On November 3, 2026, Wisconsin voters will decide more than the governor’s race. Question 2 is a proposed amendment to Article 1, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution that would prohibit the government from closing or forbidding gatherings in places of worship in response to an emergency.
The proposal looks back to the COVID pandemic. In March 2020, Bishop Troy Hughes of Milwaukee moved Sunday services to Facebook Live, saying that “Fear has gripped people more than faith.” He was not alone. Three of the largest mosques in Milwaukee moved their prayers online, and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee canceled every Holy Week and Easter Mass.
The cause was Governor Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order, which limited indoor religious gatherings to fewer than 10 people while liquor stores stayed open as essential businesses. Most congregations had no choice but to suspend in-person services. A new documentary series from the Wisconsin Family Council, “Deemed Non-Essential,” tells the story of Trinity Baptist Church and School in Fond du Lac, which faced tight attendance limits while businesses down the street stayed open, and the law enforcement response at Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church in West Bend.
For many people of faith, gathering is not optional. Christians point to Hebrews 10:25 and its instruction not to forsake the assembly. Madison’s Bishop Donald Hying put it simply: “The Mass for us is everything.” The Diocese of Madison threatened to sue, and only then did the county change its rules. Even then, bars, restaurants and theaters could operate at 25% capacity, while places of worship were capped at 50 people.
That is the history behind Question 2, and what a vote on it decides is whether those protections are written into the state constitution.
