Tag: Peter J. Vedro

During its monthly meeting, the board voted 17-12 to place an advisory referendum on county ballots this November involving the influence of money in politics and the constitutional rights of corporations. Later in the evening, the board turned down another non-binding ballot question, voting 26-3 to refer back to committee a proposed referendum on the so-called “dark store” tax loophole. The referendum that was approved will ask whether voters would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that only human beings — not corporations, unions, or other artificial entities — have constitutional rights. A second part of the referendum will ask whether voters favor a constitutional amendment that says “Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting speech.” The referendum is a reaction to controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Last month, supervisors voted 21-10 to run a countywide advisory referendum on non-partisan redistricting reform. A state law allowing county boards to run such referendums does not specifically limit their subject matter, and Wisconsin counties have run ballot questions on state and national issues. Still, some local supervisors said they believe the county board should stay out of those matters. He said he plans to propose another referendum involving voter suppression. “Donald Trump won the presidency in Wisconsin by 22,000 votes. It also would ask whether lawmakers should prohibit funding to organizations “suspected of illegally selling baby parts.”