Wisconsin iniative, referendum, and Constitutional amendment processes
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December, 2002 (With special thank you to Robert Bakhaus for his contributions to the below.) The following statutory references seem to be the extent of Wisconsin's initiative-referendum law: 6.27(4)(a) (a) When registration is ordered or directed under sub. (2) or (3), it may be abolished by a referendum vote. The vote may be taken at the spring or general election whenever, at least 60 days before the election, the electors file a petition conforming to the requirements of s. 8.40 with the clerk requesting a referendum. The petition shall be signed by electors at least equal to 15% of the votes cast for governor in the municipality in the last general election. 6.47(8)(e) (e) At the request of a protected individual, for purposes of permitting that individual to sign a petition under s. 59.05 (2) or a protest petition, consent, or counter petition under s. 125.05. 7.15(2)(d) (d) Whenever the governing body of any municipality submits any question to a vote of the electors or whenever a proper recall petition and certificate are filed under s. 9.10, the municipal clerk shall issue a call for the election and prepare and distribute ballots as required in the authorization of submission or as provided in s. 9.10. The date of the referendum shall be fixed by the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners unless otherwise provided by law or unless the governing body fixes a date. The ballot for any referendum shall conform to s. 5.64 (2). If there is already an official municipal referendum ballot for the election, the question may appear on the same ballot. Summary of Results: I get the impression that ONLY legislative bodies can place proposals on the ballot for electoral referendums. And that the only public initiative by petition is to let small towns decide whether to register voters locally. In that particular case the number of signatures for that question is 15% of the gubernatorial vote in the area affected. I suspect this is a good precedent basis for expanding the petition-initiative process. But it would probably take the cooperation of some incumbent legislators to put proposals on the ballot to expand the petition-initiative process in Wisconsin. At this point I would recommend finding a local attorney who enjoys procedural reform. You're likelier to find the right lawyer hanging around the state capitol. WISCONSIN: State law provides for Initiative ordinances in all cities, proposed by petition of voters equal to 15 percent of the ballot cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. In towns, voters can petition to put Initiative ordinances on the town meeting agenda. (Source: The Initiative and Referendum Institute.) History of I&R in Wisconsin The name Wisconsin is practically synonymous with Progressivism, yet this state has never had a statewide Initiative and Referendum process. Indeed, it is one of only three states where voters turned down their opportunity to get it (Texas and Rhode Island are the others). The circumstances were as follows. In 1907 Lieut. Gov. W. D. Connor and State Sen. W.D. Brazeau took up the cause and secured approval in the state senate by a 19 to 5 vote, but lost in the lower house. The Progressive reformers had been in power since 1900, and had enacted a host of reforms, but I&R was apparently not a priority. Any state constitutional amendment needed to pass both houses by a three-fifths majority in two successive sessions of the legislature, with an election in between. Only then, after two years or more, could it be put on the ballot for ratification by the voters. The I&R amendment finally passed both houses in the 1911-1912 legislature with the support of Gov. Francis E. McGovern, U.S. Sen. Robert M. La Follette and his Progressive Republican followers, and the state’s Socialists. It passed again in the 1913-1914 legislature, and was placed on the November 1914 ballot. After 13 years in power, the Progressives had become overconfident. In the 1913 legislature, they passed a series of big tax increases to finance an ambitious public works program, as well as giving final approval to a constitutional amendment raising their salaries It went on the November 1914 ballot along with the I&R amendment and eight others, including one to allow recall of all State elected officers except judges. After paying the higher taxes in 1914, the voters had had their fill of the liberal reformers and all their works. The amendments on the 1914 ballot offered an easy target for the voters’ wrath. Leading candidates of both major parties damned all the amend- ments, without informing voters that the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall amendments offered just the mechanism they needed to block legislation they deplored. The state Democratic convention that year disapproved I&R in its platform; Republican gubernatorial candidate Emmanuel L. Phillipp also urged voters to reject I&R. On election day all 10 amendments were defeated overwhelmingly. The voters discriminated hardly at all between them: the least popular amendments won 26 percent approval; the most popular, 38 percent. The I&R amendment and the recall amendment were approved by 36 percent. Because they decided to vote "no" on everything, Wisconsin voters in 1914 denied themselves, and all Wisconsin voters for the next 75 years, the right to vote on issues of their choice. (Source: Excerpt from Citizen Lawmakers The Ballot Initiative Revolution by David D. Schmidt.) |