In a 54-45 vote along party lines in the state Assembly Tuesday, the voter identification constitutional amendment received its second successive legislative session recommendation, clearing the way for the amendment to be presented to voters on the April 1 general election ballot.
The vote comes a week after the state Senate voted to cement Wisconsin's voter ID requirement into the state constitution. The photo ID amendment was first approved during the 2023-24 session.
Republican co-authors of the amendment said they are looking to enact it before a new justice joins the Wisconsin Supreme Court after the April 1 election, arguing that enshrining the voter ID law in the state constitution would make it difficult for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which currently has a liberal-leaning majority, to invalidate the law.
“If we wait on something like this, then [the court] could rule that the photo ID is unconstitutional, and then it would be a harder time,” bill co-author Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, said. “This gives the electorate the opportunity to make that decision.”
Republican lawmakers passed a voter ID law after they gained control of the state Legislature in 2011. Making voter ID a constitutional requirement would make it impossible for Democrats to overturn the requirement if they win majorities in the state Assembly and Senate.
In 2024, Wisconsinites saw five statewide referendum questions, the most in a single year since 1982 according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Republican-controlled Legislature placed all five of the 2024 statewide referendum questions on the ballot, three of five which were passed.
“Legislative Republicans are making it clear from the get-go that they care more about the spring election and cementing their control of the Legislature than the real issues our communities sent us to solve,” Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, said in a social media post after the Assembly vote Tuesday.
The voter ID amendment was the first proposal considered by the Wisconsin Legislature this year. The session began Jan. 6, followed by a public hearing and then Senate vote Tuesday and Wednesday of that week.
Republican lawmakers unlikely to entertain Evers’ proposal allowing citizen initiative referendums, constitutional amendments
The move comes a week after Gov. Tony Evers announced plans to include a measure in the 2025-27 budget that would allow Wisconsinites to enact statutory and constitutional changes without the Legislature’s approval.
Currently, only the Legislature can place proposed referendums and constitutional amendments on statewide ballots. Evers’ proposal would put decisions on issues such as abortion rights and marijuana legalization in the hands of voters instead of lawmakers.
Evers’ proposal would require the Legislature to create a statewide binding referendum process through a constitutional amendment through which voters then could file petitions with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to hold a vote on proposed laws or amendments or to repeal current state laws enacted. Under the proposal, signatures collected would be validated by the WEC, and a vote would be held at the next general election at least 120 days after the petition was filed.
“Republican lawmakers today are poised to put their sixth constitutional amendment on the ballot in just a year’s time while they oppose my proposal to give Wisconsinites that same opportunity — that says a lot about how much they value the voice and the opinions of the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said in a press release Tuesday ahead of the Assembly vote. “If Republican lawmakers are going to continue ignoring the will of the people and legislating by constitutional amendment, then they should give the people of Wisconsin the power to pass the policies they want to see at the ballot box.”
Republican lawmakers have signaled it is unlikely the proposal will make the cut, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, telling reporters it’s “dead on arrival.”
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told UpFront on Sunday Republicans plan to strip all non-spending policy items from Evers’ budget proposal.
“Instead of proposing a laundry list of policy items, the governor should be focusing his effort on using the state surplus to address rising costs,” LeMahieu said.
Evers is set to release his 2025-27 budget request in full on Feb. 18. State lawmakers are expected to vote and approve a final version of the state’s spending plan before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She has interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @annakleiber03.
