Wisconsin voters have decided on suffrage-related ballot measures eight times since 1848

Since the state constitution was ratified in 1848, Wisconsin voters have decided on suffrage-related ballot measures eight times. Five measures were approved, and three were rejected. Five of these eight measures were legislatively referred state statutes. The other three were legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Wisconsin’s first measure concerning suffrage appeared on the ballot on Nov. 6, 1849. Voters approved this legislatively referred state statute to extend equal suffrage to men over the age of 21 regardless of skin color with 5,265 yes votes to 4,075 no votes.

Suffrage for African Americans appeared two times on the ballot in 1857 and 1865. The same language about extending suffrage to men over 21 years of age of African descent appeared on the ballot both times. Both statutes were rejected by voters, with 28,235 yes votes to 41,345 no votes and 46,588 yes votes (56.4%) to 55,591 no votes (43.4%), respectively.

These rejections, however, were thrown out after a Wisconsin Supreme Court case in 1866. Ezekiel Gillespie, a black leader in Milwaukee, was denied by election inspectors when he tried to register to vote in the 1865 general election. Gillespie, along with his lawyer Byron Paine, argued that African Americans were granted the right to vote by the 1849 Equal Suffrage Referendum and therefore could vote in any subsequent elections. The case made it to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where the court ruled in favor of Gillespie. This ruling meant that because voters had approved suffrage for African Americans in 1849, the subsequent rejections in 1857 and 1865 were irrelevant.

The 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which federally guaranteed voting rights for African American men, was ratified on Feb. 3, 1870.

Following the extension of suffrage to African Americans, voters in Wisconsin voted in favor of allowing women to vote in elections related to school matters on Nov. 2, 1886. The statute was approved by a margin of 43,581 yes votes (52.8%) to 38,998 no votes (47.2%). Women’s suffrage did not appear on Wisconsin ballots again until 26 years later in 1912.

In the meantime, a constitutional amendment about voting rights for non-citizens was approved on Nov. 3, 1908, by a margin of 85,838 yes votes (70%) to 36,773 no votes (30%). The measure amended Section 2, Article III of the state constitution and granted suffrage to people born abroad who by Dec. 1, 1908, had begun the process of becoming naturalized citizens. The provisions of the amendment expired on Dec. 1, 1912, meaning that only fully naturalized citizens could vote after that date.

In November 1912, Wisconsin voters rejected a legislatively referred state statute to extend suffrage to women by a vote of 135,736 yes votes (37.4%) to 227,054 no votes (62.6%).

Though the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was ratified to federally grant suffrage to women eight years later on Aug. 18, 1920, the Wisconsin Constitution was not amended to reflect this until 1934. Voters approved the legislatively referred constitutional amendment to modify Article III, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution and officially gave women the right to vote in the state constitution by a margin of 411,088 yes votes (71.1%) to 166,745 no votes (28.9%) on Nov. 6, 1934.

The most recent ballot measure concerning suffrage was decided on by voters in 1986. By a vote of 401,911 yes votes (82.9%) to 83,183 no votes (17.2%), Wisconsin voters approved updates to Section I, Article XIII of the state constitution that removed obsolete language about suffrage and elections.

On Nov. 5, 2024, Wisconsin voters will decide on a suffrage-related amendment that would add language to the Wisconsin Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, local, or school elections. Seven other states will be deciding on similar amendments.

In Wisconsin, ballot measures must be referred by the state legislature, as citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures. Legislatively referred constitutional amendments require a simple majority vote in the state legislature—a minimum of 50 votes in the Assembly and 17 in the Senate if there are no vacancies—during two legislative sessions to be placed on the ballot by the legislature. Statutes require a simple majority vote in one session and the governor’s signature to be referred to the ballot.