Wisconsin Referendum 1 of 2006 was a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

to the Wisconsin Constitution that would invalidate

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

s or any substantially similar legal status. The referendum was approved by 59% of voters during the general elections in November 2006. All counties in the state voted for the amendment except

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

(home of the state capital, Madison), which opposed it. The constitutional amendment created by Referendum 1 has been effectively nullified since June 26, 2015, when the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'' that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.

Amendment

The text of the adopted amendment, which became Article XIII, Section 13 of the state constitution, reads: As required by the constitution, the amendment was approved by both houses of the legislature, in two consecutive sessions. The legislative history of the amendment is as follows: *March 5, 2004: Approved by

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

by a vote of 68-27. *March 12, 2004: Approved by

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

by a vote of 20-13 *December 6, 2005: Approved by the State Senate a second time, by a vote of 19-14. *February 28, 2006: Approved by the State Assembly a second time. *November 7, 2006: Approved by referendum, by a margin of 59.4%-40.6%.

Legal challenge

In April 2009 the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

was asked in ''McConkey v. Van Hollen'' to rule on whether the 2006 Referendum 1 was constitutional. William McConkey, a political science instructor, claimed that the measure violated the state's constitution because it proposed more than one question in a single ballot proposal, which is impermissible under Wisconsin law. On June 30, 2010, the Court ruled that the amendment is constitutional. However, on June 6, 2014 the

United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (in case citations, W.D. Wis.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Seventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims agains ...

overturned all bans on same-sex marriage in the state. On October 6, 2014, same sex marriage was legalized in Wisconsin.

References

External links

*2005 Enrolled Joint Resolution 30 () {{Same-sex marriage in the United States U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions 2006 in LGBT history 2006 Wisconsin elections 2006 ballot measures Wisconsin ballot measures LGBT in Wisconsin Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States