Article XIII, Wisconsin Constitution
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| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV |
Article XIII of the Wisconsin Constitution is entitled Miscellaneous Provisions and consists of 12 sections.
Section 1
As amended Nov. 1882 and April 1986.
| Text of Section 1:
Political Year; Elections The political year for this state shall commence on the first Monday of January in each year, and the general election shall be held on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday of November in even−numbered years.[1] |
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.
Section 2
| Text of Section 2:
Dueling |
Repealed April 1975; see 1973 J.R. 10, 1975 J.R. 4, vote April 1975.[1]
Section 3
As amended Nov. 1996.
| Text of Section 3:
Eligibility to Office (1) No member of congress and no person holding any office of profit or trust under the United States except postmaster, or under 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 involving 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 designated, at the time of commission, under federal law as a misdemeanor 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 misdemeanor involving a violation of public trust, unless the person named for the ballot has been pardoned of the conviction.[1] |
1995 Jt. Res. 28.
Section 4
| Text of Section 4:
Great Seal It shall be the duty of the legislature 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.[1] |
Section 5
| Text of Section 5:
Residents on Indian Lands, Where to Vote |
Repealed April 1986; see 1983 J.R. 30, 1985 J.R. 14, vote April 1986.[1]
Section 6
| Text of Section 6:
Legislative Officers 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.[1] |
Section 7
| Text of Section 7:
Division of Counties 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.[1] |
Section 8
| Text of Section 8:
Removal of County Seats No county seat shall be removed until the point to which it is proposed to be removed 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 removal to such point.[1] |
Section 9
| Text of Section 9:
Election or Appointment of Statutory Officers All county officers whose election or appointment is not provided for by this constitution shall be elected by the electors of the respective counties, or appointed by the boards of supervisors, or other county authorities, as the legislature shall direct. All city, town and village officers whose election or appointment 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 officers 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.[1] |
Section 10
As amended April 1979.
| Text of Section 10:
Vacancies in Office (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.[1] |
1977 J.R. 32, 1979 J.R. 3, vote April 1979.
Section 11
As created Nov. 1902 and amended Nov. 1936.
| Text of Section 11:
Passes, Franks and Privileges No person, association, 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 office or position under the constitution or laws, or under any ordinance of any town or municipality, of this state, or to any person 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.[1] |
Section 12
As created Nov. 1926 and amended April 1981.
| Text of Section 12:
Recall of Elective Officers 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 elective officer after the first year of the term for which the incumbent 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 governor at the last preceding election, in the state, county or district 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 holiday, 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:
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 political 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.
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 recall 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.[1] |
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.
Section 13
As created Nov. 2006.
| Marriage. Section 13. Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.[1] |
2003 J.R. 29, 2005 J.R. 30, vote Nov. 2006.
See also
- State constitution
- Constitutional article
- Constitutional amendment
- Constitutional revision
- Constitutional convention
- Amendments
External links
- Wisconsin State Legislature, "Wisconsin Constitution"
- Wisconsin Historical Society, "Turning Points of Wisconsin History: The State Constitutions of 1846 and 1848"
Additional reading
- Stark, Jack. (2011). The Wisconsin State Constitution, New York, New York: Oxford University Press
- Janik, Erika. (2010). A Short History of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
- Stark, Jack. (1997). The Wisconsin State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing
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