{"id":75847,"date":"2026-07-24T06:19:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wisconsin-warns-election-market-traders-they-may-be-disqualified-from-voting\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:19:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:19:36","slug":"wisconsin-warns-election-market-traders-they-may-be-disqualified-from-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wisconsin-warns-election-market-traders-they-may-be-disqualified-from-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Warns Election-Market Traders They May Be Disqualified From Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Wisconsin says election trades may disqualify voters from that same election.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Intentionally voting while disqualified can constitute a Class I felony.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Kalshi called the warning voter suppression and threatened legal action.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Kalshi calls warning \u2018voter suppression\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The Wisconsin Elections Commission <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/news\/dont-bet-your-ballot-wec-warns-voters-against-election-gambling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">warned residents<\/a> that buying election-related contracts on Kalshi or Polymarket could disqualify them from voting in the same election. The bipartisan commission issued <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Prediction%20Markets%20Memo.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the statewide notice<\/a> Tuesday after unanimously approving a legal memorandum on prediction markets during its July 9 meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want voters to understand that they cannot legally make a bet on an election and cast a ballot in that same election,\u201d Administrator Meagan Wolfe said. She acknowledged that the commission cannot monitor who trades on prediction platforms, but said residents need to understand the possible consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin Statute 6.03(2) disqualifies a person from voting in any election in which they hold a direct or indirect interest in a wager depending on its result. A separate provision makes intentionally voting while unqualified a Class I felony. The restriction is election-specific and does not automatically remove a trader\u2019s eligibility to vote in unrelated contests.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of an automatic ballot rejection, an affected voter could instead face an administrative challenge to their qualifications. This would require election officials to determine whether the person held a prohibited financial interest. A successful challenge could prevent the ballot from being cast and lead to a district attorney referral.<\/p>\n<p>Commission lawyers concluded that the statute\u2019s broad reference to \u201cany bet or wager\u201d includes election contracts traded through modern prediction markets. They said someone who risks money and receives a payout if their forecast is correct could not truthfully deny having a financial wager on the result.<\/p>\n<p>Kalshi disputed the commission\u2019s interpretation. Benjamin Freeman, who heads the company\u2019s elections division, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/benwfreeman1\/status\/2079643866865783150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote on X<\/a> that the guidance was \u201cblatantly unconstitutional and illegal\u201d and that the commission was implying it would \u201cliterally disenfranchise voters who use Kalshi to trade elections.\u201d He said Kalshi has hundreds of thousands of users in Wisconsin alone and called the statement \u201cactive voter suppression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert DeNault, Kalshi\u2019s head of enforcement and legal counsel, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/5982378-kalshi-midterm-election-hub\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">also weighed in<\/a>. \u201cElection markets certified by the CFTC and available on federally regulated exchanges are legal. Wisconsin hasn\u2019t challenged them,\u201d he wrote, adding that the state should sue the CFTC rather than prosecute voters. He said the commission should retract the guidance \u201cbefore courts are required to force them to do so.\u201d A Polymarket spokesperson said the company would address the commission\u2019s claims through the appropriate legal process.<\/p>\n<p>Both companies maintain that their products are tradable financial contracts rather than gambling. That distinction sits at the center of Wisconsin\u2019s separate legal fight with the industry, after the CFTC <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/cftc-sues-wisconsin-over-prediction-market-ban\/\">sued the state<\/a> in April to stop it from enforcing gambling laws against federally regulated exchanges.<\/p>\n<p>The voting dispute presents a different legal question, as Wisconsin is not directly ordering an exchange to remove election contracts \u2013 instead, it is applying state voter-qualification rules to people with a financial interest in an election. No court has yet determined whether federal commodities law or constitutional voting protections restrict that interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioner Ann Jacobs first publicized the issue in March and said she was unaware of any Wisconsin ballot previously challenged over election wagering. She said a potential case would more likely begin with a trader publicly discussing a position than with officials systematically obtaining customer records.<\/p>\n<p>Kalshi and Polymarket expand hundreds of <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/house-flip-senate-hold-prediction-markets-unleash-wild-2026-midterm-election-bets\/\">midterm markets<\/a> covering congressional, gubernatorial and primary races. Federal lawmakers have also sought restrictions on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/senate-democrats-urge-cftc-to-ban-sports-and-election-contracts-on-kalshi-and-polymarket\/\">sports and election contracts<\/a>, while reports of campaign staff trading around <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/campaign-staffers-trade-internal-polls-on-polymarket-in-third-insider-pattern\/\">internal polling<\/a> have intensified concerns about political-market integrity. Now, trading on a race could be used to challenge voters\u2019 legal right to participate in its outcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/wisconsin-warns-election-market-traders-they-may-be-disqualified-from-voting\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Wisconsin says election trades may disqualify voters from that same election. Intentionally voting while disqualified can constitute a Class I felony. Kalshi called the warning voter suppression and threatened legal action. Kalshi calls warning \u2018voter suppression\u2019 The Wisconsin Elections Commission warned residents that buying election-related contracts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362403,"featured_media":75848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}