Voting Information for November 3, 2026 Fall General Election
by Lisa Aarli
Northside Action Team
Every election matters and impacts our lives. Wisconsinites will go to the polls in November to vote for representatives at the state and national levels. Do your research and make your plan to vote. Democracy is stronger when everyone votes!
Election Schedule for 2026
Fall General Election – November 3
What’s on the ballot? Everyone in WI will vote for:
Governor, Lt Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer
Many people in WI will vote for:
US Congressional Seats, WI State Senate, WI State Assembly, Sheriff
Three constitutional amendments on November ballot
By the League of Women Voters
of Dane County
Your Nov. 3 ballot will include three proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution:
Amendment to Prohibit Governmental Entity Discrimination
What you will see on the ballot: Governmental Entity Discrimination Prohibited. Shall section 27 of article 1 of the constitution be created to prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?
What this amendment means: The proposed amendment states that it would prohibit preferential treatment by governmental entities to anyone on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.
The title and first part of the ballot question lead voters to believe that this is a new law to stop government entities from discriminating against people. Wisconsin and federal law already make discrimination illegal.
This proposed amendment would not allow state and local governments to have policies and programs designed to address longstanding disparities and expand access to opportunity for women and people of color. It assumes that helping marginalized groups is discrimination against everyone else.
What could this amendment do if it passes? Make public equity-based programs unconstitutional, including:
● Health and Environmental Equity: programs that address higher rates of chronic illness, disease, and mortality; maternal and infant mortality for the Black population.
● Education: programs that address K-12 accommodations, curriculum, UW admissions, scholarships, grants, courses, textbooks.
● ommunity-Action Programs: Head Start and social-support networks for operating food banks, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters.
● overnment, Businesses, and Contracts: Workplace initiatives for women owned firms, equitable hiring, promotion and retention, such as the WI Supplier Diversity Program and WI Fast Forward program.
Eliminate initiatives such as the requirement for Hmong and Asian history in our schools, Holocaust education, the Racial Equity Budget Tool, and any other equity efforts.
Eliminate protection for gay marriage and other LGBTQ+ rights.
Increase censorship of materials and topics related to diversity and the history of discrimination in libraries, school curricula, public museums and websites.
Amendment Requiring Places of Worship to Remain Open
What you will see on the ballot: Freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency. Shall section 18 of article I of the constitution, which deals with religious liberty, be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?
What does this amendment mean? If you vote yes, you are agreeing that places of worship can remain open during states of emergency or public health emergencies. Closing places of worship does not prevent any person from practicing their religion as worship can and is practiced on an individual basis in one’s own home or online during an emergency.
What could this amendment do if it passes? Bring increased risk of disease to the health and well-being of those attending places of worship. Those attending places of worship that remain open during a public health emergency can spread disease far beyond their membership.
Amendment regarding the Governor’s Veto Authority
What you will see on the ballot: Partial veto. Shall section 10(1)(c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?
What does this amendment mean? If you vote yes, you are agreeing that the governor cannot use the partial veto authority to create or increase any tax or fee.
What could this amendment do if it passes? It would make it harder for any future governor to right the wrongs of any legislature that fails to provide sufficient revenues to meet our shared priorities — education-related or otherwise. It would change the balance of power between the governor and the legislature by giving greater power to the legislature.
