| 40th Wisconsin Legislature | |||||
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|   Wisconsin State Capitol, 1887  | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Wisconsin Legislature | ||||
| Meeting place | Wisconsin State Capitol | ||||
| Term | January 5, 1891 – January 2, 1893 | ||||
| Election | November 4, 1890 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 33 | ||||
| Senate President | Charles Jonas (D) | ||||
| President pro tempore | Frederick W. Horn (D) | ||||
| Party control | Democratic | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 100 | ||||
| Assembly Speaker | James J. Hogan (D) | ||||
| Party control | Democratic | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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| Special sessions | |||||
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The Fortieth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 14, 1891, to April 25, 1891, in regular session. [1] They met again for two special sessions in June 1892 and October 1892 to pass redistricting laws. The extra sessions were necessitated by court cases which threw out the Legislature's previous attempts at redistricting. The final redistricting act was signed just 12 days before the 1892 general election.
This was the first session where the Democratic Party had full control of the Legislature since 1854.
Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 4, 1890. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 6, 1888. [1]
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Democrat George Wilbur Peck, of Milwaukee County, serving a two-year term, having won election in the 1890 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.
 | Party  (Shading indicates majority caucus)  | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem. | Lab. | Ind. | Rep. | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Legislature | 6 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 33 | 0 | 
| Start of 1st Session | 18 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 33 | 0 | 
| From Feb. 4, 1891 [note 1] | 19 | 14 | 33 | 0 | ||
| From Nov. 15, 1891 [note 2] | 18 | 32 | 1 | |||
| From May 30, 1892 [note 3] | 19 | 33 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 57.58% | 42.42% | ||||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 26 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 33 | 0 | 
 | Party  (Shading indicates majority caucus)  | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem. | Lab. | Rep. | Vacant | |||
| End of previous Legislature | 29 | 0 | 71 | 100 | 0 | |
| 1st Session | 66 | 1 | 33 | 100 | 0 | |
| From Mar. 11, 1891 [note 4] | 65 | 99 | 1 | |||
| From Dec. 8, 1891 [note 5] | 32 | 98 | 2 | |||
| Final voting share | 67.35% | 32.65% | ||||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 55 | 0 | 45 | 100 | 0 | |
Members of the Senate for the Fortieth Wisconsin Legislature: [4]
 Members of the Assembly for the Fortieth Wisconsin Legislature: [4]