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Bills from the 2017–18 session

Assembly Bill 609

Automatic voter registration and the integration of registration information with information maintained by the Department of Transportation and other state agencies and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

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.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Nov 2, 2017

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 28, 2018: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

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.

This bill requires the Elections Commission to use all feasible means to facilitate the registration of all eligible electors of this state and to maintain the registration of all eligible electors for so long as they remain eligible, except as the law specifically requires electors to take some action to continue their registrations.

Under the bill, the commission must attempt to facilitate the initial registration of all eligible electors no later than July 1, 2021. To facilitate the initial registration, the bill directs the commission and the Department of Transportation to enter into an agreement so that DOT may transfer specified personally identifiable information in DOT's records to the commission. The bill requires the commission to maintain the confidentiality of any information it obtains under the agreement and allows a driver's license or identification card applicant to “opt out" of DOT's transfer of this information to the commission. Once the commission obtains all the information required under current law to complete an elector's registration, the commission adds the elector's name to the statewide registration list. The information then becomes accessible on the Internet. The bill also permits an individual whose name is added to the registration list or who wishes to permanently exclude his or her name from the list to file a request to have his or her name deleted or excluded from the list or to revoke a deletion or exclusion request previously made.

Read the full summary

A deletion or exclusion request or revocation of a deletion or exclusion request may be made in the manner prescribed by the commission. In addition, the bill directs the commission to notify an individual by first class postcard whenever the commission removes his or her name from the registration list or changes his or her status on the list from eligible to ineligible.

The bill also directs the elections commission to report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature, no later than July 1, 2019, concerning its progress in initially implementing the registration system created by the bill. The report must contain an assessment of the feasibility and desirability or integration of registration information with information maintained by the departments of health services, children and families, workforce development, revenue, regulation and licensing, and natural resources; the University of Wisconsin System; and the Technical College System Board, as well as with the technical colleges in each technical college district.

Under current law, a qualified elector with a current and valid driver's license or identification card issued by DOT may register to vote electronically on a secure Internet site maintained by the elections commission. To register electronically under current law a qualified elector must also authorize DOT to forward a copy of his or her electronic signature to the commission. The authorization affirms that all information provided by the elector is correct and has the same effect as a written signature on a paper copy of the registration form. Finally, current law requires the commission and DOT to enter into an agreement that permits the commission to verify the necessary registration information instantly by accessing DOT's electronic files.

Who's behind it

26 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 26 are Democrats.

9 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 35 names

Authors (26)

Signed on in support (9)

What it would cost

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

What happened

  1. Mar 28, 2018

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 8, 2018

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Nov 2, 2017

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

  4. Nov 2, 2017

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Nov 2, 2017 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Genrich, Berceau, Crowley, Hebl, Shankland, Zamarripa, Anderson, Riemer, Milroy, Mason, Goyke, Pope, Spreitzer, Sargent, Vruwink, Brostoff, Sinicki, Hintz, Doyle, Ohnstad, C. Taylor, Considine, Subeck, Stuck, Billings and Kolste; cosponsored by Senators Hansen, Johnson, Wirch, Carpenter, Miller, Risser, Ringhand, Vinehout and Larson

  2. Nov 2, 2017 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections

  3. Feb 8, 2018 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Mar 28, 2018 · 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

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

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

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

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

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