Wisconsin Voters Narrowly Reject Amendment to Keep Churches Open During Emergencies
About 52% voted no on the COVID-inspired measure, which would have barred state and local governments from closing places of worship or banning their gatherings in a declared emergency.
See where this is ›MADISON, Wis. —
Wisconsin voters on Tuesday, Nov. 3, turned down a proposed change to the state constitution that would have stopped state and local governments from closing churches and other places of worship, or banning their gatherings, during a declared emergency. About 52% voted against the measure, according to results reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and by the Badger Herald, which cited the New York Times.
See where this is ›The question asked whether Section 18 of Article I of the Wisconsin Constitution, the section on religious liberty, should be amended to forbid the state or a political subdivision from ordering places of worship closed or forbidding gatherings in them in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency, according to Wisconsin Watch.
The measure grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsin Watch reported that the state's 2020 “Safer at Home” order limited religious gatherings to fewer than 10 people while liquor stores were classed as essential businesses, and that the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the order that year. Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a similar places-of-worship bill in 2021. Because a governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment, the Legislature passed the proposal in two consecutive sessions and sent it to voters.
State Rep. Ron Tusler of Harrison, who led the question in the 2025 session, told Wisconsin Watch that “people of faith need their faith at that moment more than ever.” The Wisconsin Family Council, which JTA described as a conservative Christian organization, said the measure would ensure “that your local church is never treated as 'non-essential' by the government again.” Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Action also registered in support, and JTA reported that a number of local churches backed it, calling houses of worship “lifelines” in a crisis.
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin opposed the amendment as a threat to public health, saying closing places of worship does not stop anyone from worshipping God at home during an emergency. Critics also said the wording never defined a “place of worship.” Rabbi Joel Alter of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid in Milwaukee told JTA he voted no: “I don't think the state constitution is the way to respond to concerns that people have.”
JTA noted that Kentucky, Oklahoma, Florida and New Hampshire have adopted similar protections, and that Texas added one to its constitution in 2021. With the Wisconsin amendment defeated, any future limits on emergency orders touching churches in the state would have to come through ordinary law or the courts.
