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Prediction betting markets draw

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billions in wagers on

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everything from World Cup outcomes

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to now, elections.

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Kelcey, which describes itself as

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the next generation financial

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exchange, this month launched

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a midterms hub,

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designed, they say, as the one-stop

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shop for state and federal election

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forecasting and betting.

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Not so fast, says the Wisconsin

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Elections Commission.

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Commissioner Ann Jacobs is here.

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And thanks for being here.

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Happy to be here.

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So the commission recently put out

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some guidance to voters about

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betting on the outcomes of

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elections. What did that say?

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The guidance we sent out

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to voters basically summarized

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what has been Wisconsin law

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since about 1849,

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which is you cannot

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bet on an election and

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vote in that election.

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So what are the penalties for

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putting a wager on an election?

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There's two sort of penalties

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for it. Number one is someone

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could challenge your ballot and

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have it not count.

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And the second one, which is

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far more draconian,

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is it is actually a class I

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felony to bet and

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vote in the same election.

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How would anyone find out whether

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you had done that or not?

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I get asked that question quite

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a bit and the answer is the

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same way crimes are

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reported to authorities of

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all types,

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a spurned spouse

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or boyfriend, girlfriend,

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a disgruntled employee,

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an agitated

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neighbor,

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someone who you promised to share

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the money with and then

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didn't share the vet results

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with. That's how these sort of

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things are reported.

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How could betting on the outcome

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warp the process,

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even tip the outcome?

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There's a few ways it could, I mean

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one of which is sort of on the very

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personal level.

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You are no longer voting for

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the person you think would be best

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in the position, you're now voting

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for someone who can line your

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pockets.

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And that's a corruption of the

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process on a very individual level.

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In theory, you could

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have people within a

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campaign go out

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to place bets to try to

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tilt.

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The prediction markets to create

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a false sense of momentum

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or antipathy

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towards a given candidate.

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So it could be an attempt to

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manipulate it at a much larger

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level.

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What about the argument that

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wagering on an election actually

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gets people who wouldn't ordinarily

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be interested in voting involved

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in the process?

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I find that so odd.

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We want them to come into the

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process to vote not for the

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person that they think is going to

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be best, but to

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try to make money.

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That's sort of a warped view of

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elections.

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We want people to vote.

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I want people vote.

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I hope everyone goes out and votes

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on August 11th.

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But I want you to go out and vote

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because you believe that is

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going to be the best person for the

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job at hand.

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What is your reaction to Kelsey's

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new midterms hub?

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I, you know,

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apparently there is great

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enthusiasm for

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this as I accidentally learned

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by posting on social media about

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this law and people take

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it quite seriously.

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I don't have any opinion

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one way or another about prediction

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markets, whether they're good or

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bad, legal or not.

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All I care about is I

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don't want people to accidentally

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commit a felony by

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voting and betting.

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You can vote, you can bet,

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you just can't...

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Does this put the Wisconsin

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elections commission squarely into

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a fight with a very, very

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moneyed interest?

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I hope not, because

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we're one of something like 35

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states that have this same law.

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The policy behind the law is

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sound, and has been

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that case for 100 and

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however many years it's been.

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So we really need to think about

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whether or not we want

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our elections to

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be governed by

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money-making or by

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efficacy in government.

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On another matter, what is your

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reaction to this week's court ruling

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that upholds WEK guidance that

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you opposed, saying early

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absentee voters can't get a

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do-over, even if their candidate

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dropped out.

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Now, that's with nearly 130,000

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early ballots cast and another

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candidate this week dropping out.

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I was obviously very disappointed in

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the outcome.

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I have been on the commission since

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2016.

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It was our guidance

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at all times

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until a court put

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it on hold.

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And now we've issued this new

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guidance for the very first time.

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Without alerting voters, it was

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coming. And I was very disappointed

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at that outcome.

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We leave it there, Commissioner Anne

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Jacobs.

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Thanks so much.

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Pleasure.

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Thank you, that was perfect, like

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your backdrop.

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Thank you, Frederica.

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It's always fun to see you.

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When I was in college, you were

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Frederica Runge and were

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on the news.

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And so that was when I

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first saw your face as

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a reporter.

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So I'm always sort of entertained

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when, you know, this many

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years later.

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I know, right?

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I don't know what I did. My 40th

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high school.

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Union is this weekend, so.

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I don't know what I think I'm doing,

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but I'm still doing it, so.

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I appreciate it, though.

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Thanks a lot.

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Have a great weekend.

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You too.

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Bye.