As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 15 election-related bills in the Wisconsin State Assembly since the beginning of the year. Of the 15, Ballotpedia tracked three from Oct. 2-8. Republicans sponsored two, while a bipartisan group of legislators sponsored one. The three bills are below:
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WI AJR77: Prohibiting state and local governments from using privately sourced moneys or equipment in connection with the conduct of elections and specifying who may perform tasks related to the conduct of an election (second consideration), click hyperlinked bill for list of Republican sponsors.
- “As introduced, this bill creates a constitutional amendment to be submitted to voters to decide whether or not private funds may be used to conduct elections and if only election officials may be able to perform tasks related to conducting elections.”
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WI AB441: Timeline for sending or transmitting presidential preference primary absentee ballots (FE), click hyperlinked bill for list of bipartisan sponsors.
- “As introduced, this bill requires the clerk to send absentee ballots to overseas and military voters by 47 days before a presidential preference primary, and 21 days before the primary for all other voters.”
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WI AJR76: Eligibility to vote in Wisconsin (second consideration), click hyperlinked bill for list of Republican sponsors.
- “As introduced, this bill establishes that a voter who has applied for an absentee ballot by electronic mail and submitted their mobile phone number will be notified by text message of receipt of their absentee ballot application, and notified of receipt of a completed absentee ballot. The bill stipulates that a voter may choose to receive such notifications for future elections when the voter submits an absentee ballot application by electronic mail. It also provides that mobile phone numbers will remain confidential.”
During the week of Oct. 2-8, Ballotpedia tracked 10 House election-related bills nationally. As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 1,750 House bills nationally. Ballotpedia tracked the most House bills this year in the New York State Assembly with 195, while Ballotpedia tracked the fewest House bills the Colorado House of Representatives with seven.
As of Oct. 8, Ballotpedia has tracked 778 House bills in Democratic trifectas and 749 House 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 223 House bills in states where neither party holds trifecta control.
The Wisconsin Assembly is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 3 to Dec. 31 this year. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 43 House bills related to election administration. None of these bills passed both chambers. Wisconsin is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.
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