Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022
Can a majority in the Wisconsin Assembly impeach elected officials?
The Wisconsin Constitution gives the Wisconsin Legislature "the power of impeaching all civil officers of this state for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors." (Civil officer is not defined, however.)
If a majority of the state Assembly votes in favor of impeachment, the state Senate tries the impeachment. If two-thirds of the state Senate votes in favor of conviction, an impeached official would be removed and could be disqualified from holding "any office of honor, profit or trust under the state." Republicans now have a two-thirds majority in the state Senate as a result of the 2022 midterm elections.
The provision allows for the impeachment of state elected officials such as governor, lieutenant governor and judges.
The only impeachment proceedings in Wisconsin history took place against a state Supreme Court justice in the mid-1800s — and he was acquitted.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Ballotpedia Article VII, Wisconsin Constitution
- Wisconsin State Legislature Wisconsin Legislative Council information memorandum: Removal of elected officials
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin Republicans fell short of a legislative supermajority, but they now have enough senators to impeach state officials, speed up bills
- Wisconsin Courts Wisconsin Court System
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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