Assembly Bill 538
Requiring certain persons holding a state elective office to serve as an election official
Topics: Elections Commission, Elections: Officials, Legislature, Legislature: Committees, Public officers
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
Oct 15, 2025
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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, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
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 510. 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
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill requires that each nonjudicial elective state official, during the person’s first full term of office and once every three years for as long as the person holds any nonjudicial elective state office, serve as an election official for an election held in any municipality in this state, not including an election in which the person is a candidate on the ballot. The requirement under the bill applies to the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state superintendent of public instruction, state senator, and state representative to the assembly.
The bill requires the nonjudicial elective state official to be appointed and trained in the same manner as other election officials and to serve as an election official no fewer than eight hours on election day. Under the bill, the person receives no compensation for serving as an election official. In addition, after satisfying the requirement, the person must certify that fact to the Elections Commission. The requirement does not apply to a person who files with the commission a sworn statement from a physician or physician assistant verifying that the person is physically incapable of serving as an election official for eight hours on election day. However, a person who does not serve or is unable to serve as an election official during an election cycle is still required to attend the training required for election officials at least once every two years, as provided under current law. Under the bill, the appointment of a nonjudicial elective state official to serve as an election official does not count towards any limit that a municipality imposes on the number of election officials hired or appointed.
Read the full summary Show less
Finally, the bill prohibits the legislature and all legislative committees from meeting on a day in which an election, other than a special election, is being held in this state for a local, state, or national office.
Who's behind it
12 representatives are its . All 12 are Democrats.
4 more lawmakers .
See all 16 names Hide the names
Authors (12)
- Deb Andraca · Democrat, Assembly
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Alex Joers · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (4)
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Jeff Smith · Democrat, Senate
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Oct 15, 2025
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
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Oct 15, 2025
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Oct 15, 2025 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Snodgrass, Andraca, Arney, Joers, Johnson, McCarville, Moore Omokunde, Roe, Stroud, Sinicki, Miresse and Palmeri; cosponsored by Senators Smith, Dassler-Alfheim, L. Johnson and Ratcliff
- Oct 15, 2025 · 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
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