Stop the Next 400-year Veto: Vote YES on Question 1
On November 3rd, Wisconsin voters will have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that would stop future governors of either party from using the partial veto to create or increase taxes and fees on their own. The question on the ballot reads as follows:
As It Appears On Your Ballot
Question 1:
“Partial veto. Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?”
WILL supports a YES vote.
A yes vote closes the tax-veto loophole for every future governor.
Key Points
Why a YES vote makes sense, whoever you vote for
Every tax increase deserves a public vote, not a veto pen.
Any new tax or fee should be debated and voted on by the Legislature, where voters can see who supported it.
No blank checks.
Electing a governor shouldn’t hand that person the power to raise taxes for generations with a single stroke of a pen.
One rule, every governor, both parties.
Constitutional limits shouldn’t depend on who’s sitting in the Governor’s office. The same rule should apply to every future governor, Republican or Democrat.
Families are already stretched thin.
With groceries, utilities, and housing costs on the rise, Wisconsinites shouldn’t face new taxes that were never actually voted on by the Legislature.
Why This Matters Now
A few digits and dashes turned two years into four centuries
In 2023, Gov. Tony Evers used Wisconsin’s partial veto to strike a few digits and dashes from the state budget, turning a two-year, $325-per-pupil school funding increase into a tax authorization that runs until the year 2425. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has since upheld it.
That $325 isn’t a one-time cost. It compounds every year, growing by another $325 per pupil annually. For the 2026-27 school year, this represents $1,300 per student in potential new taxes. And the impact of this veto is just beginning to be felt by taxpayers.
And it isn’t sitting on the books unused. In the 2025-26 school year, the large majority of Wisconsin school districts used nearly all of the extra taxing authority this veto gave them. This is already showing up in property tax bills across the state.
That particular veto is locked in, no matter how this vote turns out. What’s on the ballot this November is whether a future governor, of either party, can do it again.
2425
The year the veto’s taxing authority is currently set to expire.
+300%
Growth in taxing authority under the veto since 2023, against roughly 9% inflation.
77
Districts that under-levied by more than $1 in 2025-26, out of over 400 statewide.
Interactive Calculator
See how much the 400-Year Veto cost you
Wisconsin 400-Year Veto Tax Impact (2026-27 School Year)
Estimate the additional property tax on your home if a district levies the full stacked 400-year veto authority from the pre-adjustment base: four annual $325 per-pupil increases, or $1,300 per student in 2026-27, with no new state aid offset.
Projected increase from base through 2036-37
Each bar is another $325 per pupil stacked onto the cap. Hover a bar for the dollar amount on the selected home. Holds student count and equalized value constant; assumes the district levies the full authority with no new state aid.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty · will-law.org
Take the Pledge
Commit to voting YES on November 3rd
The Pledge
“I pledge to vote YES on Question 1 this November 3rd: no governor gets a blank check to raise my taxes.”
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Get WILL’s updates as Election Day approaches and the campaign for Question 1 develops.
