Wis­con­sin vot­ers to decide on pri­vate fund­ing of elec­tions

Wis­con­sin vot­ers will decide Tues­day on a pair of ref­er­en­dums that could change how elec­tions are con­duct­ed for decades to come in one of the country’s most polit­i­cal­ly com­pet­i­tive states.
One would bar state and local gov­ern­ments from using pri­vate funds to con­duct elec­tions, while the oth­er one man­dates that only elec­tion offi­cials can car­ry out elec­tion-relat­ed tasks. 

For­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump speaks at a ral­ly on Aug. 5, 2022, in Wauke­sha, Wis­con­sin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Broad­ly speak­ing, Repub­li­cans and con­ser­v­a­tive groups are urg­ing vot­ers to say “yes” to both, while Democ­rats are a hard “no.”
Democ­rats in the bat­tle­ground state have spent the past decade being boxed out of pow­er by the GOP, which held an iron grip on the state gov­ern­ment. Repub­li­cans have held con­trol of both hous­es of the state leg­is­la­ture for years, in part because of the dis­trict lines they drew in 2011.
The tide start­ed turn­ing fol­low­ing the fall of Roe v. Wade, which made abor­tion ille­gal overnight. That jump-start­ed a …