Wisconsin voters to decide on GOP-backed ballot measures that would affect how elections are run

Wisconsin voters will head to the polls Tuesday to decide on two low-profile yet controversial constitutional amendments backed by Republicans that would change how elections are run in the pivotal battleground state.

One measure would ban the use of private funds in election administration — which conservatives often refer to derisively as "Zuckerbucks" — while another seeks to clarify the role of an election worker.

Opponents contend that the measures are the result of unfounded conspiracy theories following Joe Biden's 2020 election win and that passing either or both of them would create obstacles to smoothly administering elections this fall, as Wisconsin is set to host key races for president and the U.S. Senate.

After the 2020 election, Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed that the millions of dollars Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg donated to groups helping election administration offices was a front by Zuckerberg to help Biden win the election. In reality, the money from a group he funded was used to help hire more election workers in heavily populated areas and to buy protective gear to prevent people from getting Covid.

Critics of the ballot measure that would ban using private funds in election administration argue that those claims are the reason Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin placed the measure on the ballot Tuesday.

Wisconsin is among a handful of states where lawmakers refer proposed constitutional amendments to the ballot so voters can decide. In other states, voters can try to directly place such measures on ballots via signature-gathering processes.

Supporters say the measures would effectively ban "dark money" from elections.

A second question on the Wisconsin ballot Tuesday will ask