What to know about Wisconsin's 3 Constitutional Amendments on the ballot this November

Wisconsin voters will decide in November whether to approve three proposed amendments to the state Constitution.

The Republican-led Legislature has placed three separate questions on the ballot. The proposed amendments would:

*Prohibit the governor from using the partial veto power to create a new tax or fee.

*Prohibit the government from ordering the closure of places of worship during an emergency.

*Bar the government entities from discriminating against or providing preferential treatment to individuals based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

Under Wisconsin law, a proposed constitutional amendment must pass the state Legislature in the exact same form during two consecutive legislative sessions before it can go before voters. The governor does not have the authority to veto constitutional amendments. If approved by the Legislature, the final decision rests with Wisconsin voters.

"This is a legislature's attempt to get around the governor," said Sue Jennik, the President of the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Dane County. The LWV is against all three amendments.

"These are ways to restrict the power of the government," said Dan Lennington, the Managing Vice President and Deputy Counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. The conservative law firm is in favor of all three.

Question on ballot: “Partial veto. Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?”

If approved this amendment would prohibit the governor from using the partial veto power to create a new tax or fee.

In 2023, Gov. Tony Evers partially vetoed the section of the 2024-25 state budget that would have increased school funding by $325 per student for two years, changing the wording of the end date from "2024-25" to "2425" by striking out the "20" and the hyphen from the bill. The state supreme court upheld the veto in 2025. Chief Justice Jill Karofsky said at the time that Wisconsin's constitution does not limit the governor’s partial veto power "based on how much or how little the partial vetoes change policy."

Question on ballot: "Freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency. Shall section 18 of article I of the constitution, which deals with religious liberty, be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?"

If approved, this would prohibit the government from ordering the closure of places of worship during an emergency.

This question stems from the restriction put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Gov. Evers issued the Safer at Home order which ordered all Wisconsinites to stay at home unless the activity was considered essential. Religious gathers were limited to 10 people or fewer in a room at a time with social distancing requirements in place.

The State Supreme Court struck down the stay-at-home restrictions and ruled that Gov. Evers’ administration overstepped its authority when it extended the order. Government discrimination

Question on ballot: "Governmental entity discrimination prohibited. Shall section 27 of article I of the constitution be created to prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?"

If approved, this amendment would bar government entities from discriminating against or providing preferential treatment to individuals based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The amendment's author Rep. Dave Murphy (R - Hortonville) previously testified that the amendment is modeled "after Michigan’s 2006 constitutional amendment, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court."

For anyone claiming that Wisconsin is a lost cause politically, we ARE trying! Wisconsin, as a whole, also voted for President Trump TWICE and we still have a Republican House and Assembly (Senate) which has saved us from going BACKWARDS on SO many occasions. Thank you, (ex) Governor Scott Walker! On, Wisconsin!

1 posted on 10/07/2026 8:08:08 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin

“*Prohibit the government from ordering the closure of places of worship during an emergency.”

The 1st Amendment to the U. S. Constitution already prohibits it.

Wisconsin minus Madison and Milwaukee is a deep red state.

3 posted on 10/07/2026 10:14:57 AM PDT by Salman (It's not a slippery slope if it was part of the program all along.)

Now define place of worship.

4 posted on 10/07/2026 12:24:32 PM PDT by sistergoldenhair

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.