View Scorecard for Year
Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR
For another consecutive session, Wisconsin’s voting rights were preserved via executive veto rather than legislative cooperation. Governor Evers blocked a fresh wave of restrictive statutes, yet the Legislature failed to deliver even on commonsense priorities. Most notably, lawmakers again failed to authorize ballot pre-processing — a failure that ignores administrative reality and bipartisan consensus. Reflecting this persistent dysfunction, Wisconsin received a C on this year’s report.
Looking Back
Where Wisconsin Started at the Beginning of 2025
- Automatic Voter Registration: No
- Online Voter Registration: DMV ID
- Same-Day Registration: Yes
- Restoration of Rights: Parole and/or Probation Disenfranchisement
- Vote by Mail: No-Excuse
- Electronic Registration Information Center Member: Yes
- Early Voting Opportunities: In-Person Absentee
- ID Requirements: Strict Photo ID
Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Wisconsin as of 2024, we considered the state a bottom tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2025 activity against other bottom tier states.
How Our Tier Compares
2025: This Past Year
Legislative Action
The Wisconsin State Legislature passed a number of restrictive measures this past legislative session. The following two were not vetoed by the governor:
- SB 126 expands confidentiality protections for election officials to apply to both current and former election officials. However, the law no longer offers these protections automatically, but instead, requires a written request to keep one’s information confidential.
- SJR 2 is a constitutional amendment that enshrines the state’s existing statutory voter photo ID requirement in the state constitution. Voters approved the change during the April 2025 election. Enshrining this strict photo ID requirement into the state constitution reduces flexibility to add forms of ID in the future that are equally secure to existing options.
Executive Action
- AB 87/SB 95 would have required individuals seeking to have their voting rights restored to fulfill all court-ordered obligations, including payments of all fines and fees before they could regain their right to register to vote.
- SB 270 would have opened the door to frivolous lawsuits against election officials by allowing individuals with no injury to sue to appeal Wisconsin Election Commission decisions in court.