Civic Break: Bypassing the Veto—The Rise of Constitutional Amendments in Wisconsin as a Political Tool
WF Civic Breaks are short, accessible briefings designed to cut through the noise around timely civic and policy topics. Created to fit into a busy day, each session offers clear context and key takeaways for anyone who wants to stay informed and engaged in what’s shaping our community. Click here to learn more about WF Civic Breaks.
In 2020, Wisconsin Justice Initiative brought a lawsuit that sought to require clearer wording for constitutional amendment ballot questions. Instead, the state’s 2020 Supreme Court gave the legislature carte blanche to describe them in a manner that is often vague or misleading.
Now a ballot question is invalid “only in the rare circumstance that the question is fundamentally counterfactual such that voters were not asked to approve the actual amendment,” according to the court’s decision.
In doing so the court tossed out a standard in effect since 1925 and replaced it with one never argued by the parties, steeped in a legal theory called originalism.
Since 2020 the legislature has placed nine constitutional amendments on statewide ballots, addressing issues ranging from cash bail to voter ID laws. In November voters will see three more: one prohibiting government discrimination, one eliminating the governor’s partial veto power over the budget, and one barring the government from closing gatherings at places of worship during state-declared emergencies.
Join us as we explain how we got here and what November’s referendums really mean.
Registration required (see below). Free to attend.
WF Civic Breaks offer the briefing; WF Laundry Nights offer the space to talk it through together.
ABOUT MARGO KIRCHNER
Margo Kirchner is the executive director of Wisconsin Justice Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advocating to improve Wisconsin’s justice system and educating the public about justice-related issues. Informing litigants about how to navigate Wisconsin’s municipal courts, monitoring municipal courts, and advocating for municipal court improvements and defense counsel for litigants have all been important activities for WJI since its founding in 2015. Motivated by what she saw when she was monitoring municipal courts in 2018 and 2019 for WJI, Margo ran for municipal judge in the Village of Shorewood and won in the 2020 COVID election. Shorewood voters re-elected her in April 2024 to another four-year term.
Previously, Margo served for 23 years as a term or career law clerk in the federal Eastern District of Wisconsin trial court and clerked one year at the Seventh Circuit federal appellate court.
Margo received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. She recently earned an MS in nonprofit management from UW-Milwaukee.
Margo serves state bar members as a representative on the Wisconsin Judicial Council. She is a former president of the Association for Women Lawyers and currently chairs the AWL Foundation.