[Lekooks] State referendum questions on upcoming ballot

[Kerry Duma]

Thank you Kelly for trying to raise awareness about the referenda on the
ballot in the upcoming election.  As I see it, a yes vote on these
referenda has the potential to be most harmful to people of color and/or
those who are poor.  I voted no on all of them.


Below is a better explanation from WISDOM:


Amid all the excitement about the important Supreme Court election, there
has not been a lot of attention paid to the referendum questions that will
appear on all Wisconsin ballots this spring. Peter Bakken of the Wisconsin
Council of Churches has given permission for us to send you this excerpt
from his excellent explanation of the amendments:



*Two questions are about cash bail and pretrial detention.* If passed, they
would amend the Wisconsin state constitution to allow courts to (1) impose
on someone who has been accused of a crime, but not convicted, conditions
that are designed to protect the community from “serious harm,” and (2)
require cash bail for someone accused of a violent crime based on “the
totality of circumstances,” including previous convictions and the need to
protect members of the community from “serious harm.”



So what’s the problem? If the first passes, “serious bodily harm” (as the
constitution reads now) would become “serious harm as defined by the
legislature by law.” A bill (SB75/AB54) has been introduced that would
define “serious harm” to include mental anguish, emotional harm, property
damage, and economic loss. But voters couldn’t know this from reading the
question. There could be legal challenges to the amendments based on the
misleading wording.



The second proposed amendment is supposed to protect the community*.* But
accused persons with means could more easily buy their freedom than those
who are poor. Both changes would give courts more reasons to detain persons
awaiting trial, and would likely lead to more people being held in
overcrowded jails without being convicted of a crime.



Given the extreme racial disparities in Wisconsin’s legal system, the
consequences of these amendments – loss of freedom, loss of income,
increased likelihood of re-offending — will fall disproportionately on
people of color, as well as on those in poverty.



*The third referendum question asks,* “Shall able-bodied, childless adults
be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare
benefits?” Although this question is only “advisory,” it, like the others,
undermines the inclusive community that is essential to real democracy.
Simply by being on the ballot, it creates misunderstandings and reinforces
stereotypes that stand in the way of making our communities places where
everyone can thrive with dignity.



The question itself is misleading in many ways. The term “welfare” seems to
be used here to refer to a public benefit program intended to help people
in poverty, such as Wisconsin Works (W-2), FoodShare or Medicaid. However,
W-2 and FoodShare already have work requirements, and the federal
government currently bars work requirements for Medicaid. The question not
only fails to tell the voter which programs are meant, but misleads by
lumping them all together and implying that there are currently no work
requirements for any.



More insidiously, the term “welfare” evokes negative stereotypes of people
– especially Black persons — in poverty who supposedly are unwilling to
work. “Taxpayer-funded” suggests resentment at having to support government
antipoverty programs for those who are believed to fit the stereotype. (And
it ignores the many publicly-funded benefits for wealthier taxpayers.)
Absent is any understanding of the real lives of people in poverty and the
challenges they face. Nor is there any sense that we all belong to an
interdependent community, and we can only flourish to the extent each of
our neighbors can flourish.




David Liners
WISDOM
(414) 736-2099


On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 1:05 PM pryncez--- via Lekooks <lekooks at lekook.org>
wrote:

> I found the attached State referendum explanatory statement to help me
> understand the questions that are on the upcoming ballot.
>
>  Thought I'd send it here ....perhaps you'll find it helpful as well
>
> Cheers, Kelly Kohl
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> Lekooks at lekook.org
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