Green Bay Reporter

The new bill authored by State Rep. Sortwell in the Wisconsin Assembly seeks to increase accessibility to absentee voting by mandating extended office hours and clearer voter information, according to the Wisconsin State Assembly.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature's official website, the bill was described as follows: "hours for voting by absentee ballot in person at the office of the municipal clerk or an alternate site. (FE)".

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that the office of the municipal clerk or an alternate site must be open for at least 20 hours during the absentee voting period before an election. It requires that the type E notice, which informs voters of the absentee voting process, must specify the office hours during which voters can cast an in-person absentee ballot without prior appointment. Additionally, the bill amends the statutes to extend the deadline for receiving absentee ballot applications by mail to 5 p.m. on the fifth day preceding the election and stipulates the handling of ballots for sequestered jurors on election day. The amendments also require publication of specific office hours for absentee voting in various notices preceding elections.

The bill was co-authored by Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara (Republican-19th District), Representative Elijah R. Behnke (Republican-6th District), Representative Barbara Dittrich (Republican-99th District), Representative Rick Gundrum (Republican-58th District), Representative Dean Kaufert (Republican-53rd District). It was co-sponsored by Senator Steve L. Nass (Republican-11th District), along four other co-sponsors.

Shae A. Sortwell has co-authored or authored another 54 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with none of them being enacted.

Sortwell graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2006 with a BA.

Sortwell, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2019 to represent the state's 2nd Assembly district, replacing previous state representative André Jacque.

In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
AB312	06/06/2025	Hours for voting by absentee ballot in person at the office of the municipal clerk or an alternate site. (FE)
AB295	05/30/2025	Allowing certified advanced practice nurse prescribers to engage in the practice of radiography
AB294	05/30/2025	Membership on the Board of Nursing
AB282	05/30/2025	Local government rules of proceedings and consideration of ordinances or resolutions for which enactment or adoption previously failed. (FE)
AB270	05/19/2025	A school psychologist loan program. (FE)
AB232	05/02/2025	Transferring adjudicatory functions for worker’s compensation from the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Administration to the Department of Workforce Development. (FE)
AB187	04/15/2025	Training completion awards for volunteer firefighters. (FE)
AB172	04/09/2025	Consumer data protection and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB149	03/17/2025	The nomination of presidential electors
AB132	03/13/2025	Creating a board to organize, promote, and host a Wisconsin nuclear power summit. (FE)
AB127	03/11/2025	The duty of a pharmacist to dispense lawfully prescribed drugs and devices. (FE)
AB108	03/11/2025	A nuclear power siting study and time limits for taking final action on certain certificate of public convenience and necessity applications. (FE)
AB88	02/28/2025	Civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism, participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty
AB87	02/28/2025	Restitution orders following a conviction for human trafficking and restoration of the right to vote to a person barred from voting as a result of a felony conviction. (FE)
AB86	02/28/2025	Imposing the penalty of life imprisonment for the crime of child trafficking and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB42	02/17/2025	Local regulation of fowl
AB41	02/17/2025	Local regulation of vegetable gardens
AB26	02/17/2025	Battery or threat to jurors and providing a penalty
AB17	02/06/2025	Creating an employee ownership conversion costs tax credit, a deduction for capital gains from the transfer of a business to employee ownership, and an employee ownership education and outreach program. (FE)