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Program Information:
Emily Lau, staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the UW-Madison law school, will speak on efforts to amend both the U.S. and WI state constitutions. 

Our US Constitution is a founding document of our democracy and yet the process for changing it is in danger of becoming politicized. From the Congressional Research report cited below “Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two ways to amend the nation’s fundamental charter. Congress, by a two-thirds vote of both houses, may propose amendments to the states for ratification, a procedure that has been used for all 27 current amendments. Alternatively, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, 34 at present, Article V directs that Congress “shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments…””. This alternative has never been implemented. Yet on January 25, 2022, the Wisconsin legislature voted to support the “Convention of States”, making the current total 19 states in support of this effort. The League of Women Voters (National) is “concerned that there are many unresolved questions about the powers and processes of an Article V Constitutional Convention. The League believes that such a Convention should be called only” if 6 specific conditions are in place which would safeguard this process.

Our Wisconsin Constitution is also under fire. In 2024, there have been 5 state Constitutional Amendments on the ballet. Unlike the regular bills passed by the legislature, the governor cannot veto a proposed constitutional amendment. This indicates that the WI legislature is using the constitutional amendment process to bypass the governor’s veto authority. Legislating through constitutional amendments politicizes our democratic process and corrupts our Constitution. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin advocated a “NO” vote to all of the 2024 proposed Constitutional Amendments on the ballot.