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Bills from the 2009–10 session

Assembly Bill 353

Restoring the right to vote to certain persons barred from voting as a result of a felony conviction and changing the information required on voter registration forms

Topics: Corrections, Department of, Crime and criminals: Felony, Elections: Registration, Government Accountability Board, Parole or probation, Sentences and penalties, State Courts, Director of

Stopped before the full Assembly voted

The recommended passing it, but the full Assembly never voted on it. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Jul 28, 2009

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, stopped here

    Stopped here. The full Assembly never voted on it.

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 28, 2010: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, when a person is barred from voting as the result of a felony conviction (a "disqualifying offense"), the person's right to vote may be restored through a pardon. Otherwise, it is restored upon completion of the sentence, including extended supervision or parole, or completion of the term of probation imposed on the person who committed the offense.

Under this bill, a person loses his or her right to vote based on a disqualifying offense only while he or she is incarcerated for that offense. A person released to extended supervision or parole may resume voting. In addition, a person convicted of a disqualifying offense and on probation retains the right to vote while on probation unless he or she is confined as a condition of probation. But if a person who committed a disqualifying offense is returned to prison after the revocation of extended supervision or parole or is sent to prison or a jail or house of correction after the revocation of probation, the person loses the right to vote until he or she is released.

Read the full summary

Currently, an applicant for voter registration must affirm 1) whether he or she has been convicted of a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned and, if so, whether the applicant is incarcerated or on parole, probation, or extended supervision; and 2) whether the applicant is disqualified on any other ground from voting.

This bill deletes the requirement that an applicant provide any information relating to a felony conviction but retains the requirement that an applicant affirm that he or she is not disqualified on any ground from voting.

This bill also requires the Department of Corrections (DOC), the Government Accountability Board, and the Director of State Courts to include in their ongoing training programs a discussion of the changes in law produced by this bill and to offer the training to judges, attorneys, election officials, employees of DOC, and the public.

Who's behind it

19 lawmakers are its ⁠. 18 are Democrats. 1 has no party on record.

4 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 23 names

Authors (19)

Signed on in support (4)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

How lawmakers voted

There was one vote on this bill.

Assembly Committee on Corrections and the Courts vote to recommend it

Passed, 6 to 5 · Apr 16, 2010

No member-by-member record exists for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Official motion: “Report passage recommended by committee on Corrections and the Courts, Ayes 6, Noes 5”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Apr 28, 2010

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Apr 16, 2010

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  3. Apr 16, 2010

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 6 to 5.

  4. Aug 31, 2009

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Aug 27, 2009

    The committee held a public hearing.

  6. Aug 6, 2009

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  7. Jul 28, 2009

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Corrections and the Courts.

  8. Jul 28, 2009

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Jul 28, 2009 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Grigsby, Schneider, Parisi, Hilgenberg, Pocan, Young, Pasch, Roys, Black, Turner, Fields, Kessler, Berceau, A. Williams, Toles, Sinicki, Pope-Roberts and Zigmunt, by request of Restore the Vote Wisconsin NOW Coalition;Cosponsored by Senators Taylor, Coggs, Miller and Risser

  2. Jul 28, 2009 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Corrections and the Courts

  3. Aug 6, 2009 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Aug 27, 2009 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  5. Aug 31, 2009 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  6. Sep 17, 2009 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  7. Apr 16, 2010 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by committee on Corrections and the Courts, Ayes 6, Noes 5

  8. Apr 16, 2010 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  9. Apr 28, 2010 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate

More in the glossary

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote

More in the glossary