Skip to content
Democracy SENTRY
Voting in your state
UpdateWisconsinMonday, March 23, 2026

Wisconsin Senate bill would repeal absentee voting instruction rule

Reporting by
Wisconsin Legislature
“SB 46, Relating to: the suspension of a rule of the Elections Commission.”, Monday, March 23, 2026
Read the full story
What happened

Wisconsin Senate Bill 46 would repeal an Elections Commission emergency rule that took effect June 10, 2024, requiring municipalities to use only commission-prescribed uniform instructions for absentee voting. The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules suspended emergency rule 2407 on July 22, 2024. The bill was introduced as required by statute to support the suspension.1

What it means in Wisconsin

What this means for absentee voters

In-person absentee voting can start no earlier than Tuesday October 20 and end no later than Sunday November 1, 2026, with hours set by each municipality.2 Absentee requests by mail or online must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday October 29, 2026.2 Absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.2

Key dates in Wisconsin

Election Day in 6 days
  1. Tue, Oct 20 · passed
    Early voting begins
  2. Sun, Nov 1 · 4 days
    Early voting ends
  3. Tue, Nov 3 · 6 days
    Election Day; Registration deadline; Mail ballots must arrive
  4. Tue, Nov 17 · 20 days
    County/Local certification
  5. Tue, Dec 1 · 34 days
    State certification

Every date in Wisconsin, and who certifies the election

The answers behind this
Who runs elections, and who can't interfereVoting in Wisconsin, 2026How do I vote by mail or early in Wisconsin in 2026?Who certifies the election in Wisconsin, and by when?

Explore this issue

OverviewUpdates In depthSenate candidate urged police poll watchers in Detroit, sparking claims In depthAlabama Secretary of State issued Election Day reminders for November 3 In depthDemocrats asked court to block Trump administration voter roll actions In depthTexas voter groups sued for records on registration backlog In depthCameron County says poll worker initials on ballots will not void votes In depthOhio asked voters to report AI chatbot errors on election rules In depthPima County, Arizona added early voting sites in late October 2026 In depthWisconsin Elections reminded voters of one-week deadline before Nov. 3 In depthFlorida voters must bring photo ID with signature to vote In depthWisconsin voters will decide three constitutional referendums Nov. 3 In depthWisconsin voter groups reported concerns about federal agents at polls In depthNew York early voting drew more than 250,000 in first two days

Sources

  1. Wisconsin Legislature, https://openstates.org/wi/bills/2025/SB46 · Monday, March 23, 2026
  2. Vote.org, Wisconsin Election Center, https://www.vote.org/state/wisconsin/

Ask

Have a question about voting in Wisconsin?

Ask it here. If we do not have the answer yet, we will find it.