Constitution of Wisconsin (2026 publisher edition) — Article XIII

Publisher edition notice: The publisher identifies this complete compilation as published August 5, 2026 and last amended April 2025. Publisher context and source notes are preserved; later amendments have not been independently verified.

Article XIII

ARTICLE XIII. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Political year; elections. SECTION 1. [As amended Nov. 1882 and April 1986] The political year for this state shall com- mence on the first Monday of January in each year, and the gen- eral election shall be held on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday of November in even-numbered years. [1881 J.R. 16A, 1882 J.R. 3, 1882 c. 290, vote Nov. 1882; 1983 J.R. 30, 1985 J.R. 14, vote April 1986] Dueling. SECTION 2. [Repealed April 1975; see 1973 J.R. 10, 1975 J.R. 4, vote April 1975.] Eligibility to office. SECTION 3. [As amended Nov. 1996] (1) No member of congress and no person holding any office of profit or trust under the United States except postmaster, or un- der any foreign power, shall be eligible to any office of trust, profit or honor in this state. (2) No person convicted of a felony, in any court within the United States, no person convicted in federal court of a crime designated, at the time of commission, under federal law as a misdemeanor involving a violation of public trust and no person convicted, in a court of a state, of a crime designated, at the time of commission, under the law of the state as a misdemeanor in- volving a violation of public trust shall be eligible to any office of trust, profit or honor in this state unless pardoned of the conviction. (3) No person may seek to have placed on any ballot for a state or local elective office in this state the name of a person convicted of a felony, in any court within the United States, the name of a person convicted in federal court of a crime desig- nated, at the time of commission, under federal law as a misde- meanor involving a violation of public trust or the name of a person convicted, in a court of a state, of a crime designated, at the time of commission, under the law of the state as a misde- meanor involving a violation of public trust, unless the person named for the ballot has been pardoned of the conviction. [1993 J.R. 19, 1995 J.R. 28] Great seal. SECTION 4. It shall be the duty of the legisla- ture to provide a great seal for the state, which shall be kept by the secretary of state, and all official acts of the governor, his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated. Residents on Indian lands, where to vote. SECTION 5. [Repealed April 1986; see 1983 J.R. 30, 1985 J.R. 14, vote April 1986.] Legislative officers. SECTION 6. The elective officers of the legislature, other than the presiding officers, shall be a chief clerk and a sergeant at arms, to be elected by each house. Division of counties. SECTION 7. No county with an area of nine hundred square miles or less shall be divided or have any part stricken therefrom, without submitting the question to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless a majority of all the legal voters of the county voting on the question shall vote for the same. Removal of county seats. SECTION 8. No county seat shall be removed until the point to which it is proposed to be re- moved shall be fixed by law, and a majority of the voters of the county voting on the question shall have voted in favor of its re- moval to such point. Election or appointment of statutory officers. SEC- TION 9. All county officers whose election or appointment is not provided for by this constitution shall be elected by the elec- tors of the respective counties, or appointed by the boards of su- pervisors, or other county authorities, as the legislature shall di- rect. All city, town and village officers whose election or ap- pointment is not provided for by this constitution shall be elected by the electors of such cities, towns and villages, or of some division thereof, or appointed by such authorities thereof as the legislature shall designate for that purpose. All other of- ficers whose election or appointment is not provided for by this constitution, and all officers whose offices may hereafter be created by law, shall be elected by the people or appointed, as the legislature may direct. Vacancies in office. SECTION 10. [As amended April 1979] (1) The legislature may declare the cases in which any office shall be deemed vacant, and also the manner of filling the vacancy, where no provision is made for that purpose in this constitution. (2) Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, the governor shall nominate a successor to serve for the balance of the unexpired term, who shall take office after confirmation by the senate and by the assembly. [1977 J.R. 32, 1979 J.R. 3, vote April 1979] Passes, franks and privileges. SECTION 11. [As cre- ated Nov. 1902 and amended Nov. 1936] No person, associa- tion, copartnership, or corporation, shall promise, offer or give, for any purpose, to any political committee, or any member or employe thereof, to any candidate for, or incumbent of any of- fice or position under the constitution or laws, or under any or- Wisconsin Constitution updated by the Legislative Reference Bureau. Published August 5, 2026. Click for the Coverage of Annotations for the Annotated Constitution. Report errors at 608.504.5801 or lrb.legal@legis.wisconsin.gov.

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Published August 5, 2026. 18 ART. XIII, §11, WIS. CONSTITUTION dinance of any town or municipality, of this state, or to any per- son at the request or for the advantage of all or any of them, any free pass or frank, or any privilege withheld from any person, for the traveling accommodation or transportation of any person or property, or the transmission of any message or communication. No political committee, and no member or employee thereof, no candidate for and no incumbent of any office or po- sition under the constitution or laws, or under any ordinance of any town or municipality of this state, shall ask for, or accept, from any person, association, copartnership, or corporation, or use, in any manner, or for any purpose, any free pass or frank, or any privilege withheld from any person, for the traveling ac- commodation or transportation of any person or property, or the transmission of any message or communication. Any violation of any of the above provisions shall be bribery and punished as provided by law, and if any officer or any mem- ber of the legislature be guilty thereof, his office shall become vacant. No person within the purview of this act shall be privileged from testifying in relation to anything therein prohibited; and no person having so testified shall be liable to any prosecution or punishment for any offense concerning which he was required to give his testimony or produce any documentary evidence. Notaries public and regular employees of a railroad or other public utilities who are candidates for or hold public offices for which the annual compensation is not more than three hundred dollars to whom no passes or privileges are extended beyond those which are extended to other regular employees of such corporations are excepted from the provisions of this section. [1899 J.R. 8, 1901 J.R. 9, 1901 c. 437, vote Nov. 1902; 1933 J.R. 63, 1935 J.R. 98, vote Nov. 1936] Recall of elective officers. SECTION 12. [As created Nov. 1926 and amended April 1981] The qualified electors of the state, of any congressional, judicial or legislative district or of any county may petition for the recall of any incumbent elec- tive officer after the first year of the term for which the incum- bent was elected, by filing a petition with the filing officer with whom the nomination petition to the office in the primary is filed, demanding the recall of the incumbent. (1) The recall petition shall be signed by electors equalling at least twenty-five percent of the vote cast for the office of gov- ernor at the last preceding election, in the state, county or dis- trict which the incumbent represents. (2) The filing officer with whom the recall petition is filed shall call a recall election for the Tuesday of the 6th week after the date of filing the petition or, if that Tuesday is a legal holi- day, on the first day after that Tuesday which is not a legal holiday. (3) The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election results are officially declared. (4) Unless the incumbent declines within 10 days after the filing of the petition, the incumbent shall without filing be deemed to have filed for the recall election. Other candidates may file for the office in the manner provided by law for special elections. For the purpose of conducting elections under this section: (a) When more than 2 persons compete for a nonpartisan of- fice, a recall primary shall be held. The 2 persons receiving the highest number of votes in the recall primary shall be the 2 can- didates in the recall election, except that if any candidate re- ceives a majority of the total number of votes cast in the recall primary, that candidate shall assume the office for the remain- der of the term and a recall election shall not be held. (b) For any partisan office, a recall primary shall be held for each political party which is by law entitled to a separate ballot and from which more than one candidate competes for the party’s nomination in the recall election. The person receiving the highest number of votes in the recall primary for each polit- ical party shall be that party’s candidate in the recall election. Independent candidates and candidates representing political parties not entitled by law to a separate ballot shall be shown on the ballot for the recall election only. (c) When a recall primary is required, the date specified un- der sub. (2) shall be the date of the recall primary and the recall election shall be held on the Tuesday of the 4th week after the recall primary or, if that Tuesday is a legal holiday, on the first day after that Tuesday which is not a legal holiday. (5) The person who receives the highest number of votes in the recall election shall be elected for the remainder of the term. (6) After one such petition and recall election, no further re- call petition shall be filed against the same officer during the term for which he was elected. (7) This section shall be self-executing and mandatory. Laws may be enacted to facilitate its operation but no law shall be enacted to hamper, restrict or impair the right of recall. [1923 J.R. 73, 1925 J.R. 16, 1925 c. 270, vote Nov. 1926; 1979 J.R. 41, 1981 J.R. 6, vote April 1981] Marriage. SECTION 13. [As created Nov. 2006] Only a mar- riage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recog- nized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or sub- stantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state. [2003 J.R. 29, 2005 J.R. 30, vote Nov. 2006] Note: In Wolf v. Walker, Case No. 14-cv-64-bbc, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin declared that “art. XIII, § 13 of the Wisconsin Constitution violates plaintiffs’ fundamental right to marry and their right to equal protection of laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Affirmed. 766 F.3d 648. U.S. Seventh Cir- cuit Court of Appeals, Case No. 14-2526, issued September 4, 2014.