Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026

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5.025.02 Definitions. In chs. 5 to 12, unless the context requires otherwise:

5.02(1c)(1c) “Automatic tabulating equipment” means apparatus which automatically examines and counts votes recorded on ballots or voting machines and tabulates the results.

5.02(1e)(1e) “Ballot” means a ballot label, sheet of paper or envelope on which votes are recorded. The term also includes a sheet or card, filmstrip or other device listing or containing information relative to offices, candidates and referenda which is placed, projected or composed on the board or screen inside a voting machine.

5.02(1q)(1q) “Block” means an area which is the smallest geographic area used by the U.S. bureau of the census for data collection and tabulation.

5.02(2)(2) “County clerk” includes the executive director of the county board of election commissioners and their authorized representatives.

5.02(3)(3) “Educational officer” means the state superintendent and school board members.

5.02(3m)(3m) “Elected official” means an individual who is elected to a national, state or local office.

5.02(4)(4) “Election” means every public primary and election.

5.02(4c)(4c) “Election district” means a municipality that is not divided into wards, except as otherwise provided in s. 8.17 (1) (b).

5.02(4e)(4e) “Election official” means an individual who is charged with any duties relating to the conduct of an election.

5.02(4g)(4g) “Election registration official” means an election official assigned under s. 6.28 (1) (a) or 7.30 to register electors.

5.02(4m)(4m) “Electronic voting system” means a system in which votes are recorded on ballots, and the votes are subsequently counted and tabulated by automatic tabulating equipment. The term also includes a voting machine on which votes are recorded and tabulated by electronic means.

5.02(4s)(4s) “Federal election” means any election at which a national office appears on the ballot.

5.02(4v)(4v) For purposes of chs. 5 to 10 and 12, “filing officer” means the following:

5.02(4v)(a)(a) For a candidate for state office, as defined in sub. (23), the elections commission.

5.02(4v)(b)(b) For a candidate seeking local office, the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction for which the candidate seeks office.

5.02(4v)(c)(c) For a candidate for municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4), the county clerk or board of election commissioners of the county having the largest portion of the population in the jurisdiction served by the judge.

5.02(4v)(d)(d) For a candidate for school board member, the school district clerk.

Effective date noteNOTE: Sub. (4v) is created eff. 12-1-27 by 2023 Wis. Act 126, as affected by 2025 Wis. Act 7, section 2.

5.02(5)(5) “General election” means the election held in even-numbered years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November to elect United States senators, representatives in congress, presidential electors, state senators, representatives to the assembly, district attorneys, state officers other than the state superintendent and judicial officers, and county officers other than supervisors and county executives.

5.02(6)(6) “Governing body” means the common council of a city, board of supervisors of a town or board of trustees of a village.

5.02(6m)(6m) “Identification” means any of the following documents issued to an individual:

5.02(6m)(a)(a) One of the following documents that is unexpired or if expired has expired after the date of the most recent general election:

5.02(6m)(a)1.1. An operator’s license issued under ch. 343.

5.02(6m)(a)2.2. An identification card issued under s. 343.50.

5.02(6m)(a)3.3. An identification card issued by a U.S. uniformed service.

5.02(6m)(a)4.4. A U.S. passport.

5.02(6m)(b)(b) A certificate of U.S. naturalization that was issued not earlier than 2 years before the date of an election at which it is presented.

5.02(6m)(c)(c) An unexpired driving receipt under s. 343.11.

5.02(6m)(d)(d) An unexpired identification card receipt issued under s. 343.50.

5.02(6m)(e)(e) An identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in this state.

5.02(6m)(f)(f) An unexpired identification card issued by a university or college in this state that is accredited, as defined in s. 39.30 (1) (d), or by a technical college in this state that is a member of and governed by the technical college system under ch. 38, that contains the date of issuance and signature of the individual to whom it is issued and that contains an expiration date indicating that the card expires no later than 2 years after the date of issuance if the individual establishes that he or she is enrolled as a student at the university or college on the date that the card is presented.

5.02 NoteNOTE: In Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit affirmed the judgment in One Wisconsin Institute, Inc. v. Thomsen, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (2016), that “the student-ID provision is invalid” on the alternative ground that the restriction that a student ID card “is not sufficient for voting unless the student also shows proof of current enrollment” is unconstitutional.

5.02(6m)(g)(g) An unexpired veterans identification card issued by the veterans health administration of the federal department of veterans affairs.

5.02(7)(7) “Judge” means a court of appeals judge or a judge of a circuit court.

5.02(8)(8) “Justice” means a justice of the supreme court.

5.02(8m)(8m) “Labor organization” means any employee organization in which employees participate and which exists primarily for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining with any employer concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours or conditions of employment, or the promotion and advancement of the professional or occupational standards and the welfare of its members and families and any organization established for the same purposes composed of individuals or affiliates of any such employee organization.

5.02(9)(9) “Local office” means any elective office other than a state or national office.

5.02(10)(10) “Municipal clerk” means the city clerk, town clerk, village clerk and the executive director of the city election commission and their authorized representatives. Where applicable, “municipal clerk” also includes the clerk of a school district.

5.02(11)(11) “Municipality” means city, town or village.

5.02(12)(12) “National office” means the offices of president and vice president of the United States, U.S. senator and representative in congress.

5.02(12m)(12m) “Nickname” means a familiar or shortened form of a proper name by which an individual is commonly known.

5.02(12n)(12n) “Overseas elector” means a U.S. citizen who is residing outside of the United States, who is not disqualified from voting under s. 6.03, who has attained or will attain the age of 18 by the date of an election at which the citizen proposes to vote, who was last domiciled in this state or whose parent was last domiciled in this state immediately prior to the parent’s departure from the United States, and who is not registered to vote or voting in any other state, territory, or possession.

5.02(12s)(12s) “Partisan primary” means the primary held the 2nd Tuesday in August to nominate candidates to be voted for at the general election.

5.02(13)(13) “Political party” has the meaning given in s. 11.0101 (26).

5.02(14)(14) “Poll list” means the list which is compiled by election officials on election day showing the names and addresses of electors who actually cast votes in an election.

5.02(15)(15) “Polling place” means the actual location wherein the elector’s vote is cast.

5.02(16)(16) “Primary” means a primary election.

5.02(16c)(16c) “Proof of identification” means identification that contains the name of the individual to whom the document was issued, which name conforms to the individual’s voter registration form, if the individual is required to register to vote, and that contains a photograph of the individual, except as authorized in s. 343.14 (3m) or 343.50 (4g).

5.02(16g)(16g) “Qualified circulator” means a qualified elector of this state or any U.S. citizen age 18 or older who, if he or she were a resident of this state, would not be disqualified from voting under s. 6.03.

5.02(16m)(16m) “Recognized political party” means a political party which qualifies for a separate ballot or column under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2).

5.02(16s)(16s) “Referendum” means an election at which an advisory, validating or ratifying question is submitted to the electorate.

5.02(17)(17) “Registration list” means the list of electors who are properly registered to vote.

5.02(19)(19) “Special election” means any election, other than those described in subs. (5), (12s), (21), and (22), to fill vacancies or to conduct a referendum.

5.02(20)(20) “Special primary” means the primary held 4 weeks before the special election except when the special election is held on the same day as the general election the special primary shall be held on the same day as the general primary or if the special election is held concurrently with the spring election, the primary shall be held concurrently with the spring primary.

5.02(20g)(20g) “Special purpose district” means any local governmental unit other than a county or municipality.

5.02(20r)(20r) “Special referendum” means any referendum held at a special election which is not held concurrently with the elections described in sub. (5), (12s), (21), or (22).

5.02(21)(21) “Spring election” means the election held on the first Tuesday in April to elect judicial, educational and municipal officers, nonpartisan county officers and sewerage commissioners and to express preferences for the person to be the presidential candidate for each party in a year in which electors for president and vice president are to be elected.

5.02(22)(22) “Spring primary” means the nonpartisan primary held on the 3rd Tuesday in February to nominate nonpartisan candidates to be voted for at the spring election.

5.02(23)(23) “State office” means the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent, justice of the supreme court, court of appeals judge, circuit court judge, state senator, state representative to the assembly and district attorney.

5.02(24)(24) “State superintendent” means the state superintendent of public instruction.

5.02(24g)(24g) “Voting device” means an apparatus other than a voting machine which the elector uses to record his or her votes on a ballot.

5.02(24r)(24r) “Voting machine” means a machine which serves in lieu of a voting booth and which mechanically or electronically records the votes cast by electors, who depress levers or buttons located next to the choices listed on a ballot to cast their votes.

5.02(24w)(24w) “Voting system” means:

5.02(24w)(a)(a) The total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment, including the software, hardware, and documentation required to program, control, and support the equipment, that is used to define ballots, to cast and count votes, to report or display election results, and to maintain and produce any audit trail information.

5.02(24w)(b)(b) The practices and associated documentation for any of the following purposes:

5.02(24w)(b)1.1. To identify equipment components and versions of such components.

5.02(24w)(b)2.2. To test the equipment during its development and maintenance.

5.02(24w)(b)3.3. To maintain records of equipment errors and defects.

5.02(24w)(b)4.4. To determine specific equipment changes to be made after the initial qualification of the equipment.

5.02(24w)(b)5.5. To make available any materials to an elector.

5.02(25)(25) “Ward” means a town, village or city subdivision created for the convenience of the electors therein and to facilitate the division of such municipalities into election districts of substantially equal population numbers along common boundaries observing the community of interest of existing neighborhoods and other settlements.

5.02 HistoryHistory: 1971 c. 211; 1971 c. 304 ss. 2, 29 (2); 1973 c. 280, 334; 1975 c. 93; 1977 c. 107, 187, 394; 1977 c. 427 ss. 3 to 14; 1977 c. 449; 1979 c. 32, 89, 221; 1979 c. 260 ss. 1m, 73 to 75; 1979 c. 311, 328; 1981 c. 4, 391; 1983 a. 484 ss. 5, 5c, 124m, 128; 1985 a. 303; 1985 a. 304 ss. 1m, 2, 155; 1987 a. 391 ss. 1 to 1r, 66w; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 5; 1993 a. 140, 184; 1995 a. 16 s. 2; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1995 a. 219; 1997 a. 35; 2001 a. 16, 109; 2003 a. 24, 265; 2005 a. 177, 451; 2007 a. 1; 2009 a. 397; 2011 a. 23, 32, 45, 75; 2013 a. 165; 2015 a. 117, 118, 261; 2017 a. 369; 2023 a. 126; 2025 a. 7 s. 2.; 2025 a. 129.

5.02 AnnotationMunicipal clerks are the officials primarily responsible for election administration in Wisconsin. A “board of election commissioners” is established in Wisconsin’s high population cities and counties to carry out the duties otherwise accomplished by municipal and county clerks everywhere else. The phrase “municipal clerk or board of election commissioners” appears in tandem all over the election statutes because that describes the duties of local election officials. State ex rel. Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2021 WI 32, 396 Wis. 2d 391, 957 N.W.2d 208, 19-2397.

5.02 AnnotationThe “office” of a clerk and a “municipal clerk” are distinct terms. In elections statutes, when “office” is used in conjunction with a reference to the clerk, such “office” is specified as a place where a delivery or an action takes place. The “municipal clerk” is a person, while the “office of the municipal clerk” is a location. Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2024 WI 32, 412 Wis. 2d 594, 8 N.W.3d 429, 24-0164.

5.02 AnnotationPhotographic identification is necessary for in-person voting. Students may use college-issued credentials under sub. (6m) (f), but only before an ID’s expiration date. There’s nothing wrong with a requirement that IDs be current. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

5.02 AnnotationTreating students differently from other potential voters without a rational basis violates the equal protection clause. Under sub. (6m) (f), a student identification card, alone among the sorts of photo ID that Wisconsin accepts, is not sufficient for voting unless the student also shows proof of current enrollment. No other category of acceptable identification depends on ongoing affiliation of any sort. That differential treatment violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

5.02 AnnotationThe requirements in sub. (6m) (f) that a student identification card must display: 1) an issuance date; 2) an expiration date; 3) an expiration date not more than two years after the issuance date; and 4) a signature, are rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest and do not violate the equal protection clause. Common Cause v. Thomsen, 574 F. Supp. 3d 634 (2021).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 56 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1969–2024 · leading case: One Wisconsin Inst., Inc. v. Thomsen, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (W.D. Wis. 2016).

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One Wisconsin Inst., Inc. v. Thomsen, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (W.D. Wis. 2016). · cites it 10× “The three requirements in Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m)(f) are redundant: (1) thé ID card itself must be unexpired; (2) the card must have an expiration date that is no more than two years -after its date of issuance; and (3) the voter must present proof of current enrollment.”

Frank v. Walker, 17 F. Supp. 3d 837 (E.D. Wis. 2014). · cites it 10× “Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m)(a). A person may also present: (5) a naturalization certificate issued within the last two years, (6) an unexpired receipt issued when a person applies for a Wisconsin driver’s license, which is valid for 60 days as a temporary license, (7) an unexpired…”

Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP v. Scott Walker, 2014 WI 98 (Wis. 2014). · cites it 8× “Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m). Our review focuses on the second form of acceptable identification, which we refer to as a DOT photo identification card for voting.”

Milwaukee Police Ass'n v. City of Milwaukee, 2016 WI 47 (Wis. 2016). · cites it 4× “Relying on the home rule amendment, the resolution claimed that the City could still enforce its residency requirement because its charter (section 5.02) trumped the state statute ( Wis.”

Timothy Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2021 WI 32 (Wis. 2021). · cites it 5× “Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (11). Consistent with this local focus, a "municipal clerk" is also a defined term in our election laws, and it 8 Nos.”

Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2024 WI 32 (Wis. 2024). · cites it 4× “" Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (10) (emphasis added). Thus, a single person need not set up, maintain, secure, and empty all drop boxes in a municipality.”

League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Educ. Network, Inc. v. Scott Walker, 2014 WI 97 (Wis. 2014). · cites it 4× “Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m) (2011-12).7 Generally stated, these include: Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) issued driver's license; DOT issued photo identification card; United States uniformed service identification card; United States passport; United States…”

State v. Jensen, 2010 WI 38 (Wis. 2010). · cites it 6× “Compare Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (1s) (2005-06) ("`Board' means the elections board.”

Timothy Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2020 WI App 17 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 7× “§ 5.02 does not contain a specific definition for “board of election commissioners” as it does for some other terms, but that absence does not compel the conclusion that the term is untethered to any statutory description.”

Richard Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2022 WI 64 (Wis. 2022). · cites it 22× “" Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (4e). The Wisconsin voters brought this lawsuit against WEC, not any individual, alleging WEC's memos do not comport with the law.”

Frank v. Walker, 196 F. Supp. 3d 893 (E.D. Wis. 2016). · cites it 4× “See Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m)(d). The emergency rule provides that the DMV must issue the receipt “not later than the sixth working'day after the applicant” files the petition to use the ID petition process (i.”

Frank v. Walker, 141 F. Supp. 3d 932 (E.D. Wis. 2015). · cites it 6× “See Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m)(f). The plaintiff contends that any refusal to accept technical college IDs as.”

Show all 56 citing cases →

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(1) — 1 case

Lanser v. First Bank Fin. Centre (In re Vorobil), 568 B.R. 797 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2017).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(10) — 6 cases

Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2024 WI 32 (Wis. 2024). “" Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (10) (emphasis added). Thus, a single person need not set up, maintain, secure, and empty all drop boxes in a municipality.”

Timothy Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2021 WI 32 (Wis. 2021). “Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (11). Consistent with this local focus, a "municipal clerk" is also a defined term in our election laws, and it 8 Nos.”

Timothy Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2020 WI App 17 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020). “§ 5.02 does not contain a specific definition for “board of election commissioners” as it does for some other terms, but that absence does not compel the conclusion that the term is untethered to any statutory description.”

Richard Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2022 WI 64 (Wis. 2022). “" Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (4e). The Wisconsin voters brought this lawsuit against WEC, not any individual, alleging WEC's memos do not comport with the law.”

Richard Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2022 WI 64 (Wis. 2022).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(12) — 1 case

Ihlenfeldt v. State Election Bd., 425 F. Supp. 1361 (E.D. Wis. 1977).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(13) — 2 cases

Gard v. Wisconsin State Elections Bd., 456 N.W.2d 809 (Wis. 1990).

Wisconsin Educ. Ass'n Council v. Wisconsin State Elections Bd., 2000 WI App 89 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(17) — 1 case

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(1s) — 2 cases

State v. Jensen, 2010 WI 38 (Wis. 2010). “Compare Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (1s) (2005-06) ("`Board' means the elections board.”

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(2) — 3 cases

Richard Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, 2022 WI 64 (Wis. 2022).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(21) — 1 case

Comm. to Retain Judge Byers v. Elections Bd., 291 N.W.2d 616 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(25) — 1 case

City of Janesville v. Cnty. of Rock, 319 N.W.2d 891 (Wis. Ct. App. 1982).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(3) — 2 cases

State v. Boehm, 379 N.W.2d 874 (Wis. Ct. App. 1985).

Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Ass'n v. Cnty. of Milwaukee, 2010 WI App 109 (Wis. Ct. App. 2010).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(4) — 1 case

Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Ass'n v. Cnty. of Milwaukee, 2010 WI App 109 (Wis. Ct. App. 2010).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(4e) — 1 case

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(6m) — 2 cases

Common Cause v. Thomsen, Mark (W.D. Wis. 2021).

The Andrew Goodman Found. v. Bostelmann, Marge (W.D. Wis. 2020).

— Wis. Stat. § 5.02(6m)(f) — 3 cases

One Wisconsin Inst., Inc. v. Thomsen, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (W.D. Wis. 2016). “The three requirements in Wis. Stat. § 5.02 (6m)(f) are redundant: (1) thé ID card itself must be unexpired; (2) the card must have an expiration date that is no more than two years -after its date of issuance; and (3) the voter must present proof of current enrollment.”

Common Cause v. Thomsen, Mark (W.D. Wis. 2021).

The Andrew Goodman Found. v. Bostelmann, Marge (W.D. Wis. 2020).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.