Freedom Index

A Legislative Scorecard Based on the Principles of the U.S. Constitution

Legislative Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution

The Legislative Scorecard is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how state legislators are voting. The Scorecard is nonpartisan; it does not promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

Legislative Scorecard

Based on the U.S. Constitution

WI Scorecard 2021-2022

The Legislative Scorecard is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how state legislators are voting. The Scorecard is nonpartisan; it does not promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

The following scorecard lists several key votes in the Wisconsin State Legislature in 2021 and 2022 and ranks state assemblymen and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.

This is our first state-level Scorecard; the selected votes may not be reflective of legislators’ overall records. Their cumulative scores will change as we add more votes. Please check regularly for updates.

Senate

1. Parental Rights

Good Vote: Yes

AB963 Parental Rights (passed 19 to 12 on 3/8/2022). Would prohibit the state from infringing on the fundamental right of parents or guardians to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their children.

2. No-Knock Search Warrants

Good Vote: No

AB834 No-Knock Search Warrants (passed 20 to 12 on 3/8/2022). Permits law enforcement officers to execute “no-knock” search warrants in certain “dangerous” or “ineffective” situations.

3. Article V Convention: Term Limits

Good Vote: No

SJR102 Article V Convention: Term Limits (passed 17 to 15 on 2/22/2022). Applies to Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the U.S. Constitution, to call for a convention to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishing term limits for members of Congress.

4. U.S. Citizenship Requirement to Vote

Good Vote: Yes
SJR32 U.S. Citizenship Requirement to Vote (passed 21 to 12 on 1/25/2022). Proposes to amend the Wisconsin Constitution to provide that only a U.S. citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in Wisconsin is eligible to vote in the state.

5. Article V Convention: Constitutional Amendments

Good Vote: No

AJR9 Article V Convention: Constitutional Amendments (passed 17 to 16 on 1/25/2022). Applies to Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the U.S. Constitution, to call for a "Convention of the States" for the purpose of proposing constitutional amendments.

6. Terminating the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Good Vote: Yes

SJR3 Terminating the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (passed 18 to 13 on 1/26/2021). Terminated the COVID-19 public health emergency declared by Governor Tony Evers in Executive Order #104 on January 19, 2021, and all actions of the Governor and all emergency orders issued pursuant to the declaration of the public health emergency.

Legislator Scores
[ + ] Pro-liberty Vote[ - ] Anti-liberty Vote[ . ] Did not Vote
Name Party District Score 123456
Melissa Agard D SD-016 50% -++-+-
Joan Ballweg R SD-014 50% ..-+-+
Kathleen Bernier R SD-023 50% +--+-+
Janet Bewley D SD-025 50% -++-+-
Julian Bradley R SD-028 50% +--+-+
Rachael Cabral-Guevara R SD-019 NA ......
Tim Carpenter D SD-003 50% -++-+-
Robert Cowles R SD-002 50% --+++-
Alberta Darling R SD-008 50% +--+-+
Jon Erpenbach D SD-027 50% .+.-+-
Mary Felzkowski R SD-012 50% +--+-+
Dan Feyen R SD-018 83% +-++++
Dianne Hesselbein D SD-027 NA ......
Andre Jacque R SD-001 50% +--+-+
John Jagler R SD-13 40% +--+-.
Jesse James R SD-023 NA ......
LaTonya Johnson D SD-006 50% -++-+-
Chris Kapenga R SD-033 50% +--+-+
Daniel Knodl R SD-008 NA ......
Dale Kooyenga R SD-005 33% +--+--
Chris Larson D SD-007 50% -++-+-
Devin LeMahieu R SD-009 50% +--+-+
Howard Marklein R SD-017 50% +--+-+
Stephen Nass R SD-011 50% +--+-+
Jerry Petrowski R SD-029 83% +-++++
Brad Pfaff D SD-032 50% -++-+-
Janis Ringhand D SD-015 50% -++-+-
Roger Roth R SD-019 83% +-++++
Kelda Roys D SD-026 50% -++-+-
Jeff Smith D SD-031 50% -++-+-
Mark Spreitzer D SD-015 NA ......
Rob Stafsholt R SD-010 50% +--+-+
Duey Stroebel R SD-020 50% +--+-+
Lena Taylor D SD-004 50% -++-+-
Patrick Testin R SD-024 50% +--+-+
Van Wanggaard R SD-021 50% +--+-+
Eric Wimberger R SD-030 50% +--+-+
Robert Wirch D SD-022 60% -++-+.

Average Constitutional Score by Party

Party Score
Democrat 50.8%
Republican 53.4%