Date of enactment: March 21, 2024
2023 Assembly Bill 298 Date of publication*: March 22, 2024
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 124
AN ACT to renumber and amend 5.25 (3); and to create 5.25 (3) (a) 1. to 5., 5.25 (3) (b), 5.25 (3) (c) and 5.25 (3)
(d) of the statutes; relating to: polling place closures.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 5.25 (3) of the statutes is renumbered
5.25 (3) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:
5.25 (3) (a) (intro.) Polling places shall be established
for each election at least 30 days before the election. Sub-
ject to par. (b), no polling place so established in a munic-
ipality may be closed to voters on election day unless the
majority of the members−elect, as defined in s. 66.10015
(1) (bs), of the governing body of the municipality makes
a finding of emergency, both the majority of the mem-
bers−elect of the governing body of the municipality and
the municipal clerk approve the closure, and the munici-
pal clerk does all of the following:
SECTION 2. 5.25 (3) (a) 1. to 5. of the statutes are cre-
ated to read:
5.25 (3) (a) 1. Posts public notice of the closure on the
municipality’s website or, if the municipality does not
maintain a website, posts notices in at least 3 different
locations within the municipality reasonably calculated
to notify the most residents.
2. Publishes a class 3 notice under ch. 985 notifying
the public of the closure.
3. Publishes a class 2 or class 1 notice under ch. 985
notifying the public of the closure if time does not permit
publication of a class 3 notice.
4. Designates a proper person who shall be stationed
at or as near as possible to the closed location to notify all
electors of the closure and of their new polling location.
5. In a municipality establishing one polling place
only, establishes a new polling location approved by the
majority of the members−elect of the governing body and
the municipal clerk.
SECTION 3. 5.25 (3) (b) of the statutes is created to
read:
5.25 (3) (b) Under no circumstance may a municipal-
ity close more than one−half of its polling places within
30 days before an election, except as provided in par. (a)
5.
SECTION 4. 5.25 (3) (c) of the statutes is created to
read:
5.25 (3) (c) After an election and more than 30 days
before the next election, the location of a polling place in
a municipality may not be discontinued without the
approval of the municipality’s governing body after a
public hearing at which the public has an opportunity to
present testimony on the proposed discontinuation.
SECTION 5. 5.25 (3) (d) of the statutes is created to
read:
5.25 (3) (d) Nothing in this subsection alters the
authority of the election inspectors to adjourn to another
location for voting on election day under s. 7.37 (1).
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”