Senate Bill 298
Enclosure of absentee ballots in privacy envelopes
Topics: Elections: Ballots
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
-
Introduced, passed
Nov 21, 2011
-
Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
-
Senate vote, not reached
-
Assembly vote, not reached
-
Governor, not reached
-
Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2012: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Elections. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
Following saves it on this device. New actions show on your Following page. You can also get updates in a feed reader.
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Currently, when an elector votes by absentee ballot, whether by mail or in person at the office of a municipal clerk or board of election commissioners or alternate absentee ballot site, the elector's ballot is enclosed inside a certificate envelope the face of which contains a certificate in a form specified by law that affirms the elector's eligibility. The certificate is signed by the elector. When the certificate envelope is mailed, transmitted, or delivered to the election officials, the absentee ballot is retained inside the certificate envelope until it is delivered to the elector's polling place or to a board of absentee ballot canvassers on election day.
This bill directs election officials to provide a privacy envelope for each absentee ballot. Under the bill, the privacy envelope containing the ballot is then placed inside the certificate envelope. If a municipal clerk or board of election commissioners receives an absentee ballot by electronic mail or by facsimile transmission, the clerk or board encloses the ballot in a privacy envelope before enclosing it in a certificate envelope.
Who's behind it
2 senators are its . All 2 are Democrats.
4 more lawmakers .
See all 6 names Hide the names
Authors (2)
- Dave Hansen · Democrat, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (4)
- Terese Berceau · Democrat, Assembly
- Tamara Grigsby · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Robert Turner · Democrat, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
-
Mar 23, 2012
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
-
Jan 5, 2012
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
-
Nov 21, 2011
Sent to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Elections.
-
Nov 21, 2011
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Nov 21, 2011 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Hansen and Taylor;Cosponsored by Representatives Turner, Grigsby, Berceau and Sinicki
- Nov 21, 2011 · Senate
Read first time and referred to committee on Transportation and Elections
- Jan 5, 2012 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Mar 23, 2012 · Senate
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.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
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.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
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
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
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate