The Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature passed two constitutional amendment proposals this week that seek to prohibit noncitizen voting and the use of private money to conduct elections. Both measures will now head to voters for approval.
SJR 78 stipulates that no state employee or political subdivision “may apply for, accept, expend, or use any moneys or equipment in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum if the moneys or equipment are donated or granted by an individual or nongovernmental entity.” The proposal additionally bans anyone “other than an election official designated by law from performing any task in the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum.”
The measure passed the State Assembly (60-35) on Thursday after clearing the Senate on Tuesday (21-10). Every present Republican in both chambers supported the proposal while every present Democrat voted in opposition.
During the 2020 election, nonprofits such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) received hundreds of millions of dollars from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. These “Zuckbucks” were poured into local election offices in battleground states around the country to change how elections were administered; among other things, this was done by expanding unsupervised election protocols like mail-in voting and using ballot drop boxes. To make matters worse, the grants were heavily skewed toward Democrat-majority counties, essentially making it a massive, privately funded Democrat get-out-the-vote operation.
Leading up to the 2020 contest, Wisconsin received roughly $10.1 million “Zuckbucks” from CTCL, which “distributed a total of 31 grants above the $5,000
