Senate Bill 306
Requiring identification of a military voter for voting absentee
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.
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Introduced, passed
May 24, 2023
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 15, 2024: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Current law does not require a military voter to provide proof of identification when applying for an absentee ballot. This bill requires a military voter to provide his or her federal Department of Defense number on the application for an absentee ballot and requires the municipal clerk to verify with the state Department of Military Affairs that the DOD number conforms to the voter's name on the application. The military voter is also required to complete a consent for release of information form provided by the clerk and approved by the DOD. If the clerk is unable to verify the DOD number before election day, the ballot is considered to be a provisional ballot. If the clerk is unable to verify the number before 4 p.m. on the Friday following the election, the ballot will not be counted, but the clerk will continue his or her efforts to verify the voter's DOD number so the voter may use that number to vote at subsequent elections. Generally, under current law, a voter must present proof of identification when applying for an absentee ballot and the municipal clerk must verify that the proof of identification conforms to the voter's name on the application.
Under the bill, if a military voter elects to return his or her absentee ballot by electronic mail and does so no later than 30 days before the election, the clerk has 90 days following the election to verify the voter's DOD number. If a military voter mails in the absentee ballot or votes absentee in person, the clerk must verify the elector's DOD number within 48 hours after receiving the ballot. Also, if the military voter elects to return his or her absentee ballot by electronic mail, the voter must return the ballot using his or her DOD electronic mail address.
Read the full summary Show less
Under current law, if a voter has received an absentee ballot by mail for a previous election, submitted proof of identification, and has not changed his or her name or address since providing proof of identification, the voter is not required to provide proof of identification with subsequent absentee ballot applications. Under the bill, if a military voter has received an absentee ballot by mail for a previous election, submitted his or her DOD number, and has not changed his or her name or address since providing that number, the military voter is not required to provide his or her DOD number with subsequent absentee ballot applications, except the military voter must provide his or her DOD number at least once every six years.
Under the bill, the public does not have access to a military voter's DOD number provided for purposes of obtaining an absentee ballot.
Current law allows a military voter to use the federal postcard registration and absentee ballot request form to apply for an absentee ballot. If a military voter has a Wisconsin-issued photo identification or a social security number, the military voter must provide a copy of that identification or the last four digits of his or her social security number. If the military voter has neither, the voter must indicate that on the form, but is still eligible to receive and complete an absentee ballot. This bill does not affect the use of the federal postcard registration and absentee ballot request form.
Who's behind it
5 senators are its . 4 are Republicans and 1 is a Democrat.
12 more lawmakers .
See all 17 names Hide the names
Authors (5)
- Joan Ballweg · Republican, Senate
- Rachael Cabral-Guevara · Republican, Senate
- Duey Stroebel · Republican, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
- Cory Tomczyk · Republican, Senate
Signed on in support (12)
- Scott Allen · Republican, Assembly
- Elijah Behnke · Republican, Assembly
- Amy Binsfeld · Republican, Assembly
- Rick Gundrum · Republican, Assembly
- Gus Gustafson · Republican, Assembly
- Dave Maxey · Republican, Assembly
- LaKeshia Myers · Democrat, Assembly
- Sylvia Ortiz-Velez · Democrat, Assembly
- Shae Sortwell · Republican, Assembly
- David Steffen · Republican, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Chuck Wichgers · Republican, Assembly
What happened
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Apr 15, 2024
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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May 24, 2023
Sent to the Senate Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection.
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May 24, 2023
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- May 24, 2023 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Cabral-Guevara, Taylor, Ballweg, Stroebel and Tomczyk; cosponsored by Representatives Sortwell, Ortiz-Velez, Allen, Behnke, Binsfeld, Gundrum, Gustafson, Maxey, Myers, Steffen, Subeck and Wichgers
- May 24, 2023 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection
- Dec 5, 2023 · Senate
LRB correction
- Apr 15, 2024 · 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
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