Election legislation roundup: Wisconsin State Senate

By

Mercedes Yanora

As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 17 election-related bills in the Wisconsin State Senate since the beginning of the year. Of the 17, Ballotpedia tracked four from Oct. 2-8. Republicans sponsored three, while a bipartisan group of legislators sponsored one. The four bills are below:   

  • WI SJR73: Requiring photographic identification to vote in any election (first consideration), Reps. Scott Allen (R), David Armstrong (R), Tyler August (R), Amy Binsfeld (R), Mark Born (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), Barbara Dittrich (R), Robert Donovan (R), Cindi Duchow (R), James Edming (R), Joy Goeben (R), Chanz Green (R), Nate Gustafson (R), Scott Johnson (R), Joel Kitchens (R), Scott Krug (R), Gae Magnafici (R), Dave Maxey (R), Tom Michalski (R), Clint Moses (R), Amanda Nedweski (R), Adam Neylon (R), Jerry O’Connor (R), William Penterman (R), Nik Rettinger (R), Donna Rozar (R), Ellen Schutt (R), Patrick Snyder (R), John Spiros (R), Robert Swearingen (R), and Ron Tusler (R), and Sens. Joan Ballweg (R), Julian Bradley (R), Howard Marklein (R), Stephen Nass (R), Patrick Testin (R), Cory Tomczyk (R), and Van Wanggaard (R).
    • As introduced, this bill creates a constitutional amendment to be submitted to voters to decide whether or not to require voters to provide photographic identification to cast a ballot.
  • WI SJR71: Eligibility to vote in Wisconsin (second consideration), Reps. Scott Allen (R), David Armstrong (R), Tyler August (R), Elijah Behnke (R), Amy Binsfeld (R), Ty Bodden (R), Mark Born (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), Robert Brooks (R), Calvin Callahan (R), Alex Dallman (R), Barbara Dittrich (R), Cindi Duchow (R), James Edming (R), Joy Goeben (R), Chanz Green (R), Rick Gundrum (R), Nate Gustafson (R), Karen Hurd (R), Scott Johnson (R), Gae Magnafici (R), Dave Maxey (R), Paul Melotik (R), Tom Michalski (R), Clint Moses (R), David Murphy (R), Jeffrey Mursau (R), Amanda Nedweski (R), Jerry O’Connor (R), William Penterman (R), Kevin Petersen (R), Jon Plumer (R), Nik Rettinger (R), Donna Rozar (R), Peter Schmidt (R), Michael Schraa (R), Ellen Schutt (R), Patrick Snyder (R), Robert Summerfield (R), Robert Swearingen (R), and Robert Wittke (R), and Sens. Joan Ballweg (R), Julian Bradley (R), Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R), Mary Felzkowski (R), Andre Jacque (R), John Jagler (R), Howard Marklein (R), Stephen Nass (R), Romaine Quinn (R), Rob Stafsholt (R), Duey Stroebel (R), Patrick Testin (R), Cory Tomczyk (R), and Van Wanggaard (R).
    • As introduced, this bill creates a constitutional amendment to be submitted to voters to decide whether or not to specify that a qualified voter can only be a U.S. citizen 18 years or older who is a resident of an election district and that a qualified voter may be able to vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum.
  • WI SB472: Wisconsin’s membership agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center (FE), Reps. Scott Allen (R), Elijah Behnke (R), Amy Binsfeld (R), Ty Bodden (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), Robert Brooks (R), Joy Goeben (R), Rick Gundrum (R), Nate Gustafson (R), Tom Michalski (R), David Murphy (R), Jerry O’Connor (R), Nik Rettinger (R), Peter Schmidt (R), and Chuck Wichgers (R), and Sens. Mary Felzkowski (R), Stephen Nass (R), Romaine Quinn (R), Rob Stafsholt (R), Duey Stroebel (R), and Cory Tomczyk (R).
    • As introduced, this bill repeals the chief election officer’s membership agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center and prohibits any commission or agency from entering into agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center in the future.
  • WI SB366: Polling place closures, Reps. Samba Baldeh (D), LaKeshia Myers (D), Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D), Shelia Stubbs (D), Elijah Behnke (R), Rick Gundrum (R), Nate Gustafson (R), Joel Kitchens (R), Scott Krug (R), Clint Moses (R), Shae Sortwell (R), and David Steffen (R), and Sens. Lena Taylor (D), Joan Ballweg (R), Andre Jacque (R), and Cory Tomczyk (R).
    • As introduced, this bill:
      • Prohibits a polling place in a municipality from closing on election day without the prior approval of the head of the governing body and the municipal clerk, and the municipal clerk must provide proper public notification of the closures.
      • Prohibits a municipality from closing more than half of its polling places within 30 days before an election.
      • Prohibits the discontinuation of a polling place after an election and more than 30 days before the next election without a public hearing.

During the week of Oct. 2-8, Ballotpedia tracked five Senate election-related bills nationally. As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 1,189 Senate bills nationally. Ballotpedia tracked the most Senate bills this year in the New York State Senate with 166, while Ballotpedia tracked the fewest Senate bills in the Vermont State Senate with two. 

As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 541 Senate bills in Democratic trifectas and 475 Senate bills in Republican trifectas. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Ballotpedia has tracked 173 Senate bills in states where neither party holds trifecta control.

The Wisconsin Senate is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 3 to Dec. 31 this year. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 36 Senate bills related to election administration. One of these bills passed both chambers and was enacted into law. Wisconsin is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.

Additional reading: