Wisconsin: Limits on Voter Eligibility Challenges

Written and published in partnership with All Voting is Local, with special thanks to Jenner & Block, LLP

Wisconsin, like most states, allows private individuals to challenge another person’s eligibility to vote. This resource details state laws that govern this process and protect challenged voters. Wisconsin’s voter protections include an affidavit requirement and a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard for pre-election challenges, as well as provisions for removing people who abuse the challenge process on Election Day.

Protections for voters challenged before an election

• Only a registered voter from the same municipality can challenge another voter before an election. footnote1_H16AJ076X5s6qCNocyO2GYXWgBh48NVN3UtxiI61PoY_dpaHIAPGTjDS1 Wis. Stat. § 6.48(1)(a).
• The challenge can only be made by filing an individualized affidavit with the municipal clerk, or, in large cities with populations over 500,000 (currently only Milwaukee), with the board of election commissioners. footnote2_QsVqA2fZde6KhvEAA9ysz1X61y-QembHMq4qV6E4aQ_zBF5hudP3oOD2Id.
• Upon receipt of such a challenge, the clerk or board must mail a notice to the challenged voter. footnote3_QsVqA2fZde6KhvEAA9ysz1X61y-QembHMq4qV6E4aQ_sJC1eyX2aPyR3Id.
• The challenger and the challenged voter must appear before the clerk within one week of notification, or, in large cities, arrange to appear before the board on a day set to hear challenges. footnote4_FlFUif6pDjXW2R9F0njpmycS3MrtMQKJnw0dSi2dpA_fdNaJCVjDsvT4 Wis. Stat. § 6.48(1)(b).
• The burden is on the challenger to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the challenged voter is not qualified to vote. footnote5_q5KooiHRUvapDIqGKxS9fG-WPSYYQZ60-V-plakKiI0_q2OoDQ659H535 Wis. Stat. § 6.325.
• If the challenger does not appear at the clerk’s office within one week of notification or, in large cities, at the board on the prescribed day, the clerk or board must dismiss the challenge. footnote6_2pNeUeaICkYU5A0-Odvs1u7ka4502I57ES6NPEqHJ70_v9WoQ052oDjM6 Wis. Stat. § 6.48(1)(c).
• If the challenged voter appears and answers questions about and swears to their eligibility under oath, the challenge should be rejected. footnote7_OvTJiIpibAVMRWOywCV3E6RuDKhEcuO7uyfD9saJc0_peGbq64OAjV27 Wis. Stat. §§ 6.48(1)(b), (2)(b).

Protections for voters challenged during the election

• Only an eligible Wisconsin voter or election inspector can challenge another voter during in-person voting. footnote8_VrD2Zj8GOjTtn5IeesDJoZ4vy0JJC8mgCZZB6QUxw_oMB938WEhC8f8 Wis. Stat. §§ 6.92, 6.925. Election inspectors under 18 cannot bring a challenge.
• Only an election inspector can challenge the sufficiency of a voter’s ID. footnote9_mMG0dKNuIFAGzC1dtdmk6V4qSgX1OFjU1zj6rn-SZnM_mLFPZY4T0Rhq9 Wisconsin Elections Commission, Election Day Manual for Wisconsin Election Officials, February 12, 2024, 71, https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ED%20Manual-February%202024.pdf.
• The challenger must show “reasonable cause,” and must assert a ground listed on the state’s Challenge Documentation form. footnote10_BnJr-Bg1bpYEkBdNYFX4mLl5a7curKAwq-OSDH-rKj4_qWzhoycOJDcp10 WI Elections Commission, “Challenge Documentation Form EL-104C,” last accessed May 21, 2024, https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/2020–07/EL-104c%2520Challenge%2520Documentation%2520%25282020–07%2529.pdf; Wis. Admin. Code. §§ EL 9.01-.02.
• “Any challenge based on an individual’s ethnicity, accent, or inability to speak English is unacceptable. The challenge should be dismissed, and an unmarked ballot issued to the voter.”footnote11_kGNe4vm5poUP3cPHxnBnthORY1AgLyKcpDNlEVbn8DM_b5MLCI61VSHc11 WI Elections Commission, Election Day Manual for Wisconsin Election Officials, 74.
• The election inspector must place the challenger under oath and question them as to the ground for and evidence in support of the challenge. footnote12_HFtpyGWM7uy77lTY45jpfkWPlbKz3r-58D7YL2isZk_zyaHiiHUrLg512 Wis. Stat. § 6.925; Wis. Admin. Code. § EL 9.02(1)-(2). If an election inspector challenges a voter, another inspector must administer the process to ensure fairness. footnote13_8TENTQ0SXXolgBf95kZIM3iO3OHZnBLy—mbrLdfOg_cBKoDS23jcvN13 WI Elections Commission, Election Day Manual for Wisconsin Election Officials, 72.
• If the challenger does not provide sufficient information to support the challenge, the inspector must dismiss the challenge and the challenged voter is allowed to vote without any notation being placed on the ballot. footnote14_FOx7zwp3KEbob0rr6ZY18ra0LkMn2rtkuDuxa4EtHvg_iQyu6GI1CEbh14 Wis. Stat. § 6.925; WI Elections Commission, “Challenge Documentation Form EL-104C.”
• If the challenger provides sufficient information to support a challenge, the inspector then places the challenged voter under oath and asks them questions about their eligibility. footnote15_yJioUHRdATUANXvuYEPc-4kj5C6nr6aGOwaWG5Z9A-o_c3epsFZxgvLw15 Wis. Stat. § 6.94. They must do so “in a calm and respectful manner.”footnote16_8TENTQ0SXXolgBf95kZIM3iO3OHZnBLy—mbrLdfOg_zEcGMInocN8G16 WI Elections Commission, Election Day Manual for Wisconsin Election Officials, 72.
• If the challenged voter swears to the relevant facts establishing their eligibility, the inspector must let them vote. footnote17_yJioUHRdATUANXvuYEPc-4kj5C6nr6aGOwaWG5Z9A-o_zJMUx6ciSS6L17 Wis. Stat. § 6.94. The inspector must include the voter’s unique serial number and the reason for the challenge on the back of the ballot. footnote18_TzfUXKZ7o6YlUGlBYW4hJBioZsRfDV29UZl5gXAf8_xYhvmTpqIza518 Wis. Stat. § 6.95.

• The absentee ballot board follows a similar procedure for challenges to absentee ballots. footnote19_OF2TDX2aL23Hymi-BWsUYuzlmCTT2WQB6rCdPCZnr4_qgIuAb8puFmn19 Wis. Stat. §§ 7.52(5), 6.93; Wis. Admin. Code. § EL 9.04.

  Accountability for challenge abuses

• The chief inspector or municipal clerk can remove any individual who abuses the challenge process by making challenges frivolously or in bad faith on Election Day. footnote20_t2YJGblbt7eDB2mwz-qBurIPSkoByBUwTcBFcEao_cY6ztRCDUyPz20 Wis. Stat. § 7.41(3); Wis. Admin. Code. § EL 9.02.
• Individuals who make false statements challenging a voter, either before or during the election, may also be subject to criminal penalties. footnote21_MPZ2UT0xBOvldMLCZI0gbXIdyu77mlw5W5YpvpvW5QE_d8s6wRIhillC21 Wis. Stat. §§ 12.13(1)(b), 12.13(3)(g), 946.32(1)(a).

•  •  •

Voters in Wisconsin have the right to vote free from intimidation under federal and state law. Baseless challenges to a voter’s eligibility can harass and intimidate the voter being challenged, as well as other voters waiting to vote at the polls. More information on the federal and state laws that protect Wisconsin voters from intimidation can be found here.

If voters discover they’ve been mistakenly removed from the rolls, they can re-register and vote at their municipal clerk’s office or an early voting site until 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election or at their polling place on Election Day. footnote22_3ti12LOftcPSTdiIvOCgLVrf5n1mK5PqUJ0Txn8-TBU_auvAVO4YtuOP22 Wis. Stat. § 6.29.