MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers and Democrats in the State Legislature announced Tuesday they want an advisory referendum seeking to ask voters if they support ending Wisconsin's 1849 abortion ban.
During a press conference, Evers said the resolution will be on the April, 2023 ballot. In the same election, voters are considering candidates for the state Supreme Court.
The Wisconsin Senate, meanwhile, is set on Tuesday to vote on a resolution on whether or not welfare recipients should need to seek work to get their benefits.
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During his inaugural speech at the start of 2023, Gov. Evers renewed his effort to remove Wisconsin's 1849 law banning abortions. That 174-year-old law went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Wisconsin Republicans have twice rejected Evers' attempts to undo the 1849 law. Evers has said he will veto any bill that creates exceptions under the law for rape and incest; Evers said he will only support fully overturning the abortion ban.
Evers said Tuesday he and Democratic lawmakers are putting forward a resolution. That resolution in turn would put an advisory referendum on the April ballot.
The victor of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race will determine the ideological balance of the court for at least the next two years, the Associated Press' Scott Bauer pointed out Tuesday. That includes the 2024 presidential election.
According to Gov. Evers in a statement:
“On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are here again today to reaffirm that we will never stop fighting for Wisconsin women and reproductive freedom, and that includes working to ensure the people of Wisconsin have the opportunity to weigh in as to whether Wisconsin should overturn our 1800s-era criminal abortion ban and restore protections under Roe."
