A ballot measure in Wisconsin that prohibits the use of private funds in managing elections was expected to succeed on Tuesday, based on Decision Desk HQ's projections.
The ballot measure got 54 percent approval, according to DDHQ, with 98 percent of the votes reported by Wednesday morning.
The measure asked Wisconsinites were asked in the ballot measure if the state Constitution should be changed to disallow private donations and grants in connection with conducting any primary, election, or referendum.
Another ballot measure in Wisconsin, which aimed to modify the state Constitution to specify that only designated election officials can conduct elections, was also expected to pass with nearly 59 percent of the vote, according to DDHQ.
The first ballot measure regarding private funding came after Republican criticism following donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan to two groups providing grants to local municipalities for conducting elections during the 2020 election cycle amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, the city of Milwaukee accepted a grant from the Cities Forward nonprofit for the Milwaukee Election Commission and Milwaukee Public Library to run a citywide public education campaign to enhance civic connection among residents. as described by the city.
Republicans falsely claimed that these efforts during the pandemic were aimed at helping Democrats. The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) rejected a complaint in 2022 related to Zuckerberg, his wife, and their donations.
Nevertheless, the National Conference of State Legislatures stated in December that 27 states have rules that restrict the use of private or philanthropic funding to run elections.
Wisconsin is among a few critical battleground states that will probably decide the presidency and Senate control. Former President Trump lost the state to President Biden in 2020 by just over 20,000 votes.
