Wisconsin Legislature

The land that would become Wisconsin became part of the United States in 1783 and was first organized under the Northwest Ordinance. It became the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and the state of Wisconsin on May 29, 1848.[3] The 1850s saw an influx of European immigrants.[4]

Women's rights groups in support of temperance and suffrage formed in Wisconsin in the 1860s.[5] The Wisconsin Women's Suffrage Association was formed in 1869. Suffrage bills were introduced in 1855 and 1867 but both failed. However, the state legislature did pass a law allowing women to run for school boards and elective school offices in 1869. It was not until June 10, 1919, that Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19th amendment granting national suffrage to women.[5]

Wisconsin was dominated alternately by the Republican and Progressive parties in the first century of its existence, but has been more competitive since then. The Republicans gained majority control in both houses in the 1995 Legislature, the first time since 1969. In 2009, the Democratic Party gained control of both houses for the first time since 1993.

The Republican Party took back control of both houses in 2011.[3] Governor Scott Walker then signed a new redistricting plan.[6] In 2012 elections, Democrats won a majority of the vote but Republicans retained control of the legislature, taking 60 of the 99 seats in the Assembly.[6] In the 2016 Wisconsin elections, Republicans secured their largest majority in the Assembly since 1956.[6]

On November 21, 2016, U.S. Circuit Judge Kenneth Francis Ripple, joined by District Judge Barbara Brandriff Crabb, held that the Republicans' 2011 redistricting was unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, over a dissent by District Judge William C. Griesbach.[7] The court found that the 2011 redistricting plan created three times as many wasted votes as the national average, violating the United States Constitution’s guarantee of one man, one vote.[8]

The Wisconsin State Assembly elections of 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. All 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. The Republican Party maintained a majority it has held since 2011,[9] winning 63 seats, a loss of one seat, and 44.75% of the voting share.

In both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, a quorum is defined as a majority of current members. The majority of a quorum is needed to pass legislation on the floor of the chamber.[11] Three-fifths of the members elected is the quorum necessary for passage or concurrence in either house of any fiscal bill. Proposals may not be introduced or offered unless they are put in proper form by the legislative reference staff if requested by members or members-elect of the legislature.[11]

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