Excerpt from "Brief Local Notes." from the November 8, 1894 Door County Democrat
—We think it is going a little too far when some of the most highly respected ladies of our city go around town betting on elections. Is it any wonder that some of our young men are forming bad habits?
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[An 1873 publication of Wisconsin laws, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Laws_of_Wisconsin/B9Y4AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA291, describes a law where voters of questionable integrity could be required to affirm a statement under the penalty of perjury, which included the following:
that you have made no bet or wager or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending on the result of this election
Since women’s suffrage in Wisconsin in 1894 was limited to only school related matters, https://www.library.wisc.edu/gwslibrarian/bibliographies/womens-suffrage-in-wisconsin-a-centennial-resource-guide/timeline, and only allowed if there were no non-school related matters on the ballot, this meant that the required oath was not a deterrent to women engaging in election betting.
The county website used to have a notice which stated, among other things, that you cannot vote in an election if you have placed a bet on it: https://web.archive.org/web/20060923220440/http://www.co.door.wi.gov/county/app/docs/door/200212310918029351774.htm
This has since been taken down from the county website, and it is either missing or too obscure to find on the publicly accessible part of myvote.wi.gov.
However, the elections.wi.gov site has a flyer, EL-115, which includes the rule: https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/2020-07/EL-115%2520Are%2520You%2520Qualified%2520to%2520Vote%2520%2528Rev%25202020-07%2529.pdf
The flyer is for posting along with the other polling place notices: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.wasda.org/resource/resmgr/wassa_fall_workshops/18WASSAFL-ElectionGuidance.pdf#page=22
The rule is mentioned in this informational paper, https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lfb/informational_papers/january_2021/0098_wisconsin_voter_requirements_informational_paper_98.pdf#page=6, and is in the state statutes: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/6/i/03/2
In 2022, a business which had been placing political bets, among other things, paid $1.4 million to a federal commission, https://www.blockchainandthelaw.com/2022/01/cftc-issues-cease-and-desist-order-to-binary-options-operator-using-smart-contracts/, and on September 22, 2023, the commission rejected a proposal to legalize political betting at the federal level: https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/filings/documents/2023/orgkexkalshiordersig230922.pdf
The proposal had received many public comments: https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/CommentList.aspx?id=7394
Wisconsin Public Radio stated the situation well:
If you think you’re going to vote today… don’t bet on it!
https://www.wpr.org/news/state-law-prohibits-betting-elections ]
Election or districting-related posts:
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/election-or-districting-related
Posts about gambling:
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/gambling