On The Wisconsin Ballot: Sections 1 & 3 of Article VI, Sections 7 & 8 of Article X and Section 17 of Article XIV Of The State Constitution. Wait. What?

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If you intend on voting next week, you will be confronted with an oddly composed question on your ballot about eliminating the state treasurer office.

Statewide Referendum
QUESTION 1:
Elimination of state treasurer. Shall sections 1 and 3 of article VI and sections 7 and 8 of article X of the constitution be amended, and section 17 of article XIV of the constitution be created, to eliminate the office of state treasurer from the constitution and to replace the state treasurer with the lieutenant governor as a member of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands?

I highly doubt anyone standing at the polling place, short of a constitutional scholar, has any idea what all those sections of the Wisconsin Constitution entail. Of course Section 17 of Article 14 doesn't even exist at the moment since somebody wants the referendum to create it, but therein lies the problem.

Put it this way, they wouldn't have to create a new section in our state Constitution to eliminate something they call nothing.

You see, the run-up to this deceptive charade involved repeated language to eliminate the office entirely, because they claimed the office was meaningless and that there were no duties left to perform. To basically repeal nothing. But that narrative turns out to be not true. The newly created Section 17 shows that they want to reboot what remains of this valuable office, after years of raiding the office of its framework, under the umbrella of the lieutenant governor's office, which in turn gives full control and final authority to the governor's administration.

So their intention is not exactly about repealing the state treasurer as they seem to imply. Not at all. Because without the language to create Section 17 of Article 14, the office would just vanish and everybody would be on their merry way.

But the newly created Section 17 gives the executive branch, be it democrat or republican, another set of standards and control to manipulate in-house and politicize for whatever advantage they might need. If there's a problem, we'll just have to let the executive branch investigate itself. Rrrright.

Clearly, keeping the duties and oversight of a treasury office completely independent from the governor's office is absolutely necessary to maintain an untampered check and balance of the state's finances. If anything, the office should be strengthened - not debased. They know it. The Governor knows it. Without an independent treasury office, there is no oversight.

Wisconsin voters should be insulted by the structure and intention of this referendum question.

Please vote "NO."