Skip to content

Monday, Sep 28, 2026

Have Republicans controlled constitutional amendment questions on Wisconsin ballots for the past 15 years?

Hope Karnopp / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Watch
yes

Republicans have had the power to place constitutional amendment questions on Wisconsin’s statewide ballots since taking control of the state Legislature in 2011.

To make those amendments, both houses of the state Legislature must pass the proposed change two sessions in a row. Then, a majority of voters must vote “yes” to ratify it.

Republicans have controlled the Legislature since 2011 and have used that power in recent years to pitch changes to the constitution, sometimes putting policies directly to voters that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed.

Most votes to advance recent referendums have been along party lines, but occasionally some Democrats voted for them. Republicans in the majority have enough votes to pass them without Democrats, and the governor can’t veto constitutional amendments.

Wisconsin voters have approved seven constitutional amendments since 2020 and rejected two. Three more are on the Nov. 3 ballot.

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

Sources

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 newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

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

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.