Article III Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution currently reads, “Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district.”

After Tuesday’s vote, the article will now read, “Only a United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district.”

Doesn’t this change the meaning of the statement so much that it’s no longer true that every citizen of age who is a resident is eligible to vote? Can this new language be interpreted by courts and lawmakers such that anyone can be disenfranchised if such malicious laws can be passed in the state?

  • Nougat
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    17415 days ago

    Ohhhh I see now.

    “Every” says “Every member of this group has this right.”

    “Only” says “Anyone who has this right must be a member of this group,” but it doesn’t say “Every member of this group has this right.” Which means that “Some members of this group might not have this right.”

    Nice catch.

    • sp3ctr4l
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      7315 days ago

      Yep.

      It would mean that a law that passes that just appends ‘and you are male’ or ‘and you are white’ now is legally valid without requiring judicial review.