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LRB-2329/1
JK&MPG:all
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
May 24, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Bernier, Miller, Smith, Bewley and
Schachtner, cosponsored by Representatives Tusler, Zamarripa, Spreitzer,
Anderson, Krug, Loudenbeck, Macco, Mursau, Ramthun, Vruwink and
Subeck. Referred to Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues.
SB242,1,5 1An Act to repeal 6.22 (6) and 7.15 (1) (j); to amend 6.03 (1) (a), 6.03 (3), 6.18
2(intro.), 6.25 (1) (c), 6.25 (4), 6.79 (2) (d), 6.82 (1) (a), 6.875 (3) (b), 6.97 (1), 7.15
3(1) (cm), 7.52 (3) (a), 9.10 (2) (e) 6. and 12.60 (1) (a); and to create 12.13 (3) (mb)
4of the statutes; relating to: absentee voting, voting procedures, and providing
5a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes the following changes to the election laws regarding absentee
voting and voting procedures:
1. Under current law, a municipal clerk may dispatch special voting deputies
to a residential care facility or qualified retirement home so that the occupants of the
facility or home may cast an absentee ballot in person with the special voting
deputies rather than vote in person at the appropriate polling place or request and
complete an absentee ballot by mail. Current law provides that the occupants of a
retirement home that is not a qualified retirement home may vote in person at the
appropriate polling place or request and complete an absentee ballot by mail. Under
current law, a retirement home is a facility occupied as a primary residence by ten
or more unrelated individuals. A qualified retirement home is a retirement home
that has a significant number of occupants who lack adequate transportation to the
polling place, need assistance in voting, are aged 60 or over, or are indefinitely
confined. Current law also requires that if a retirement home is located within a
municipality on the same grounds as one or more residential care facilities to which

special voting deputies are dispatched, the management of the retirement home
shall provide the names and addresses of the home occupants to the clerk so that the
special voting deputies may verify which electors are eligible to cast absentee ballots
in person with the deputies.
This bill provides that if a retirement home that is not a qualified retirement
home is located within a municipality as part of a multiple-use facility consisting of
one or more qualified retirement homes or residential care facilities to which special
voting deputies are dispatched, the management of the retirement home must
provide the clerk with the names and addresses of the occupants of the home. The
clerk then provides the special voting deputies with the names and addresses of the
verified residents who are eligible to cast absentee ballots in person with the
deputies.
2. Current law allows an individual who registered to vote without providing
proof of residence prior to the enactment of 2013 Act 182, which took effect on April
4, 2014, to cast a provisional ballot on election day. The ballot is counted only if the
elector provides proof of residence to the municipal clerk or board of election
commissioners no later than 4 p.m. on the Friday after the election. Act 182
eliminated the option to register to vote without proof of residence, but those who
exercised that option prior to April 4, 2014, were given the opportunity to vote by
provisional ballot and provide proof of residence. By July 1, 2019, those electors will
have provided proof of residence and voted or will have been removed from the voter
registration database as part of the list maintenance process because they had not
voted in four years and had not responded to mailings from the Elections
Commission to verify their residential address. This bill provides that an individual
who is required to provide proof of residence to complete his or her voter registration
but who does not provide such proof is not allowed to cast a provisional ballot or to
otherwise vote.
3. Current law allows a former qualified Wisconsin elector who has moved out
of this state, but who is not yet a qualified elector in another state, to apply for and
vote by an absentee ballot in the ward of the elector's prior Wisconsin residence in
any presidential election occurring within 24 months after leaving this state.
Current law does not specify the deadline for making such a request, but, generally,
an application for an absentee ballot made by mail must be received no later than
5 p.m. on the fifth day preceding the election. This bill clarifies that a former
qualified Wisconsin elector who is not a qualified elector elsewhere must apply for
an absentee ballot to vote in a presidential election in the ward of the elector's prior
residence no later than 5 p.m. on the fifth day preceding the election.
4. Currently, if election inspectors are aware that an eligible elector is unable
to enter the polling place due to a disability, the inspectors must allow the elector to
vote without entering the polling place. This is commonly referred to as “curbside
voting.” For curbside voting, the elector may designate another individual to assist
the elector with presenting proof of identification or marking the ballot. After the
inspectors have viewed the proof of identification and verified that the elector's name
and and address match the name and address on the poll list, the inspectors issue
a ballot and take it to the entrance of the polling place so that the elector or the person

assisting the elector may mark the ballot. After the elector or the assisting individual
has marked the ballot, an inspector receives the ballot, enters the polling place, and
announces the name of the elector, states that the elector is unable to enter the
polling place due to a disability, and asks if anyone present objects to the inspector
receiving the elector's ballot.
Under the bill, an eligible elector who, for any reason, is unable to enter the
polling place is not required to sign the poll list, but, instead, must sign a document
indicating the elector's name and address and the time at which the inspectors issued
the ballot. The document, rather than the poll list, is brought outside the polling
place along with the ballot. The bill also requires an inspector to note on the poll list
that the elector voted “curbside.” The document also requires that the elector certify
that he or she is unable to enter the polling place.
The bill also modifies current law to conform with the current practices
described in the Elections Commission's election day manual regarding curbside
voting. For example, the bill requires that two inspectors must leave the polling
place to assist the elector and if having two inspectors outside the polling place
results in having fewer than three inspectors inside the polling place, no voting is
permitted during the time that the inspectors are outside assisting the elector. The
bill specifies that the inspectors leave the polling place initially in order to view the
elector's proof of identification. The inspectors then go back inside the polling place
to verify that the elector's name and address match the name and address in the poll
list and, if so, to issue a ballot. The inspectors then go outside a second time to have
the elector or assisting individual mark the ballot.
5. This bill makes a technical change to current law related to the municipal
clerk's duty to send absentee ballots automatically to those electors who have
requested that option so that the provision for sending out absentee ballots
automatically is included in the provision that specifies the clerk's other duties with
regard to preparing and providing absentee ballots.
6. Under this bill, a person may be denied the right to register to vote or to vote
based on the person's incapacity to understand the objective of the elective process
only if a court specifically determines that the person is incompetent to exercise those
rights. Under current law, a person who has been adjudicated incompetent may be
denied those rights without a specific finding by the court that the person is
incompetent to exercise those rights.
7. This bill eliminates the requirement that the board of absentee ballot
canvassers mark the poll list number of each elector who casts an absentee ballot on
the back of the elector's ballot before placing the ballot in the ballot box.
8. This bill prohibits a person from obtaining another person's marked absentee
ballot and failing or refusing to deliver it to the proper municipal clerk or polling
place. A person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a Class I felony.
9. The bill eliminates the requirement that each municipal clerk maintain an
updated list of all eligible military electors who reside in the municipality.
Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,
the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a
report.

For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB242,1 1Section 1. 6.03 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,4,52 6.03 (1) (a) Any Subject to sub. (3), any person who is incapable of
3understanding the objective of the elective process or who is under guardianship,
4unless the court has determined that the person is competent to exercise the right
5to vote
.
SB242,2 6Section 2. 6.03 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,4,167 6.03 (3) No person may be denied the right to register to vote or the right to vote
8by reason that the person is alleged to be incapable of understanding the objective
9of the elective process unless the person has been adjudicated incompetent in this
10state. If a determination of incompetency of the person has already been made, or
11if a determination of limited incompetency has been made that does not include a
12specific finding that the subject is competent to exercise the right to vote, and a
13guardian has been appointed as a result of any such determination, then no
14determination of incapacity of understanding the objective of the elective process is
15required unless the guardianship is terminated or modified under s. 54.64
to exercise
16the right to register to vote or to vote under s. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g
.
SB242,3 17Section 3. 6.18 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,5,14 186.18 Former residents. (intro.) If ineligible to qualify as an elector in the
19state to which the elector has moved, any former qualified Wisconsin elector may
20vote an absentee ballot in the ward of the elector's prior residence in any presidential
21election occurring within 24 months after leaving Wisconsin by requesting an

1application form from the municipal clerk of the elector's prior residence and
2returning it, properly executed, to the municipal clerk of the elector's prior Wisconsin
3residence
no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately preceding the election.
4When requesting an application form for an absentee ballot, the applicant shall
5specify the applicant's eligibility for only the presidential ballot. Unless the
6applicant is exempted from providing proof of identification under s. 6.87 (4) (b) 2.
7or 3., or the applicant is a military or overseas elector, the elector shall enclose a copy
8of his or her proof of identification or any authorized substitute document with his
9or her application. The municipal clerk shall verify that the name on the proof of
10identification conforms to the name on the application. The clerk shall not issue a
11ballot to an elector who is required to enclose a copy of proof of identification or an
12authorized substitute document with his or her application unless the copy is
13enclosed and the proof is verified by the clerk. The application form shall require the
14following information and be in substantially the following form:
SB242,4 15Section 4. 6.22 (6) of the statutes is repealed.
SB242,5 16Section 5 . 6.25 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,5,1917 6.25 (1) (c) A completed and signed federal write-in absentee ballot submitted
18by a qualified elector under par. (a) or (b) serves as an application for an absentee
19ballot and need not be accompanied by a separate application.
SB242,6 20Section 6 . 6.25 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,5,2421 6.25 (4) A write-in absentee ballot issued under sub. (1) is valid only if the
22elector submitting the ballot does not submit an official ballot within the time
23prescribed in s. 6.87 (6) and, if the elector is an overseas elector, the elector resides
24outside the United States
.
SB242,7 25Section 7. 6.79 (2) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,6,11
16.79 (2) (d) If the poll list indicates that proof of residence under s. 6.34 is
2required and the proof of identification document provided by the elector under par.
3(a) does not constitute proof of residence under s. 6.34, the officials shall require the
4elector to provide proof of residence. If proof of residence is provided, the officials
5shall enter both the type of identifying document submitted as proof of residence and
6the name of the entity or institution that issued the identifying document in the
7space provided on the poll list and shall verify that the name and address on the
8identifying document is the same as the name and address shown on the registration
9list.
If proof of residence is required and not provided, or if the an elector does not
10present proof of identification under par. (a), whenever required, the officials shall
11offer the opportunity for the elector to vote under s. 6.97.
SB242,8 12Section 8 . 6.82 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,8,1113 6.82 (1) (a) When any inspectors are informed that an eligible elector is at the
14entrance to the polling place who as a result of disability is and unable to enter the
15polling place, they 2 inspectors shall leave the polling place in order to view the
16elector's proof of identification. If having 2 inspectors outside the polling place
17results in having fewer than 3 inspectors inside the polling place, no voting is
18permitted during the time that the inspectors are outside assisting the elector. If the
19elector is able to enter the polling place, the elector shall vote in the polling place.
20If the elector is unable to enter the polling place, the inspectors
shall permit the
21elector to be assisted in presenting proof of identification or marking a ballot by any
22individual selected by the elector, except the elector's employer or an agent of that
23employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector.
24Except as authorized in s. 6.79 (6) and (7), the elector or the individual selected by
25the elector shall present to the inspectors proof of identification and, if the elector is

1not registered and
the proof of identification does not constitute proof of residence
2under s. 6.34, shall also provide proof of residence under s. 6.34 for the assisted
3elector and all other information necessary for the elector to obtain a ballot under s.
46.79 (2). The inspectors shall verify that the photograph appearing on the proof of
5identification reasonably resembles the elector. The inspectors shall then enter the
6polling place to verify
that the name on the proof of identification presented by the
7person assisting the elector
conforms to the elector's name on the poll list or separate
8list, shall verify that any photograph appearing on that document reasonably
9resembles the elector,
and, if registration is required, shall enter both the type of
10identifying document submitted by the assisted elector as proof of residence and the
11name of the entity or institution that issued the identifying document in the space
12provided on the poll list or separate list. The inspectors shall also write “exempt” in
13the signature box of the poll list.
The inspectors shall then issue a ballot to the
14individual selected by the elector and shall accompany the individual to the polling
15place entrance where the assistance is to be given
eligible elector who is unable to
16enter the polling place and place the ballot in a security sleeve. Two inspectors shall
17leave the polling place and present the ballot to the elector or to the individual
18assisting the elector
. If the ballot is a paper ballot, the elector or the assisting
19individual shall fold the ballot place the ballot in the security sleeve after the ballot
20is marked by the elector or the assisting individual. The inspectors shall complete
21and have the elector sign a document that indicates the elector's name and address
22and the time when the inspectors issued the ballot. The document shall also require
23that the elector certify that he or she is unable to enter the polling place. The
24inspectors shall explain to the elector the contents and purpose of the document
25before asking the elector to sign the document. The document shall be kept with the

1poll list or separate list.
The elector or the assisting individual shall then
2immediately take the ballot into the polling place and
give the ballot to an inspector.
3The inspector
the inspectors who shall return to the polling place. Once inside the
4polling place, an inspector
shall distinctly announce that he or she has “a ballot
5offered by .... (stating person's name), an elector who, as a result of disability, resides
6at .... (stating person's address), and who
is unable to enter the polling place without
7assistance". The inspector shall then ask, “Does anyone object to the reception of this
8ballot?" If no objection is made, the
.” The inspectors shall record the elector's name
9under s. 6.79 and deposit the ballot in the ballot box, and shall make a notation on
10the poll list: “Ballot received at poll entrance" “curbside.” The inspectors shall record
11all incidents of voting as provided under this paragraph on an inspector's statement
.
SB242,9 12Section 9 . 6.875 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,9,213 6.875 (3) (b) An occupant of a retirement home that is not a qualified retirement
14home is not eligible to cast a ballot with a special voting deputy, as provided under
15sub. (4), but
may vote in person at the polling place serving his or her residence or
16may apply for and cast an absentee ballot at the election in the same manner as
17provided for other electors of the municipality where he or she resides. If a
18retirement home that is not a qualified retirement home is located within a
19municipality on the same grounds as part of a multiple-use facility consisting of one
20or more qualified retirement homes or residential care facilities to which the
21municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality dispatches
22special voting deputies to conduct voting at an election, the municipal clerk or board
23of election commissioners shall obtain from the management of the retirement home
24the names and addresses of the occupants of the home. The municipal clerk or board
25of election commissioners shall then provide the special voting deputies with the

1names and addresses to the special voting deputies to verify which of the verified
2residents who are eligible to cast their ballots with the special voting deputies.
SB242,10 3Section 10 . 6.97 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,9,254 6.97 (1) Whenever any individual who is required to provide proof of residence
5under s. 6.34 in order to be permitted to vote appears to vote at a polling place and
6cannot provide the required proof of residence, the inspectors shall offer the
7opportunity for the individual to vote under this section. Whenever any individual,
8other than a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), an overseas elector, or an elector
9who has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2), appears to vote at a polling place and
10does not present proof of identification under s. 6.79 (2), whenever required, the
11inspectors or the municipal clerk shall similarly offer the opportunity for the
12individual to vote under this section. If the individual wishes to vote, the inspectors
13shall provide the elector with an envelope marked “Ballot under s. 6.97, stats." on
14which the serial number of the elector is entered and shall require the individual to
15execute on the envelope a written affirmation stating that the individual is a
16qualified elector of the ward or election district where he or she offers to vote and is
17eligible to vote in the election. The inspectors shall, before giving the elector a ballot,
18write on the back of the ballot the serial number of the individual corresponding to
19the number kept at the election on the poll list or other list maintained under s. 6.79
20and the notation “s. 6.97". If voting machines are used in the municipality where the
21individual is voting, the individual's vote may be received only upon an absentee
22ballot furnished by the municipal clerk which shall have the corresponding number
23from the poll list or other list maintained under s. 6.79 and the notation “s. 6.97"
24written on the back of the ballot by the inspectors before the ballot is given to the
25elector. When receiving the individual's ballot, the inspectors shall provide the

1individual with written voting information prescribed by the commission under s.
27.08 (8). The inspectors shall indicate on the list the fact that the individual is
3required to provide proof of residence or proof of identification under s. 6.79 (2) but
4did not do so. The inspectors shall notify the individual that he or she may provide
5proof of residence or proof of identification to the municipal clerk or executive
6director of the municipal board of election commissioners no later than 4 p.m. on the
7Friday after the election
. The inspectors shall also promptly notify the municipal
8clerk or executive director of the name, address, and serial number of the individual.
9The inspectors shall then place the ballot inside the envelope and place the envelope
10in a separate carrier envelope.
SB242,11 11Section 11 . 6.97 (1) of the statutes, as affected by 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this
12act), is amended to read:
SB242,11,1913 6.97 (1) Whenever any individual who is required to provide proof of residence
14under s. 6.34 in order to be permitted to vote appears to vote at a polling place and
15cannot provide the required proof of residence, the inspectors shall offer the
16opportunity for the individual to vote under this section.
Whenever any individual,
17other than a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), an overseas elector, or an elector
18who has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2), appears to vote at a polling place and
19does not present proof of identification under s. 6.79 (2), whenever required, the
20inspectors or the municipal clerk shall similarly offer the opportunity for the
21individual to vote under this section. If the individual wishes to vote, the inspectors
22shall provide the elector with an envelope marked “Ballot under s. 6.97, stats." on
23which the serial number of the elector is entered and shall require the individual to
24execute on the envelope a written affirmation stating that the individual is a
25qualified elector of the ward or election district where he or she offers to vote and is

1eligible to vote in the election. The inspectors shall, before giving the elector a ballot,
2write on the back of the ballot the serial number of the individual corresponding to
3the number kept at the election on the poll list or other list maintained under s. 6.79
4and the notation “s. 6.97". If voting machines are used in the municipality where the
5individual is voting, the individual's vote may be received only upon an absentee
6ballot furnished by the municipal clerk which shall have the corresponding number
7from the poll list or other list maintained under s. 6.79 and the notation “s. 6.97"
8written on the back of the ballot by the inspectors before the ballot is given to the
9elector. When receiving the individual's ballot, the inspectors shall provide the
10individual with written voting information prescribed by the commission under s.
117.08 (8). The inspectors shall indicate on the list the fact that the individual is
12required to provide proof of residence or proof of identification under s. 6.79 (2) but
13did not do so. The inspectors shall notify the individual that he or she may provide
14proof of residence or proof of identification to the municipal clerk or executive
15director of the municipal board of election commissioners no later than 4 p.m. on the
16Friday after the election. The inspectors shall also promptly notify the municipal
17clerk or executive director of the name, address, and serial number of the individual.
18The inspectors shall then place the ballot inside the envelope and place the envelope
19in a separate carrier envelope.
SB242,12 20Section 12. 7.15 (1) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,12,1321 7.15 (1) (cm) Prepare official absentee ballots for delivery to electors requesting
22them, and except as provided in this paragraph, send an official absentee ballot to
23each elector who has requested a ballot by mail, and to each military elector, as
24defined in s. 6.34 (1), and overseas elector who has requested a ballot by mail,
25electronic mail, or facsimile transmission, no later than the 47th day before each

1partisan primary and general election and no later than the 21st day before each
2other primary and election if the request is made before that day; otherwise, the
3municipal clerk shall send or transmit an official absentee ballot within one business
4day of the time the elector's request for such a ballot is received. The clerk shall send
5or transmit an absentee ballot for the presidential preference primary to each elector
6who has requested that ballot no later than the 47th day before the presidential
7preference primary if the request is made before that day, or, if the request is not
8made before that day, within one business day of the time the request is received.
9The clerk shall send an absentee ballot automatically to each elector and send or
10transmit an absentee ballot to each military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), and each
11overseas elector making an authorized request therefor in accordance with s. 6.22
12(4), 6.24 (4) (c), or 6.86 (2) or (2m).
For purposes of this paragraph, “business day"
13means any day from Monday to Friday, not including a legal holiday under s. 995.20.
SB242,13 14Section 13. 7.15 (1) (j) of the statutes is repealed.
SB242,14 15Section 14 . 7.52 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,13,1116 7.52 (3) (a) The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall first open the carrier
17envelope only, and, in such a manner that a member of the public, if he or she desired,
18could hear, announce the name of the absent elector or the identification serial
19number of the absent elector if the elector has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2).
20When the board of absentee ballot canvassers finds that the certification has been
21properly executed and the applicant is a qualified elector of the ward or election
22district, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall enter an indication on the poll
23list next to the applicant's name indicating an absentee ballot is cast by the elector.
24The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then open the envelope containing the
25ballot in a manner so as not to deface or destroy the certification thereon. The board

1of absentee ballot canvassers shall take out the ballot without unfolding it or
2permitting it to be unfolded or examined. Unless the ballot is cast under s. 6.95, the
3board of absentee ballot canvassers shall verify that the ballot has been endorsed by
4the issuing clerk. If the poll list indicates that proof of residence is required and no
5proof of residence is enclosed or the name or address on the document that is provided
6is not the same as the name and address shown on the poll list, the board of absentee
7ballot canvassers shall proceed as provided under s. 6.97 (2). The board of absentee
8ballot canvassers shall mark the poll list number of each elector who casts an
9absentee ballot on the back of the elector's ballot.
The board of absentee ballot
10canvassers shall then deposit the ballot into the proper ballot box and enter the
11absent elector's name or poll list number after his or her name on the poll list.
SB242,15 12Section 15. 9.10 (2) (e) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,13,1413 9.10 (2) (e) 6. The signer has been adjudicated not to be a qualified elector on
14grounds of incompetency or limited incompetency as provided in s. 6.03 (3).
SB242,16 15Section 16 . 12.13 (3) (mb) of the statutes is created to read:
SB242,13,1716 12.13 (3) (mb) Obtain a marked absentee ballot from another person and fail
17or refuse to deliver it to the proper municipal clerk or polling place.
SB242,17 18Section 17 . 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB242,13,2019 12.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11 , or 12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7., or (3)
20(a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (mb), (y), or (z) is guilty of a Class I felony.
SB242,18 21Section 18 . Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication,
22except as follows:
SB242,13,2423 (1) The treatment of ss. 6.79 (2) (d) and 6.97 (1) (by Section 11) takes effect on
24July 1, 2019.
SB242,13,2525 (End)
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