The Wisconsin state primary election is being held today: Tuesday, August 13. State legislative and U.S. congressional races with competitive partisan primaries will be decided today. A full list of the federal and state candidates running in Wisconsin this year is available here. See this article for analysis of the primary and key races to watch.

Also on the August primary ballot are two referendum questions regarding proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution. These amendments were adopted by Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature in response to recent disputes between the legislature and Gov. Tony Evers (D) regarding the allocation of federal funds received during the COVID-19 pandemic and the power of the legislature to review spending decisions made by the executive branch.

Typically, when Wisconsin receives federal funds (such as transportation and education dollars), these dollars are appropriated via the state’s biennial budget process: the governor makes budget recommendations, the legislature passes a budget bill, and the governor—who may exercise his partial veto authority on appropriations bills—signs the bill.

What brought the governor’s authority to a head with the legislature was the unanticipated federal funding Wisconsin received during the COVID-19 pandemic under the CARES Act and ARPA. Those funds Gov. Evers could generally spend without having to go through the legislative process. As a result, Republicans began pursuing these constitutional amendments, which will likely have consequences beyond the spending of such unanticipated (or “emergency”) federal dollars.

Gov. Evers has stated repeatedly that he opposes the amendments and is concerned that the changes could delay the state’s ability to effectively respond to an emergency. Legislative Republicans have contended that the legislature should be involved in the allocation of any and all monies that the state spends.

The text of the questions as they will appear on the ballot is as follows:

• Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”
• Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

Pro-business and fiscally conservative organizations such as Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, and the Badger Institute support the amendments (see WILL’s explainer on the amendments here). Liberal organizations including the League of Women Voters, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and Fair Maps Wisconsin oppose the amendments (see LWV’s explainer here). News coverage from various outlets is available here, here, here, and here.

In Wisconsin, the main way to amend the state constitution is for the legislature to pass a proposed amendment in two consecutive legislative sessions (in this case, the 2021-22 and 2023-24 sessions) which must then be approved by voters during the next available statewide election. The governor plays no role in this process.