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Bills from the 2013–14 session

Assembly Bill 419

Counting votes for write-in candidates

Became law

The governor signed it on Apr 2, 2014. It's ⁠.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Oct 14, 2013

  2. Committee, passed

    Approved

  3. Assembly vote, passed

    Passed Nov 14, 2013

  4. Senate vote, passed

    Passed Mar 11, 2014

  5. Governor, passed

    Signed

  6. Law, here now

    2013 Wisconsin Act 178

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 2, 2014: “Published 4-3-2014”

Read the bill

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What it does

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

Under current law, generally, every vote at an election is counted for the candidate for whom it was intended, if the elector's intent can be determined from the ballot itself. Under this bill, generally, write-in votes are only counted if no candidates have been certified to appear on the ballot. If a candidate has been certified to appear on the ballot, write-in votes are only counted for candidates who have filed registration statements. If a certified candidate dies or withdraws before the election, all write-in votes are counted.

Who's behind it

7 lawmakers are its ⁠. 6 are Republicans and 1 is a Democrat.

See all 7 names

Authors (7)

How lawmakers voted

There were 2 votes on this bill.

Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections vote to recommend it

Passed, 9 to 0 · Nov 4, 2013

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 Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 9, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

Senate vote to recommend it

Passed, 5 to 0 · Feb 12, 2014

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

Official motion: “Report concurrence recommended by Elections and Urban Affairs, Ayes 5, Noes 0”. Official record · This vote on its own page

What happened

  1. Apr 2, 2014

    The new law was published.

  2. Apr 2, 2014

    The governor signed it. It became 2013 Wisconsin Act 178.

  3. Mar 26, 2014

    Sent to the governor.

  4. Mar 11, 2014

    The Senate passed it too.

  5. Feb 12, 2014

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 5 to 0.

  6. Jan 23, 2014

    The committee held a public hearing.

  7. Nov 21, 2013

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Elections and Urban Affairs.

  8. Nov 15, 2013

    The Senate received it.

  9. Nov 14, 2013

    The Assembly passed it.

  10. Nov 4, 2013

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

  11. Nov 4, 2013

    The committee voted to recommend passing it, 9 to 0.

  12. Oct 16, 2013

    The committee held a public hearing.

  13. Oct 14, 2013

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

  14. Oct 14, 2013

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Oct 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Bernier, Berceau, Murphy, Pridemore, Thiesfeldt, Weininger and Nerison

  2. Oct 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections

  3. Oct 16, 2013 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  4. Oct 29, 2013 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  5. Nov 4, 2013 · Assembly

    Report passage recommended by Committee on Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 9, Noes 0

  6. Nov 4, 2013 · Assembly

    Referred to Committee on Rules

  7. Nov 12, 2013 · Assembly

    Placed on calendar 11-14-2013 by Committee on Rules

  8. Nov 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  9. Nov 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  10. Nov 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  11. Nov 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed

  12. Nov 14, 2013 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  13. Nov 15, 2013 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  14. Nov 21, 2013 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Elections and Urban Affairs

  15. Jan 23, 2014 · Senate

    Public hearing held

  16. Feb 12, 2014 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  17. Feb 12, 2014 · Senate

    Report concurrence recommended by Elections and Urban Affairs, Ayes 5, Noes 0

  18. Feb 12, 2014 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  19. Mar 7, 2014 · Senate

    Placed on calendar 3-11-2014 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  20. Mar 11, 2014 · Senate

    Read a second time

  21. Mar 11, 2014 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  22. Mar 11, 2014 · Senate

    Rules suspended

  23. Mar 11, 2014 · Senate

    Read a third time and concurred in

  24. Mar 11, 2014 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  25. Mar 12, 2014 · Assembly

    Received from Senate concurred in

  26. Mar 18, 2014 · Assembly

    Report correctly enrolled on 3-18-2014

  27. Mar 26, 2014 · Assembly

    Presented to the Governor on 3-26-2014

  28. Apr 2, 2014 · Assembly

    Report approved by the Governor on 4-2-2014. 2013 Wisconsin Act 178

  29. Apr 2, 2014 · Assembly

    Published 4-3-2014

Terms on this page

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act. 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

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

Wisconsin Act

The number a bill gets when it becomes law, like 2025 Wisconsin Act 12.

Official term: Act

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

Roll call

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

Official term: Roll call vote

More in the glossary