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Bills · 2023-2024 Regular Session

AB 298

Became law Official bill text Atom feed

Relating to: polling place closures.

Elections Municipality — Elections Municipality — Finance

  1. Introduced, completed
  2. Passes Assembly, completed
  3. Passes Senate, completed
  4. Governor signs, completed
  5. Law, completed

Unfamiliar terms? Glossary

What this bill does

Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, polling places are required to be established for each

election at least 30 days before the election. Under this bill, under no circumstance

may a municipality close more than one-half of its polling places within 30 days

before an election. Additionally, the bill prohibits a municipality from closing any

polling place within 30 days before an election without both the head of the governing

body of the municipality and the municipal clerk approving the closures and without

the municipal clerk doing all of the following:

1. Posting public notice of the closures on the municipality's website or, if the

municipality does not maintain a website, posting notices in at least 3 different

locations within the municipality reasonably calculated to notify the most residents.

2. Publishing three notices in a newspaper likely to give notice in the area

notifying the public of the closures.

3. Publishing two notices or one notice in a newspaper likely to give notice in

the area if time does not permit publication of three notices.

Additionally, under the bill, if after an election and more than 30 days before

the next election, a municipality wishes to discontinue a polling place location, the

municipality's governing body may approve the discontinuation only after a public

hearing at which the public has an opportunity to present testimony on the proposed

discontinuation.

Sponsors

Introduced by: Baldeh (D) , Behnke (R) , Gundrum (R) , Gustafson (R) , Kitchens (R) , Krug (R) , Moses (R) , Myers (D) , Ortiz-Velez (D) , Sortwell (R) , Steffen (R) , Stubbs (D)

8 cosponsors

Ballweg (R) , Cabrera (D) , Jacque (R) , O'Connor and Maxey , Penterman (R) , Spreitzer (D) , Taylor (D) , Tomczyk (R)

Votes

Assembly: Report Assembly Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 8, Noes 1

Passed 8–1 Nov 3, 2023 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 7, Noes 2

Passed 7–2 Nov 3, 2023 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Assembly: PASSAGE

Passed 95–2 Nov 9, 2023 official source full page

Aye · 95

Nay · 2

Not voting · 2

Senate: Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection, Ayes 5, Noes 0

Passed 5–0 Jan 11, 2024 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Senate: Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

Passed 3–2 Feb 9, 2024 official source full page

No individual roll call was recorded for this vote. Committee votes and some older sessions record totals only.

Full history

  1. May 25, 2023 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Sortwell, Ortiz-Velez, Baldeh, Behnke, Gundrum, Gustafson, Kitchens, Moses, Myers, Steffen, Stubbs and Krug; cosponsored by Senators Taylor, Jacque, Ballweg and Tomczyk

  2. May 25, 2023 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections

  3. Jun 6, 2023 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  4. Jun 19, 2023 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representative Sortwell

  5. Jun 20, 2023 · Assembly

    Executive action taken

  6. Jul 12, 2023 · Assembly

    Assembly Amendment 1 to Assembly Amendment 1 offered by Representative Sortwell

  7. Nov 3, 2023 · Assembly

    Report Assembly Amendment 1 adoption recommended by Committee on Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 8, Noes 1

  8. Nov 3, 2023 · Assembly

    Report passage as amended recommended by Committee on Campaigns and Elections, Ayes 7, Noes 2

  9. Nov 3, 2023 · Assembly

    Referred to committee on Rules

  10. Nov 7, 2023 · Assembly

    Placed on calendar 11-9-2023 by Committee on Rules

  11. Nov 8, 2023 · Assembly

    Representative Penterman added as a coauthor

  12. Nov 8, 2023 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representatives Sortwell and Ortiz-Velez

  13. Nov 8, 2023 · Assembly

    Representatives O'Connor and Maxey added as coauthors

  14. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Read a second time

  15. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted

  16. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Ordered to a third reading

  17. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Rules suspended

  18. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Read a third time and passed, Ayes 95, Noes 2

  19. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Representative Cabrera added as a coauthor

  20. Nov 9, 2023 · Assembly

    Ordered immediately messaged

  21. Nov 10, 2023 · Senate

    Received from Assembly

  22. Nov 13, 2023 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection

  23. Nov 13, 2023 · Senate

    Senator Spreitzer added as a cosponsor

  24. Jan 11, 2024 · Senate

    Executive action taken

  25. Jan 11, 2024 · Senate

    Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection, Ayes 5, Noes 0

  26. Jan 11, 2024 · Senate

    Available for scheduling

  27. Feb 9, 2024 · Senate

    Public hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2

  28. Feb 9, 2024 · Senate

    Placed on calendar 2-13-2024 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  29. Feb 13, 2024 · Senate

    Read a second time

  30. Feb 13, 2024 · Senate

    Ordered to a third reading

  31. Feb 13, 2024 · Senate

    Rules suspended to give bill its third reading

  32. Feb 13, 2024 · Senate

    Read a third time and concurred in

  33. Feb 13, 2024 · Senate

    Ordered immediately messaged

  34. Feb 13, 2024 · Assembly

    Received from Senate concurred in

  35. Feb 19, 2024 · Assembly

    LRB correction (Assembly Substitute Amendment 1)

  36. Feb 19, 2024 · Assembly

    Report correctly enrolled on 2-19-2024

  37. Mar 18, 2024 · Assembly

    Presented to the Governor on 3-18-2024

  38. Mar 21, 2024 · Assembly

    Report approved by the Governor on 3-21-2024. 2023 Wisconsin Act 124

  39. Mar 21, 2024 · Assembly

    Published 3-22-2024