Bay rally, which followed events the same day in Michigan.
The Associated Press called the results for question 2, on election workers, at 8:41 p.m. local time. As of 9:01 p.m., with 45 percent of the votes counted, 56 percent of voters favored the proposal.
It then called the results for question 1, on election funding, at 8:45 p.m. local time. As of 9:02 p.m., with 48 percent of the vote counted, 53.2 percent of the vote was in favor of the proposal.
The concern ahead of November’s election stems in part from the widespread use of private out-of-state money during the 2020 presidential contest, particularly money from Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s foundation. That organization donated more than $400 million “to supporting election infrastructure” in jurisdictions across the country that year.
An analysis from the Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think tank, found that more than $10 million of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s funding went to Wisconsin, a key swing state. The overwhelming majority of that ended up in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha—the state’s five largest cities.
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