Skip to content

Friday, Dec. 1, 2023

Does Tony Evers only pardon people with felony convictions who have already been free for more than five years?


yes

Gov. Tony Evers will only pardon people who meet the criteria of at least five years “off paper,” that is, five years since completing all confinement, extended supervision, parole and probation.

Evers’ three other main criteria for a pardon are the conviction taking place in Wisconsin, the person not being a sex offender and no new charges in any jurisdiction.

Each Wisconsin governor establishes their own criteria for pardons — a power granted by the Wisconsin Constitution.

While the pardon does not expunge court records, it restores a person’s civil rights, including the rights to vote and hold public office. Voting rights are also restored after someone with a felony conviction has completed their sentence.

As of November 2023, Evers is the Wisconsin governor who has pardoned the most people: 1,111. The governor with the second largest number of pardons was Julius Heil (1939–43), with 943.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

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.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.