Assembly Bill 1165
Ranked-choice voting, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. (FE)
Topics: Elections, Elections Commission, Voting
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Mar 19, 2026
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, May 1, 2026: “Fiscal estimate received”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. The committee's chair at the time was Dave Maxey. Chairs decide which bills get a hearing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 1130. That version died when the session ended.
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
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill requires ranked-choice voting for the election of all federal, state, and local officials, not including recall elections for any such officials. Under ranked-choice voting, each voter may rank as many preferences for each office or seat as there are candidates whose names appear on the ballot for that office or seat. If the voter indicates a preference for more than one candidate for an office or seat, the voter must indicate a preference between the candidates by designating one as “first choice,” another as “second choice,” and ranking subsequent choices in sequential preference. A voter may also indicate a preference for one or more write-in candidates for any office or seat.
A voter who casts one vote for a candidate for an office or seat but who does not indicate a preference is considered to have cast a “first-choice” preference for that candidate. If any candidate receives a majority of the first-choice preferences for the office or seat, that candidate is elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice preferences for an office or seat, the name of the candidate receiving the least number of first-choice preferences is dropped and the second-choice preferences of the voters who preferred that candidate, if any, are then added to the first-choice preferences received by the other candidates. Subsequent preferences of those voters are allocated to the other candidates in a similar manner as candidates with the fewest voter preferences are eliminated. If any candidate for the office or seat then has a majority of the combined first-choice and reallocated preferences, that candidate is elected. If not, the procedure is repeated until one candidate receives a majority of the combined first-choice and reallocated preferences.
Read the full summary Show less
In the case of a multiple-seat district, the candidates whose vote total is equal to or greater than the threshold number of votes are elected. The threshold is determined by dividing the total number of votes cast for the open seats by the number of the open seats, plus one, and adding one to the quotient, disregarding any fractions. Generally, if a candidate receives more than the number of threshold votes during a round of counting the preferential votes, his or her surplus votes are allocated to the continuing candidates in order of preference until all open seats are filled. A voter may also indicate a preference for one or more write-in candidates.
Under ranked-choice voting, no primary election is held other than a special primary for a partisan office, the partisan primary, and the presidential preference primary. At the partisan primary, ranked-choice voting is used to determine the candidate for each political party on the ballot who advances to the general election. At the special primary, ranked-choice voting is used to determine the candidate for each political party on the ballot who advances to the special election. At the presidential preference primary, ranked-choice voting is used to express preferences for the person to be the presidential candidate for each party in a year in which electors for president and vice president are to be elected.
Finally, the bill authorizes the Elections Commission to make expenditures to implement and administer ranked-choice voting, including updating equipment and software and implementing secure technologies, and to make grants to counties and municipalities for the same purpose.
Who's behind it
14 representatives are its . All 14 are Democrats.
5 more lawmakers .
See all 19 names Hide the names
Authors (14)
- Clint Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Amaad Rivera-Wagner · Democrat, Assembly
- Joe Sheehan · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
- Randy Udell · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (5)
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Brad Pfaff · Democrat, Senate
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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May 1, 2026
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Mar 19, 2026
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
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Mar 19, 2026
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Anderson, Brown, Clancy, Emerson, Hong, Moore Omokunde, Rivera-Wagner, Sheehan, Sinicki, Subeck, Stroud, Stubbs, Tenorio and Udell; cosponsored by Senators Spreitzer, Pfaff, Larson, Dassler-Alfheim and Roys
- Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections
- Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
- May 1, 2026 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
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
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.
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
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate