From Allen Pincus

Barneveld

To the Editor:

On your ballot for the April 4th elections you will find a referendum asking if able-bodied, childless adults should be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits. A common sense proposal, but already a requirement to receive unemployment benefits or food stamps. And only the federal government can impose a work search requirement for Badger Care, the state’s health care program for low-income people. So what purpose is served by having this referendum on the ballot?

The other referendum asks voters if they approve of an amendment to the state’s constitution regarding bail laws. Currently judges can set bail only to insure a defendant will show up for trial. In cases where a person accused of a violent crime, the proposed amendment would allow a judge, in setting bail, to consider a wide range of factors such as the seriousness of the crime, previous criminal record, and the need to protect the community from serious harm. Again, this is a common sense but needless proposal. In determining if a person is a flight risk, judges already take into consideration the factors mentioned in the amendment. If protection of the community is a concern, why not just require a judge to deny bail for a defendant who poses a danger to the community, rather than letting them go free awaiting trial just because they can afford a high bail fee.

The referendums are of so little consequence that it was easy for both candidates in the Supreme Court race, who agree on almost nothing else, to endorse them. These unnecessary referendums were placed on the ballot by the Republican dominated legislature. The referendums are worded in a way that plays to the outrage of extreme right-wing voters over what they perceive as “softness on crime” and “welfare fraud.” By implying that the proposed work search requirement law and the constitutional bail amendment could actually do something to address those grievances, the framers of the resolutions hoped to increase the turnout of right-wing voters in the highly politicized Supreme Court race.

Referendums should be used as intended, to gauge voters’ opinions on important issues facing the state, such as gerrymandering, abortion rights, recusal rules for Supreme Court Justices, and environmental protections. Subverting the purpose of referendums is just another way of subverting democracy.