The Winnebago County Board will be voting tonight to clutter up the November ballot with non-binding referenda meant to increase Democratic turnout in a very contentious election year. Two questions, one dealing with creating a non-partisan commission in Wisconsin to draw up legislative maps, the other to decriminalize and tax marijuana could go before voters this fall. That is in addition to a question approved earlier asking if people think the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling should be overturned via an amendment to the US Constitution.
Keep in mind that the results of the referenda mean absolutely nothing. 100% of the voters could say “overturn Citizens United, let me smoke pot, and challenge a group of un-elected people to come up with “fair districts” in Madison and Milwaukee” and not a single thing will change the day after the election, the year after the election and likely a decade after the election. But that is not the way the referenda will be marketed. “Vote ‘Yes’ on question three and make marijuana legal!”, “Vote ‘Yes’ on question two and make sure that your vote counts!” and “Vote to end corporate control of politics” will be the misleading statements supporters of the measures will use to fool low-information voters into thinking they are participating in something other than a glorified survey. And that push to vote in the referenda will be accompanied by the reminder to “vote for the Democratic slate of candidates while you are there!”
This is not to say that Republicans haven’t used this same tactic to increase their turnout–but when they’ve done it, the stakes have been for keeps. Constitutional amendments barring the state from recognizing same-sex marriages and ensuring the “right to hunt and fish” were ballot measures sure to draw GOP support in very important election years. The difference there was, those votes had actual consequences–creating new law–not just “gauging public opinion”.
It’s also why supporters of these measures–and the Democratic Party–are using the County Board route to get those questions on the ballot. They could circulate petitions and get a statewide referendum on any of these issues–but that requires a lot of work. Instead, you can get a handful of supervisors in each county to vote to put a question on the ballot and save yourself the hassle. Then you add up the results from the individual referenda and you can claim that “56% of Wisconsinites want legalized pot!!”
I refuse to vote on non-binding referendum questions. Yes, that may skew the results in favor of those who think they are “sending a message” with the vote–but like I have said, it’s not going to make a lick of difference in the grand scheme of things. I save my precious vote for candidates that actually have their own stances on issues and don’t need a taxpayer-funded survey to determine how they should vote on things. It’s why we live in a Representative Democracy–and not a “true Democracy” where the mob rules.
