Midterm elections: What issues are top of mind for voters?

To the polls to cast their ballots today, they'll be considering what's important to them. Our Haley Spittler is joining us live from the Live Center with a deep dive into top issues of this election. Hi, Haley. Hey, good morning, Derica and Nicola. It's hard to believe, but Election Day is, in fact, already here. And as you know, those polls are open. And a lot of voters have been doing their research into these candidates and where they stand on key issues. So I want to go ahead and bring in our political reporter, Jason Calvi, who is joining us via Zoom. Jason, obviously a big day here for Wisconsin and the country. What are some of the key issues that are really important to Wisconsin voters? I think it's the economy. Again and again and again, when you talk to voters, they say their number one issue is the economy. The latest Marquette poll just confirms that. It found that 48 percent of those polled said inflation and the cost of living were their top issue. And again and again, even if you look at all the other issues that were surveyed, people mentioned economic issues, whether it's inflation or housing or health care and things like that. So the economy, top of mind for voters right now. Yeah, I know we've talked before. Immigration enforcement, health care, data centers, other key issues there. But Jason, of course, Wisconsin, a battleground state. I know you've been busy. You've been crunching the numbers to find battleground cities. What did you find that could give some clues about tonight? The election results here in Battleground, Wisconsin. Look at the city of Port Washington in 2022. So our last gubernatorial, our last governor's race here in Wisconsin. Port Washington, guess how big the margin was of votes between the winner and loser of that city? Five votes. Governor Tony Evers won Port Washington over his competitor, Republican Tim Michaels, by five votes. So when you say every vote counts, it really does. Move on to this Waterloo. Tony Evers beat Tim Michaels there by four votes. And then we go to that crucial swing city in a swing state, Cedarburg. They elected, they picked... Tim Michaels over Governor Evers by 21 votes. So again and again, we're finding these municipalities in Wisconsin really exhibiting that we are indeed a swing state, Haley. I mean, these are some incredibly small margins. And to your point, Jason, don't let anyone ever tell you your vote doesn't matter when it comes down to five. That is crazy. Okay, a lot of people obviously focusing on the gubernatorial race, but what else will you be watching tonight? Really, there's so many crucial races when we talk about Issues that are important to you, the lawmakers that you elect to represent you in Congress in Washington, D.C. or at the state capitol in Madison, they're going to be deciding how to spend your tax money, what the tax rates should be, how much money to pump into your local schools and your local roads and law enforcement and crime and the very controversial issues that we fought over in Wisconsin, whether it's union rights for public service employees, that law called Act 10 under Republican administration of Scott Walker, which puts restrictions on governmental unions, that would be potentially up for grabs if, indeed, Democrats are able to have what's called a trifecta, and they're looking to potentially flip the state assembly, the state senate, and keep the governor's office. That would give them a trifecta, but Republicans are trying to maintain their control over the state legislature and pick up the governor's office, so they're looking for their trifecta themselves. It's going to be all about turnout, so when you look at the latest Marquette poll, it was interesting. is it did find David Crowley leading of those absolutely certain to vote. He was leading 51 to 44 over his competitor, Tom Tiffany. But when you look at people that were not 100 percent certain to vote. That's when Tom Tiffany takes the lead, and the Marquette poll found of those not certain, kind of iffy about whether to vote or not, Tom Tiffany was favored 42 to Crowley's 30%. So, again, it's going to come out to turnout. That's why you're seeing these candidates really flood the airwaves. That's why you're getting all those text messages, knocks on your door, mails in your mailbox, as well as all of the campaign events that have been taking place across the state. Ramping up over the course of this last weekend. So the candidates really trying to get that message because so much is on the line here in Battleground, Wisconsin. Yeah. OK, so we talk about other things that are going to be on the ballot, like some of those races. I also know there's going to be some referendums. What do we need to know there? Yeah, so there's going to be some, some of your local school districts are going to have some funding requests. They're going to say, hey, can we raise your taxes to give more money to schools? So you're going to see that. For example, in Green Bay, they have the largest one on the ballot this year. And then the third largest is going to be in Elmbrook, Elmbrook, the Elmbrook School District. So that's Brookfield and Elm Grove. Elmbrook School District has the third largest school referendum. But for everybody watching, everybody right now as you're watching on your ballot, you're going to definitely have... Three questions, these are regarding constitutional amendments here in the state of Wisconsin. You have the final say in Wisconsin whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution. It did pass the legislature, but it does bypass the governor. So the governor doesn't have a say on these constitutional amendments. So I want to get into exactly what those constitutional amendments would do. The first one deals with stopping governors from using their partial veto authority to increase taxes or increase fees or add taxes or add fees. If you pass this, it will no longer allow the governor to use their partial veto to raise taxes, which is what we saw Governor Tony Evers do with what's called his 400-year veto. He scratched off a couple digits and scratched off the hyphen to make what was supposed to be an increase in school funding for one year. He scratched out some numbers to make it go for 400 years, giving local authorities, local jurisdictions, the ability to raise the levy over the course of 400 years. This is something that Republicans are going forward with with this constitutional amendment. So that's one of the things. Another one is banning municipalities in the state from closing down places of worship during a public emergency. Think about potentially COVID-19 and some of the lockdowns that were in place then. So those are a couple of the referendums that you're going to be deciding. You have the final say on whether to change the Wisconsin Constitution. Absolutely, Jason. That's why it's always good to look up your ballot in advance so there are no surprises when you go and vote. We appreciate you joining us here at the Live Center. I know it's going to be a busy day for you, Jason. And of course, polls will close at 8 p.m. As long as you're in line, your vote will count. So make sure and stay there and bring a photo ID. Derica, Nicola. All right. Good advice there, Haley. Thanks.