The Wisconsin State Legislature voted to send one constitutional amendment as two ballot questions to the April 2, 2024, ballot. The first question asks voters to prohibit governments from applying or accepting non-governmental funds or equipment for the administration of any primary, election, or referendum. The second question asks voters to provide that only election officials designated by law may administer elections.
In October, Louisiana became the first state to prohibit private funding for election administration through a constitutional amendment. It was approved with 72.57% of the vote. In 2022, voters in Michigan approved an amendment that allowed local governments to accept charitable and in-kind donations to assist with running elections as long as donations are disclosed and aren’t from foreign entities.
As of October 2023, 27 states had enacted laws banning or otherwise restricting the use of private donations for election administration purposes. Twenty-one of these states had a Republican trifecta when the law was adopted; the six other states had divided government at the time. No states banned or restricted private election funding prior to 2021.
