Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: November 14, 2023 Contact: Katie Bender-Olson, Principal Attorney, and
Peggy Hurley, Senior Staff Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 582 Senate Amendment 1
2023 SENATE BILL 582
2023 Senate Bill 582 modifies the definition of a person who may receive absentee ballots as an
“indefinitely confined” voter. Under the bill, a person may apply, on an application form that is separate
from any other application form, for that status for the purpose of voting absentee if he or she is
indefinitely confined and cannot travel independently without significant burden because of frailty,
physical illness, or a disability that is expected to last longer than one year.
The bill additionally requires a person who applies for indefinitely confined voter status to provide
proof of identification, if he or she is able to do so, and offers various means of complying with this
requirement. The bill specifies that municipal clerks must remove the indefinitely confined status from
a person who votes in person in any election or who fails to vote in a spring or general election for which
he or she has received a ballot. Additionally, the bill requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to
facilitate the removal of the indefinitely confined status of each voter who applied for that status
between March 12, 2020, and November 3, 2020.
Under the bill, a voter whose indefinitely confined status is so removed must submit a new application
for indefinitely confined status in order to continue automatically receiving absentee ballots. Under the
bill, a person who makes a false statement for the purpose of qualifying as indefinitely confined may be
fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.
SENATE AMENDMENT 1
Senate Amendment 1 requires municipal clerks to notify voters who have their indefinitely confined
status removed because they applied between March 12, 2020, and November 3, 2020, to notify the
voter of such removal within five days after the action is taken, if possible.
BILL HISTORY
Senate Amendment 1 was offered by Senator Knodl on November 9, 2023. On November 10, 2023, the
Senate Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections, and Consumer Protection adopted Senate
Amendment 1 on a vote of Ayes, 5; Noes, 0. The committee then passed Senate Bill 582, as amended, on
a vote of Ayes, 3; Noes, 2.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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