Voters will weigh in on more than the governor's race on Election Day



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- When voters go to vote on November 4th, they'll not only be casting a ballot for governor of Wisconsin, they'll also weigh in on several ballot questions.

The state's transportation fund helps pay for a lot of different things. Road construction is one of the most visible, but it also goes toward airports, trains and bus service. One referendum will ask voters whether a transportation fund should be created for the exclusive purpose of funding Wisconsin's transportation systems -- and to prohibit any transfers or lapses from the fund.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele oversees the Milwaukee County Transit System -- which is state-mandated and pair for largely by Wisconsin's transportation fund. He wants it to be an exclusive fund.

"If you have a set amount of money in a transportation fund, as soon as you open the doo,r it gets tempting for people to reach in and say, "Hey, I want to fund this other program,'" said Abele.

A "yes" vote would mean the transportation fund could only be used for transportation issues. There is bipartisan support for that. However, there are some Democrats and Republicans that think in the time of a crisis, you should be able to pull money from all kinds of sources.

Up until now, the state legislature has been able to dip into the transportation fund and move money over to the general fund. This ballot measure would effectively put an end to that -- if it passes.