Wisconsin’s November 2026 Worship Amendment: What Voters Should Know

Wisconsin Christians, Don’t Sit This One Out

A little over a week ago, I had the opportunity, thanks to Wisconsin Family Council, to sit down for breakfast with a group of pastors, some of their leadership, and some of our state legislators. Senator Cory Tomczyk was among those in the room, and the bulk of our conversation centered around a constitutional amendment that Wisconsin voters will decide on November 3 concerning the freedom of churches and other places of worship to gather during a state of emergency.

What surprised me most that morning was that it was the first time I had even heard about it.

I consider myself fairly engaged with what is happening in our state, especially when it comes to things that affect the church. I try to pay attention. Yet, we are only weeks away from Wisconsin voters making a decision that directly concerns religious liberty and the freedom of churches to gather, and I didn’t know it was going to be on the ballot.

That immediately made me wonder how many other people are in the same position. Then I began thinking about something that concerned me even more. How many people will never even see this question because they were not planning to vote on November 3?

That is why I am writing this.

I want people to know what is on the ballot, but I do not simply want us to be more informed. I want us to engage. I want us to recognize that we have been given an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect our communities, our state, our families, and in this case, the freedom of the church. That opportunity is something we, specifically as Christians, should take seriously.

The amendment will appear as Question 2 on Wisconsin’s November 3 ballot. It asks whether Article I, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which deals with religious liberty, should be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency. 

In everyday language, the question comes down to this: a YES vote means churches decide whether they stay open or closed during a state of emergency. A NO vote means the government may close church during a state of emergency. To state it plainly, I’m voting “YES” on this amendment and would encourage others to also. 

For me, the heart of the issue is who should make the decision about whether a church gathers.

That does not mean every church should stay open, no matter what is happening. Pastors and church leaders have a responsibility to care for the people God has entrusted to them, and there may be times when wisdom, safety, weather, or other circumstances lead a church to change its plans or even temporarily close its doors. However, there is an important difference between a church prayerfully making that decision for the people it serves and the government making that decision for the church.

That distinction became very real during COVID. Churches throughout our state, nation and world faced government restrictions on gathering while other establishments, including liquor stores, were allowed to remain open. For many people, that raised a very reasonable question. If other places can remain open and accessible during an emergency, why should a place of worship be treated differently?

As a pastor, that question carries weight for me because I know what happens inside the church when people are hurting.

The church is not simply a building where people attend a service for an hour on Sunday. The church is a people. We call it church when we gather to worship, pray, encourage one another, hear the Word, care for one another, and walk through life together. People come to the church when marriages are struggling, when someone they love has died, when they have lost a job, when their family is in crisis, when they are afraid, when they feel alone, and when they need someone to remind them that God is still faithful. Those needs do not disappear during a crisis. In fact, they often become greater.

That’s why this is not an abstract political argument to me. When I think about the church being able to gather, I do not and cannot first think about a building. I think about people. I think about being available and meeting needs. I think about the responsibility God has given His church to worship Him, care for people, preach the Gospel, make disciples, and be present in our communities. That is why religious liberty matters.

Something you may not be aware of is that this is also not the first time Wisconsin has tried to address this issue. In 2021, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 24, which would have prevented state and local health officials from closing or forbidding gatherings in places of worship. Governor Tony Evers vetoed the bill, and it did not become law. 

Now the question is coming directly to us, as Wisconsin voters, through a constitutional amendment. On November 3, the decision rests in our hands.

My responsibility as a Christ follower and Wisconsinite are the main reasons I feel so strongly about people participating in this election. We are not only choosing representatives and then asking them to make decisions on our behalf. On this question, the people of Wisconsin are being asked directly what we want our state constitution to say. But I do not want the focus on this amendment to minimize the importance of the people we elect. Those votes matter too, and we should take them seriously.

As Christians, I believe we should do more than simply recognize a name on the ballot or vote according to habit. We should know who is asking to represent us. We should research candidates. We should listen to what they say they believe, look at their records where they have one, understand the issues they will be making decisions about, and then prayerfully vote as best we can according to Kingdom values.

That does not mean politics becomes our identity. It does not mean a political party becomes our hope. Jesus is King before the election, Jesus will be King after the election, and the Kingdom of God is not hanging in the balance on November 3.

Equally true is that His Kingdom should shape how we live everywhere. It should shape how we lead our families, how we handle our money, how we treat our neighbors, how we serve our communities, how we work, and how we steward the freedoms and opportunities that have been placed in our hands. I believe our civic participation belongs in that same conversation.

To me, voting is an issue of stewardship. We have been given a voice. We have been given the opportunity to help choose the people who govern us. And in this election, we are being given a direct voice in what our state constitution will say concerning the freedom of places of worship during an emergency. We should not treat that casually.

I understand why people become exhausted with politics. The arguments can be draining. The ads seem endless. Social media can make everything feel angry and divided. Sometimes it feels easier to disengage from the entire thing, but disengagement does not stop decisions from being made. If we stay home, people are still elected, laws are still written and ballot questions are still decided. The only thing that changes is whether we chose to participate. That is what I do not want for us.

I left that breakfast grateful that someone had taken the time to make me aware of what was coming, but I also left feeling a responsibility. Once I knew, I could not simply keep that information to myself. If I had made it this far into the year without knowing this was going to be on the ballot, I knew there had to be others in exactly the same position.

So now I want to do for others what someone did for me. I want to make sure you know, and I want to encourage you not just to know, but to engage. Research the people who will be on your ballot, learn about the issues, talk about these things with your family, pray for wisdom, and think carefully about the values that are shaping your decisions. After all that, make a plan to vote and follow through with it.

In-person absentee voting for Wisconsin’s November election can begin October 20 and may continue through November 1 depending on your municipality. Exact dates, hours, and locations vary locally. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, and polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. 

You can check your registration, find your polling place, see what will be on your ballot, and find your local voting information at MyVote.wi.gov. Other valuable resources are Church & Politics and WIFamilyCouncil.org.

I started this journey by sitting at a breakfast and realizing there was something important happening in my state that I did not even know about. I do not want November 4 to come and have people say, “I wish I would have known,” or, “I wish I would have participated.”

We know now. We have a voice now. We have an opportunity now. The people we elect matter. The decisions before us matter. Religious liberty matters. The freedom of the church to be the church matters. And how we steward what has been placed in our hands matters.

So research. Pray. Make a plan. And participate.