Assembly Bill 539
Voter preregistration of 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds. (FE)
Topics: Elections: Registration, Youth
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 514. 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.
Under current law, only qualified electors may register to vote and vote in an election. A qualified elector is a U.S. citizen age 18 or older who has resided in an election district or ward for 28 consecutive days.
Under this bill, an individual who is age 16 or 17 but who is otherwise eligible to vote in Wisconsin may preregister to vote. An individual who preregisters under the bill may not vote in an election unless he or she is at least 18 years of age on election day.
Who's behind it
24 representatives are its . All 24 are Democrats.
12 more lawmakers .
See all 36 names Hide the names
Authors (24)
- Deb Andraca · Democrat, Assembly
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Brienne Brown · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Ben DeSmidt · Democrat, Assembly
- Jodi Emerson · Democrat, Assembly
- Joan Fitzgerald · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Greta Neubauer · Democrat, Assembly
- Sylvia Ortiz-Velez · Democrat, Assembly
- Lori Palmeri · Democrat, Assembly
- Christian Phelps · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Joe Sheehan · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Lee Snodgrass · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Sequanna Taylor · Democrat, Assembly
- Randy Udell · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (12)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- Sarah Keyeski · Democrat, Senate
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Melissa Ratcliff · Democrat, Senate
- Jeff Smith · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Jamie Wall · Democrat, Senate
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Dec 19, 2025 to Feb 9, 2026
1 more representative and 1 senator signed on in support.
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Oct 29, 2025
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Oct 17, 2025
1 more representative signed on in support.
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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, Palmeri, Andraca, Arney, Brown, Clancy, DeSmidt, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Johnson, Madison, McCarville, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Neubauer, Ortiz-Velez, Phelps, Roe, Sheehan, Stroud, Stubbs, Taylor, Udell and Sinicki; cosponsored by Senators Smith, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Larson, Ratcliff, Wall and Hesselbein
- Oct 15, 2025 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections
- Oct 17, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Subeck added as a coauthor
- Oct 29, 2025 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Dec 19, 2025 · Assembly
Senator Spreitzer added as a cosponsor
- Feb 9, 2026 · Assembly
Representative J. Jacobson added as a coauthor
- 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
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