The Wisconsin legislature is looking to create a state constitutional amendment where voters would decide if private election donations would be prohibited at the local level.
Wisconsin’s effort would prohibit Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg from donating to the state’s elections, as he previously gave millions to the state’s local elections.
In 2020, the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) poured almost $350 million into Wisconsin’s local elections, most of which was donated by Zuckerburg.
The state attempted to pass a similar measure banning private election funding twice, but both bills were vetoed by Democrat Governor Tony Evers.
Upon the latest veto, Evers wrote, “I am objecting to this bill in its entirety because I object to the ban on governments using private grant funds for election administration.”
The current amendment’s co-sponsor, state Representative Ty Bodden (R) tweeted a statement reading, “I am honored to be a supporting author on the constitutional amendment prohibiting outside money from influencing our elections and election processes.
Reporting from RSBN:
Other states have taken strong measures to do so. Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., for example, signed a bill into law in 2022 that forbid the private funding of elections in South Dakota, RSBN reported. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2022 also placed a ban on “Zuckerbucks” flowing into the Sunshine State by signing Senate Bill 524 into law, effectively increasing the penalty for illegal ballot harvesting, creating an Office of Election Crimes and Security, and banning private funding for election-related expenses.
