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Bills from the 2019–20 session

Assembly Bill 477

Restoring the right to vote to certain persons barred from voting as a result of a felony conviction, changing the information required on voter registration forms, and changing voting procedure for certain persons who are convicted of felonies. (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

    Sep 26, 2019

  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, Apr 1, 2020: “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 changes the circumstances under which a person may be barred from voting as the result of a disqualifying offense, and requires the Department of Corrections, the Elections Commission, and the Director of State Courts to include in their ongoing training programs a discussion of the changes in law made by this bill and to offer the training to judges, attorneys, election officials, employees of DOC, and the public.

Under current law, a person convicted of treason, felony, or bribery may not vote unless the person's right to vote is restored through a pardon or until the person completes his or her sentence, including extended supervision or parole, or any term of probation imposed. 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 incarcerated after the revocation of extended supervision, parole, or 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.

Currently, election officials are required to verify the eligibility of electors who vote at an election or who register to vote at an election after the close of voter registration for that election by checking each elector's name against a list provided by DOC that contains the names of convicted felons who have not completed their sentences and have not been pardoned. If a person's name appears on the list, the election officials are directed to allow the person to vote if he or she is otherwise eligible, but to mark and challenge the elector's ballot for possible later review. This bill deletes the requirements for DOC to provide the list of convicted felons and for election officials to review the names on the list.

Who's behind it

17 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 17 are Democrats.

6 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 23 names

Authors (17)

Signed on in support (6)

What it would cost

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

What happened

  1. Apr 1, 2020

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 20, 2020

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  3. Nov 18, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Sep 26, 2019

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

  5. Sep 26, 2019

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Sep 26, 2019 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Emerson, Crowley, Stubbs, Sargent, Hebl, L. Myers, Zamarripa, Fields, Bowen, Spreitzer, Neubauer, Subeck, Anderson, Goyke, Ohnstad, C. Taylor and Cabrera; cosponsored by Senators L. Taylor, Risser, Larson, Smith, Johnson and Carpenter

  2. Sep 26, 2019 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections

  3. Nov 18, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Feb 20, 2020 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Apr 1, 2020 · 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