Early in-person absentee voting has begun in Wisconsin, and voters are being asked to decide three constitutional amendment questions. The answers may seem like a simple yes or no, but the questions may not be so easy.
TMJ4's Charles Benson spent time in downtown Milwaukee talking to voters about the three constitutional amendments, including Jeff Murrell, who researched the questions before voting Tuesday.
Watch Charles Benson's report in the video player below:
"That's a little up my alley professionally. I'm an attorney," Murrell said.
The amendments and ballot questions are drafted by the state's Legislative Reference Bureau, with state lawmakers voting on the final wording for voters to decide on Election Day.
Question 1 is about a governor's partial veto powers. It's a Republican-backed effort to push back on any governor's attempt to use the partial veto authority to create or increase a tax or fee. It's a specific reference to Gov. Tony Evers using his veto pen to change a two-year school funding increase into 400 years.
Marie Britt-Sharp said she and her husband studied all the questions closely and even went to a public forum on the issues, but said she still had to read the questions carefully.
"Even an attorney would read it twice. We probably read it five times, trying to make sure that we ensure ourselves that the information was going to be pertinent to us," Britt-Sharp said.
Question 2 is about the freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency. It would prohibit the state from ordering the closure or gathering of places of worship in a public health emergency, a reference dating back to the state's restrictions during the pandemic.
Question 3 is about governmental guidelines with discrimination issues. It would prohibit the state from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in places like public employment, education or contracting.
Many voters agreed they are the best to decide any changes to the state's constitution.
"Well, yeah, only because sometimes the constitution needs to be amended," Pat Migliaccio said.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin is encouraging a "yes" vote on all three questions. The state's Democratic Party has endorsed a "no" position on questions one and three, but is neutral on question two.
In-person absentee voting continues in the city of Milwaukee until Sunday, Nov. 1.
This story was reported on-air by Charlesd Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
