Wisconsin has decided on 258 ballot measures since statehood
Ballotpedia completed an inventory of all Wisconsin ballot measures since 1846, when voters decided on a ballot measure to form a state government. Wisconsin decided on 258 ballot measures between 1846 and April 2025. Of these, 185 (71.7%) measures were approved, while 73 (28.3%) were defeated.
Only the Wisconsin State Legislature can place a ballot measure to amend the Wisconsin Constitution on statewide ballots via a joint resolution approved by a simple majority of each chamber during two consecutive legislative sessions. Wisconsin is one of 24 states that does not provide for statewide citizen-initiated ballot measures.
The inventory of Wisconsin statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks, which document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and voters on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life.
Explore the topics below for detailed information:
This section provides a table to search Wisconsin historical ballot measures by decade and keyword.
This section summarizes notable topics Wisconsin voters have decided on.
This section highlights measures with the closest and widest margins, as well as the breakdown by topic, decade, and type.
This section describes the process of placing legislatively referred measures on the ballot.
Historic Ballot Measure Lookup Tool
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | LRCA | Question 1 | Add a voter photo ID requirement to the Wisconsin Constitution | Approved |
| 2024 | LRCA | Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment | Prohibit the state and local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote | Approved |
| 2024 | LRCA | Question 1 | Prohibit any level of government in the state from applying or accepting non-governmental funds or equipment for election administration | Approved |
| 2024 | LRCA | Question 1 | Prohibit the legislature from delegating its power to appropriate money | Defeated |
| 2024 | LRCA | Question 2 | Provide that only election officials designated by law may administer elections | Approved |
| 2024 | LRCA | Question 2 | Require legislative approval before the governor can expend federal money appropriated to the state | Defeated |
| 2023 | LRCA | Question 1 | Authorize the state legislature to define serious harm in relation to the conditions a judge imposes on an accused person released before conviction | Approved |
| 2023 | LRCA | Question 2 | Authorize judges to impose cash bail on an accused person of a violent crime based on circumstances, like the need to protect the community from serious harm and the probability the accused will not appear in court | Approved |
| 2023 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Advise the state legislature to require able-bodied childless adults to look for work in order to receive tax-payer funded welfare benefits | Approved |
| 2020 | LRCA | Question 1 | Add Marsy's Law to Wisconsin Constitution | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | LRCA | Question 1 | Eliminates the elected position of state treasurer | Defeated |
| 2015 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provides for the election of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice by a majority of the justices serving on the court | Approved |
| 2014 | LRCA | Question 1 | Creates a transportation fund for transportation revenues | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove the governor’s partial veto power to create a new sentence by combining parts of two or more sentences in an appropriation bill | Approved |
| 2006 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide that only marriage between a man and a woman will be recognized as valid | Approved |
| 2006 | LRAQ | Question 2 | Enact the death penalty in first-degree intentional homicide convictions supported by DNA evidence | Approved |
| 2005 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide that certain county officials be elected to four-year terms | Approved |
| 2003 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide for a state constitutional right to hunt, fish, trap, and take game | Approved |
| 2000 | LRSS | Question 1 | Extend the right to vote in federal elections to the children of U.S. citizens living abroad who formerly resided in Wisconsin. | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | LRCA | Question 1 | Require that gambling proceeds be used for property tax relief for residents | Approved |
| 1998 | LRCA | Question 1 | Extend sheriffs' terms from two to four years, allow sheriffs to hold non-partisan office, and require vacancies to be filled by gubernatorial appointments until a successor is elected | Approved |
| 1998 | LRCA | Question 2 | Guarantee the right to keep and bear arms | Approved |
| 1996 | LRCA | Question 1 | Prohibit people convicted of a misdemeanor involving a violation of public trust or a felony from holding public office | Approved |
| 1995 | LRCA | Question 1 | Permit the state to create a lottery whose proceeds would be dedicated to athletic facilities | Defeated |
| 1995 | LRCA | Question 2 | Remove masculine gender pronouns | Defeated |
| 1995 | LRCA | Question 3 | Permit a judge to hold a nonjudicial public office after vacating a judicial office during that term | Defeated |
| 1993 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Allow gambling casinos on excursion vessels | Defeated |
| 1993 | LRAQ | Question 2 | Restrict gambling casinos | Approved |
| 1993 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Allow video poker and other forms of video gambling | Defeated |
| 1993 | LRAQ | Question 4 | Continue to allow pari-mutuel on-track betting | Approved |
| 1993 | LRAQ | Question 5 | Allow the state-operated lottery to continue | Approved |
| 1993 | LRCA | Question 6 | Ensure that the guaranteed privileges and protections of crime victims are protected | Approved |
| 1993 | LRCA | Question 7 | Clarify that all forms of gambling other than bingo, raffles, pari-mutuel ontrack betting and the current state-run lottery are prohibited | Approved |
| 1992 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the state to fund railroad improvements using state money and bonds | Approved |
| 1992 | LRCA | Question 1 | Lower residential and agricultural property taxes by issuing income tax credits | Defeated |
| 1992 | LRCA | Question 2 | Require any legislative pay raises to take effect at the start of a new term after a general election and to apply to all members of the legislature | Approved |
| 1991 | LRCA | Question 1 | Permit the state to acquire, improve, and build housing for people of low and moderate income | Defeated |
| 1990 | LRCA | Question 1 | Prohibit the governor from using the partial veto to form new words by removing individual letters from words in appropriation bills | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the state to provide property and sales tax relief through tax credits and refunds | Defeated |
| 1987 | LRCA | Question 1 | Permit pari-mutuel on-track betting but prohibit the state from owning, operating, or leasing land for any such enterprise or location | Approved |
| 1987 | LRCA | Question 2 | Permit the creation of a state lottery | Approved |
| 1986 | LRCA | Question 1 | Guarantee the right of a secret ballot, specify that all U.S. citizens or residents of Wisconsin election districts over 18 are qualified electors, and enumerate that the legislature can enact laws about residency, voter registration, absentee voting, the exclusion of felons from voting, the extension of suffrage to additional classes of people | Approved |
| 1986 | LRCA | Question 2 | Remove and revise elections procedure provisions | Approved |
| 1986 | LRCA | Question 3 | Remove constitutional language about voting information for "persons residing upon Indian lands" | Approved |
| 1986 | LRCA | Question 4 | Changing the constitutional phrase "serve these rights" back to "secure these rights" to match the Declaration of Independence | Approved |
| 1983 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Allow the construction of a radioactive waste disposal site in the state | Defeated |
| 1982 | LRAQ | International Nuclear Weapons Reduction Negotiations Advisory Question | Order the state to advise the president and Congress that the people of Wisconsin supported efforts to negotiate a mutual nuclear weapons moratorium and reduction with the Soviet Union | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 1 | Hold counties responsible for the acts of the county sheriff | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 1 | Replace pronouns with gender neutral language | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 2 | Update a provision to reflect federal constitutional law about redistricting and military personal | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 3 | Remove references to an 1881 amendment about election dates and terms of office for state legislators | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 4 | Clarify that legislative voting should be done by roll call vote | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 5 | Remove a reference to the 1902 election and superintendent of public instruction's term | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 6 | Remove references to using money collected for draft exemptions for school funds | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 7 | Remove provisions about Wisconsin's 1848 transition from territory to statehood | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 8 | Remove transitional provisions from a 1977 court reorganization amendment | Approved |
| 1982 | LRCA | Question 9 | Specify the effective date of terms of office for supreme court justices | Approved |
| 1981 | LRCA | Question 1 | Require primary elections if there is more than one political party nomination for partisan office and more than two candidates for a nonpartisan office in a recall election | Approved |
| 1981 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow sewage districts and counties to issue bonds of up to 50 years in length | Approved |
| 1981 | LRCA | Question 3 | Authorize judges to consider certain circumstances when imposing and setting cash bail | Approved |
| 1981 | LRCA | Question 4 | Remove a provision about a special act of the legislature creating corporations | Approved |
| 1981 | LRCA | Question 5 | Remove a provision requiring a two-thirds majority to pass banking laws | Approved |
| 1980 | LRSS | Question 1 | Allow non-resident property owners in public inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts to vote at district meetings | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | LRCA | Question 1 | Define that a vacancy in the office of Governor should be filled by the Lieutenant Governor, followed by the Secretary of State | Approved |
| 1979 | LRCA | Question 2 | Provide that the state legislature must approve governor-appointed successors to vacancies in the Lieutenant Governor | Approved |
| 1979 | LRCA | Question 3 | Eliminate the Lieutenant Governor's role as presiding officer of the Wisconsin State Senate | Approved |
| 1979 | LRCA | Question 4 | Clarify wording about constitutional officers' four-year terms | Approved |
| 1978 | LRSS | Question 1 | Permit all bona fide residents of Wisconsin regardless of length of residency to vote for president and vice president | Approved |
| 1978 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow more than one system of town government | Defeated |
| 1978 | LRSS | Question 2 | Permit all U.S. citizens who live overseas to vote in federal elections in Wisconsin if it was their last state of residency | Approved |
| 1977 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the legislature to authorize charitable raffle games | Approved |
| 1977 | LRCA | Question 2 | Unify the state court system under the administration of the state Supreme Court | Approved |
| 1977 | LRCA | Question 3 | Create an appellate court | Approved |
| 1977 | LRCA | Question 4 | Create a disciplinary system for judges and justices in Wisconsin under the authority of the state Supreme Court | Approved |
| 1977 | LRCA | Question 5 | Empower the state legislature to set a retirement age for supreme court justices or court of record judges to any age 70 or above | Approved |
| 1976 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow for an increase in municipal debt level from 5 percent to 10 percent of the state equalized valuation of the taxable property in that area | Defeated |
| 1976 | LRSS | Question 1 | Allow new state residents to vote 10 days after being in the state | Approved |
| 1976 | LRCA | Question 2 | Broaden the authority under which state funds may be appropriated to improving transportation facilities | Defeated |
| 1975 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow for certain debt to be excluded from municipal debt limits | Defeated |
| 1975 | LRCA | Question 2 | Broaden the authority under which state funds can be appropriated to improving transportation facilities | Overturned |
| 1975 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow the state to use funds from general obligation bonds for veterans' housing loans | Approved |
| 1975 | LRCA | Question 4 | Repeal a provision that barred people from voting or holding public office if they had been found guilty of dueling | Approved |
| 1974 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the legislature to increase the benefits of people already retired under the public retirement system | Approved |
| 1974 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the legislature to remove judges with a two-thirds vote | Approved |
| 1974 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow the legislature to define agricultural and undeveloped land with separate taxation levels from regular property | Approved |
| 1973 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the legislature to legalize bingo games operated by certain charitable organizations | Approved |
| 1973 | LRCA | Question 2 | Prohibit the denial or abridgment of rights and protections under the law on the basis of sex | Defeated |
| 1972 | LRCA | Question 1 | Create more than one type of county government | Approved |
| 1972 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow counties with 500,000 people or fewer to choose whether to have an elected coroner or use a medical examiner and permit two or more counties to jointly implement a medical examiner system | Approved |
| 1972 | LRCA | Question 3 | Permit the use of public school buildings by civic, religious, or charitable organizations after hours | Approved |
| 1972 | LRCA | Question 4 | Authorize the legislature to allow public schools to release students during school hours to receive religious instruction elsewhere | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | LRCA | Question 1 | Create an exemption to the requirement for uniformity of county government and give county executives veto power | Approved |
| 1969 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the state to contract public debt under certain conditions | Approved |
| 1969 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Make the state responsible for the control and funding of vocational education programs | Defeated |
| 1969 | LRAQ | Question 4 | Issue bonds to help with municipal water pollution control | Approved |
| 1969 | LRAQ | Question 5 | Issue bonds to help buy and develop land for recreational purposes | Approved |
| 1968 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set a uniform retirement date for judges and justices | Approved |
| 1968 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow judges with at least eight years of service on the supreme or circuit court to be temporarily appointed to the circuit court | Approved |
| 1968 | LRCA | Question 3 | Appropriate funds for forestry purposes from sources other than property tax | Approved |
| 1968 | LRCA | Question 4 | Allow the legislature to meet in regular session more often than once every two years | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set a four year term of office for the governor and lieutenant governor | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 2 | Set a four year term of office for the secretary of state | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 3 | Set a four year term for the office of state treasurer | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 4 | Set a four year term of office for the attorney general | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 5 | Establish that the governor and lieutenant governor are to be elected jointly | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 6 | Remove a provision that restricted sheriffs to two consecutive terms of office | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 7 | Permit the legislature to provide transportation to students of private schools | Approved |
| 1967 | LRCA | Question 8 | Permit the legislature to equalize judicial salaries | Approved |
| 1966 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow legislators to retain office while on short-term active duty in the reserves or during an emergency declared by the Governor | Approved |
| 1966 | LRSS | Question 1 | Allow new state residents to vote six months after being in the state | Approved |
| 1966 | LRCA | Question 2 | Abolish the position of Justice of Peace and authorize the establishment of inferior courts | Approved |
| 1966 | LRCA | Question 3 | Create an exemption for special district public utilities from local government debt limits | Approved |
| 1965 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow Wisconsin citizens to participate in free promotional lotteries | Approved |
| 1965 | LRCA | Question 2 | Abolish the positions of county coroner and county surveyor in counties with a population of 500,000 or more | Approved |
| 1964 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow for an increase in property tax to fund forestry projects | Defeated |
| 1964 | LRCA | Question 2 | Adjust the basis for valuation of property in local debt limit calculations | Defeated |
| 1964 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow multiple related items to be included in a single proposition when submitting proposed constitutional amendments to voters | Defeated |
| 1964 | LRAQ | Question 4 | Increase the tax on gasoline by 1¢ per gallon to fund highway construction | Defeated |
| 1963 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow for judicial salary increases during the term of office | Defeated |
| 1963 | LRCA | Question 2 | Clarify the wording on the calculation of local debt limit and give an increased limit for school bonds | Approved |
| 1963 | LRCA | Question 3 | State that redistricting will be done at the second legislative session after the federal census rather than the first | Defeated |
| 1962 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove the exclusion of certain Native Americans from redistricting calculations | Approved |
| 1962 | LRCA | Question 2a | Provide veto power to county executives in counties with 500,000 people or more | Approved |
| 1962 | LRCA | Question 2 | Create the position of a county executive with a four year term in counties with 500,000 people or more | Approved |
| 1962 | LRSS | Question 3 | Give former Wisconsin residents the right to vote by absentee ballot in presidential elections for up to 24 months after moving out of state | Approved |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set a debt limit at 10 percent of equalized property value for integrated aid school districts | Approved |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 2 | Remove the limit for successive terms of sheriffs | Defeated |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 3 | Grant the legislature power to keep the government functioning in case of enemy attack | Approved |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 4 | Allow for an increase in compensation for public officers other than members of the legislature whose terms are four years or more | Defeated |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 5 | Remove the need for a jury verdict of necessity for municipal eminent domain and instead grant the power to the legislature to dictate by law | Approved |
| 1961 | LRCA | Question 6 | Separate private and personal property from other merchant property for tax purposes | Approved |
| 1960 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set the debt limit for counties with a population of 500,000 or greater based on state equalized property value and not the locally assessed property value | Approved |
| 1960 | LRCA | Question 1 | Permit the state to provide funds for port facility improvement | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | LRSS | Question 1 | Set a statewide daylight saving time | Approved |
| 1956 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow increases in teacher retirement benefits when approved by a three-fourths vote by the legislature | Approved |
| 1956 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow for municipal acquisition of land for public purposes | Approved |
| 1956 | LRCA | Question 3 | Remove limits for consecutive terms for sheriffs | Defeated |
| 1956 | LRCA | Question 4 | Permit the giving of free transportation passes and communications to employees of railroads and other public utilities who are candidates for or hold public office to the same extent as the other employees as long as they are not in the performance of official duties | Defeated |
| 1955 | LRCA | Question 1 | State that debt limits for school bonds are based on equalized property value | Approved |
| 1955 | LRCA | Question 2 | Set new qualifications and a retirement age for justices | Approved |
| 1954 | LRSS | Question 1 | Allow people who have resided in Wisconsin for less than one year to vote for president and vice president | Approved |
| 1954 | LRAQ | Question 2 | Establish a state-owned, tax-supported statewide TV station | Defeated |
| 1953 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide that the legislature should determine the senate districts based on area and population and the assembly districts based on population | Overturned |
| 1953 | LRCA | Question 2 | Provide that elected judges hold full terms of office | Approved |
| 1952 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Establish senate and assembly districts based on area in addition to population | Defeated |
| 1951 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set a debt limit for cities for issuing bonds for school purposes at 8 percent of taxable property value | Approved |
| 1951 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow for local and state taxation of federal lands when permitted by federal law | Approved |
| 1951 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Increase state executive officials' terms of office from two to four years | Defeated |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the state to appropriate money to improve veterans' housing | Approved |
| 1949 | LRCA | Question 2 | Repeal the prohibition on the state taxation of federal lands | Defeated |
| 1948 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow municipalities to take private property for public use without a jury establishing necessity | Defeated |
| 1948 | LRAQ | Question 2 | Establish a 3 percent retail sales tax to raise up to $200 million for WWII veteran bonuses | Defeated |
| 1947 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Authorize daylight saving time | Defeated |
| 1946 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove limits on successive terms for sheriffs | Defeated |
| 1946 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove a provision that designates the Secretary of State as state auditor and authorize the legislature to perform auditing of state accounts through legislation | Approved |
| 1946 | LRCA | Question 2 | Authorize the legislature to provide children with transportation to any private, parochial, or other school | Defeated |
| 1945 | LRCA | Question 1 | Abolish the office of the Justice of the Peace in first class cities | Approved |
| 1945 | LRCA | Question 2 | Appropriate state funds for airports and aeronautical programs | Approved |
| 1944 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Levy a two-tenths of a cent per dollar property tax to aid high schools | Defeated |
| 1940 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Repeal a statue known as the teacher tenure law | Approved |
| 1940 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow cities, villages, and towns to collect and return property tax with methods like installment payments | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | LRCA | Question 1 | Exclude notaries public and certain railroad and public utility employees from a ban on public officials receiving free passes and other privileges | Approved |
| 1934 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Create a state pension system | Approved |
| 1934 | LRCA | Question 1 | States that women have the right to vote and can hold office | Approved |
| 1932 | LRCA | Question 1 | Repeal a provision so the governor's salary is established by law | Approved |
| 1932 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Repeal a law designating Sunday as a day of rest | Approved |
| 1932 | LRCA | Question 2 | Repeal a provision so the lieutenant governor's salary is established by law | Approved |
| 1932 | LRCA | Question 3 | Fix a verbal error related to impeachments | Approved |
| 1932 | LRCA | Question 4 | Allow municipalities to finance public utilities by mortgage | Approved |
| 1931 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Have automobile licenses issued by counties | Defeated |
| 1930 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the governor to veto individual items in appropriation bills without vetoing the entire bill | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | LRCA | Question 1 | Repeal the constitutional setting of the legislature salary to allow it to be set by law instead | Approved |
| 1929 | LRCA | Question 2 | Set a limit of two successive terms for sheriffs | Approved |
| 1929 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Repeal the prohibition enforcement act known as the Severson Act | Approved |
| 1929 | LRAQ | Question 4 | Allow for the manufacturing, sale, and possession of beer of with an alcohol content of less than 2.75 percent | Approved |
| 1927 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set legislators' pay at $1,000 per session | Defeated |
| 1927 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the legislature to classify forests and minerals for taxation purposes | Approved |
| 1926 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow for the recall of elected officials | Approved |
| 1926 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the legislature to set the salary of the governor by law | Approved |
| 1926 | LRAQ | Question 3 | Allow for the manufacturing and sale of beer with less than 2.75 percent alcohol content | Approved |
| 1924 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide cities and counties the ability to create local laws under the constraints of the state constitution and law | Approved |
| 1924 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set legislators' annual pay at $750 | Defeated |
| 1924 | LRCA | Question 2 | Appropriate state funding for the creation and preservation of state forests | Approved |
| 1924 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow for the legislature to provide additional circuit court judges to counties with more than 85,000 people | Approved |
| 1922 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow sheriffs to have unlimited successive terms | Defeated |
| 1922 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the legislature to provide that a valid verdict in civil cases be based on a specific number of votes not less than five-sixths | Defeated |
| 1922 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow for municipalities to take on debt up to 5 percent of the value of taxable property to fund public utilities | Defeated |
| 1920 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the pay of legislators to be set by law | Defeated |
| 1920 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Enforce prohibition | Approved |
| 1920 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the legislature to decide the size and number of circuit courts | Defeated |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Provide a bonus to veterans of World War I through a property and income tax increase | Approved |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 10 | change legislative pay to $600 per year and allow for 2 cents a mile travel compensation | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 1 | Require a three-fifths (60%) vote in a single legislative session for the legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 2 | Establish an initiative and referendum process in Wisconsin | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 3 | Create a state annuity insurance system | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 4 | Create the right of city and village home rule | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 5 | Allow the legislature to decrease the number of judiciary circuits and increase the number of judges | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 6 | Create the right to recall elected officials other than judges | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 7 | Define the property that can be taken by municipal corporations for public purposes | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 8 | Allow citizens to petition the legislature for constitutional amendments | Defeated |
| 1914 | LRCA | Question 9 | Allow for the creation of a state insurance system | Defeated |
| 1912 | LRCA | Question 1 | Extend the time cities and counties must repay debt for land from 20 to 50 years | Approved |
| 1912 | LRCA | Question 2 | Allow the state and cities to acquire land for public purposes | Approved |
| 1912 | LRCA | Question 3 | Allow the legislature to determine the pay periods of judges on the supreme and circuit courts | Approved |
| 1912 | LRSS | Question 4 | Provide for women's suffrage in state statute | Defeated |
| 1910 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set legislators' annual pay at $1000 | Defeated |
| 1910 | LRCA | Question 2 | Require redistricting only after the federal census and remove the requirement for a state census | Approved |
| 1910 | LRCA | Question 3 | Provide funding for the preservation and development of state water power and forests | Overturned |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the state to fund public highway construction and improvement | Approved |
| 1908 | LRCA | Question 2 | Authorize a graduated income tax system | Approved |
| 1908 | LRCA | Question 3 | Increase the time the governor has to approve or veto a legislative bill from three to six days | Approved |
| 1908 | LRCA | Question 4 | End the practice of allowing noncitizens with a declared intention of becoming citizens to vote in Wisconsin | Approved |
| 1906 | LRSS | Question 1 | Allow pocket ballot and coupon voting systems | Defeated |
| 1904 | LRSS | Question 1 | Provide for party nominations by direct vote | Approved |
| 1903 | LRCA | Question 1 | Create a supreme court with seven justices and 10-year terms | Approved |
| 1902 | LRCA | Question 1 | Authorize the legislature to enact general banking laws with a two-thirds vote and repeal referendum requirements | Approved |
| 1902 | LRCA | Question 2 | Provide for a nonpartisan state superintendent with four year terms and pay fixed by law | Approved |
| 1902 | LRCA | Question 3 | Prohibit public officials from receiving free passes and other privileges | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | LRSS | Question 1 | Approve revised banking laws passed by the legislature | Defeated |
| 1897 | LRCA | Question 1 | Allow the legislature to create additional circuit court judge positions in counties with over 100,000 people | Approved |
| 1896 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove the salary limit for the state superintendent of education | Defeated |
| 1892 | LRCA | Question 1 | Require that the incorporation of any city, town, or village be set by general law only | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide for the state supreme court to be made up of five justices | Approved |
| 1888 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide for a state superintendent of education elected by the public with qualifications and salary designated by law | Defeated |
| 1886 | LRSS | Question 1 | Provides for women's suffrage in elections relating to school matters | Overturned |
| 1882 | LRCA | Question 1 | Require 30 days of residency for local voter registration | Approved |
| 1882 | LRCA | Question 2 | Provide for non-judicial county officer vacancies to be filled by appointment, define the political year and and provide for biennial elections, and provide for full term elections of the Clerk of Court | Approved |
| 1881 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide for biennial sessions, two-year assembly terms, four-year senate terms, and $500 yearly salary for the legislature | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1877 | LRCA | Question 1 | Provide for a Supreme Court composed of one chief and four associate justices | Approved |
| 1877 | LRCA | Question 2 | Require that all payment requests to the state be made within six years | Approved |
| 1876 | LRSS | Question 1 | Incorporate savings banks | Approved |
| 1874 | LRCA | Question 1 | Limit the debt of counties, cities, towns, villages, and other municipalities to 5 percent of taxable property value | Approved |
| 1872 | LRCA | Question 1 | Increase the Supreme Court composition to include one chief and four associate justices | Defeated |
| 1871 | LRCA | Question 1 | Prohibit special legislation on nine subjects | Approved |
| 1870 | LRCA | Question 1 | Remove the grand jury system | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | LRCA | Question 1 | Increase the salaries of the governor and lieutenant governor to $5000 and $1000, respectively | Approved |
| 1868 | LRSS | Question 1 | Abolish the office of bank comptroller and transfer the duties to the secretary of state | Approved |
| 1867 | LRCA | Question 1 | Change the pay of legislators to $350 per year | Approved |
| 1867 | LRSS | Question 2 | Modify the general banking law in regard to circulation of its money and interest on loans | Approved |
| 1866 | LRSS | Question 1 | Modify the general banking law in regard to taxing shareholders | Approved |
| 1866 | LRCCQ | Question 2 | Approve holding a convention to revise the Wisconsin constitution | Defeated |
| 1865 | LRSS | Question 1 | Provide suffrage to African American men over the age of 21 | Defeated |
| 1862 | LRCA | Question 1 | Raise the salary of the governor to $2,500 per year | Defeated |
| 1862 | LRSS | Question 2 | Set a maximum interest rate of seven percent | Approved |
| 1861 | LRSS | Question 1 | Modify the general banking law in regard to the circulation of bank notes | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1858 | LRSS | Question 1 | Modify general banking law in regard to the redemption of bank notes | Approved |
| 1857 | LRSS | Question 1 | Provide suffrage to African American men over the age of 21 | Defeated |
| 1854 | LRCA | Question 1 | Set two year terms for members of the assembly | Defeated |
| 1854 | LRCA | Question 2 | Set four year terms for members of the senate | Defeated |
| 1854 | LRCA | Question 3 | Set biennial legislative sessions | Defeated |
| 1853 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Create a liquor ban | Approved |
| 1852 | LRSS | Question 1 | Create the Wisconsin general banking law | Approved |
| 1851 | LRAQ | Question 1 | Create a state banking system | Approved |
| Year | Type | Title | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1849 | LRSS | Question 1 | Extend equal suffrage to men over the age of 21 regardless of skin color | Approved |
| 1848 | CCRCA | Question 1 | Ratify the Wisconsin Constitution of 1848 | Approved |
| 1847 | CCRCA | Question 1 | Ratify the Wisconsin Constitution of 1846 | Defeated |
| 1847 | CCRCA | Question 2 | Grant all male citizens of African descent the right to vote and hold elected office | Defeated |
| 1846 | LRSS | Question 1 | Form the state government | Approved |
Analysis
Ballotpedia completed a comprehensive inventory of all Wisconsin ballot measures since the first question to form the state government in 1846. Wisconsin voters have decided 258 ballot measures, approving 185 (72%) and rejecting 73 (28%).
The inventory of Wisconsin statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks, which document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and voters on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life.
Notable measures and topics
Check out this episode of Ballotpedia's On the Ballot: "WI Ballot Spotlight: Adding voter ID to the constitution + Adopting the citizen initiative?"
- Between 1847 and 1865, voters decided on four constitutional amendments (1847, 1849, 1857, 1865) to provide for African-American male suffrage.
- In 1886, voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow women to vote in elections related to school matters. However, in 1912, voters rejected a proposal to expand women's suffrage.
- In 1908, voters approved a constitutional amendment ending the practice of allowing noncitizens with a declared intention of becoming citizens to vote in Wisconsin. The issue of citizenship and voting returned to the ballot in 2024, when voters approved an amendment prohibiting state and local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote.
- In 1914, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have established the initiative and referendum process in Wisconsin. Voters also defeated a constitutional amendment to adopt a recall process for elected officials. Voters later adopted a recall process in 1926.
- In 1930, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the governor to veto individual items in appropriation bills without rejecting the entire bill—a power known as the partial veto. In 1990 and 2008, voters approved ballot measures to limit this power.
- In 1946 and 1967, voters decided on amendments to authorize the legislature to provide children with transportation to private schools. In 1946, voters rejected the amendment. In 1967, voters approved the amendment. In 1972, voters approved a ballot measure allowing public schools to release students during school hours to receive religious instruction elsewhere.
- Voters rejected a constitutional amendment in 1964 that would have allowed the multiple related items to be included in a single ballot question when submitting proposed constitutional amendments to voters.
- In 1967, voters approved a constitutional amendment that required the governor and lieutenant governor be elected as a joint ticket.
- In 1973, voters rejected a state Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would have prohibited, in the Wisconsin Constitution, the denial or abridgment of rights and protections under the law on the basis of sex.
- Voters approved a constitutional amendment to provide state constitutional privileges and protections for crime victims in 1993. In April 2020, voters amended this provision, becoming the 13th state to decide on a ballot measure to adopt Marsy's Law.
- In 1998, voters approved an amendment to provide for a state constitutional right to keep and bear arms. In 2003, voters approved an amendment to provide for a state constitutional right to hunt, fish, trap, and take game.
- In 2024, voters rejected two constitutional amendments, Question 1 and Question 2, related to the legislature's appropriation powers.
- The state legislature has placed 30 non-binding questions on the ballot. These non-binding questions have addressed various topics including, gambling and video poker, work requirements for public assistance, veteran bonuses, alcohol prohibition, state-owned television stations, nuclear weapons, and more.
Statistics
Closest and widest margins
Five measures were decided by less than a percentage point. The top five closest measures are below:
| Closest vote margins for Wisconsin statewide ballot measures, 1846-April 2025 | |||||||
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| Measure | Year | Yes votes | No votes | Vote margin | Outcome | ||
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The following five measures had the widest vote margins by percentage:
| Widest vote margins for Wisconsin statewide ballot measures, 1846-April 2025 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure | Year | Yes votes | No votes | Vote margin | Outcome | ||
| # | % | # | % | ||||
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Wisconsin ballot measure topics
Wisconsin ballot measures have addressed 59 unique topics, with some addressing multiple topics in one measure. The top 10 most common topics addressed are:
- State judiciary (28 measures)
- State legislature (27 measures)
- State executive official (24 measures)
- Elections and campaigns (23 measures)
- Constitutional language (22 measures)
- State and local government budgets spending and finance (22 measures)
- Suffrage (21 measures)
- Administration of government (17 measures)
- Salaries of government officials (15 measures)
- County and municipal governance (14 measures)
By the decade
The average number of measures per decade was nearly 14, and the average number of measures approved per decade was 71.0%.
The decade with the most ballot measures was the 1960s, which featured 42 ballot measures. Thirty-three measures (78.6%) were approved, and nine (21.4%) were defeated. The decade with the highest approval rate was the 2000s, which featured six measures. All were approved. The decade with the lowest approval rating was the 1910s. The decade featured 18 ballot measures—six (33.3%) were approved, and 12 (66.7%) were defeated.
By type
- See also: Types of ballot measures in Wisconsin
There are four different types of ballot measures in Wisconsin. Legislatively referred constitutional amendments have appeared on the ballot the most number of times (198). Legislatively referred state statutes had the highest success rate at the ballot box, with 80% of the 26 measures approved by voters. Constitutional convention question had the lowest success rate, with the single measure presented to voters defeated.
Background
In Wisconsin, the state legislature can vote to refer measures to the ballot. Citizens of Wisconsin do not have the power to initiate statewide ballot measures.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
A simple majority vote is required during two legislative sessions for the Wisconsin State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Wisconsin State Assembly and 17 votes in the Wisconsin State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Legislatively referred state statutes
In Wisconsin, a referred state statute is required for laws that extend "the right of suffrage to additional classes," per Article III, Section 2 of the Wisconsin Constitution. Before 1902, referred statutes were required for laws that affect banking.
A simple majority vote is required during two legislative sessions for the Wisconsin State Legislature to place a referred statute on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Wisconsin State Assembly and 17 votes in the Wisconsin State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Statutes require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Advisory questions
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Wisconsin State Legislature to place an advisory question on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Wisconsin State Assembly and 17 votes in the Wisconsin State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Advisory questions do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Constitutional convention questions
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Wisconsin State Legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. If a simple majority of voters approve the question, then the legislature needs to convene a convention during its next session.
