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2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO SENATE BILL 946
February 24, 2022 - Offered by Representatives Petersen and Tauchen.
SB946-ASA1,1,7
1An Act to repeal 8.20 (8) (am);
to renumber and amend 7.52 (1) (a);
to amend
25.84 (1), 6.15 (4) (a), 6.15 (4) (b), 6.86 (1) (b), 6.87 (6), 6.88 (1), 6.88 (2), 7.15 (1)
3(cm), 7.52 (2), 7.52 (3) (a), 7.52 (4) (a), 7.52 (9) and 8.20 (8) (a); and
to create 6.19,
46.88 (4), 7.15 (16), 7.52 (1) (a) 2., 7.52 (1) (d) to (h), 7.52 (10) and 66.0512 of the
5statutes;
relating to: transmitting and canvassing absentee ballots,
6presidential ballots, nomination papers for certain independent candidates,
7whistleblower protection for municipal clerks, and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Early canvassing of absentee ballots
Under current law, absentee ballots may not be canvassed until election day.
Current law additionally provides that any municipality may provide by ordinance
that, in lieu of canvassing absentee ballots at polling places, a municipal board of
absentee ballot canvassers established by the municipality is responsible for
canvassing all absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election
day. In such a municipality, the board of absentee ballot canvassers is required to
convene a meeting any time after the polls open and before 10 p.m. on election day
to canvass the absentee ballots cast in the municipality in the election. Among the
requirements governing such a meeting, any member of the public has the same right
of access to the meeting that the individual would have to observe the canvassing of
absentee ballots at a polling place.
Also under current law, other than as described above, votes, including votes
cast by absentee ballot, are canvassed at the polling place after polls close on election
day. However, in a municipality that uses an electronic voting system, the municipal
clerk or municipal board of election commissioners may adjourn the vote canvass to
a central counting location where votes cast at multiple polling places in the
municipality and absentee ballots may all be counted after the polls close on election
day.
This bill does all of the following:
1. Requires the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers in a municipality
having an ordinance described above to begin canvassing absentee ballots on the day
before an election. Canvassing absentee ballots on the day before the election is
optional except for each spring and general election and each special election or recall
election if the special or recall election is for a state or national office.
2. Provides that no municipality may utilize a central counting location unless
it has passed an ordinance providing for the canvassing of absentee ballots by a board
of absentee ballot canvassers.
3. Provides that the board of absentee ballot canvassers must publicly convene
at 7 a.m. on the day before the election to begin the canvass of absentee ballots for
the municipality and recess at 8 p.m. on that day.
4. Requires that at 7 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m. on the day before the election, and
at 7 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m. on election day, the municipal clerk or his or her designee
must provide to the county clerk of the county in which the municipality is located
a statement that shows the total number of absentee ballots returned to the
municipality, the total number of absentee ballots the municipal board of absentee
ballot canvassers has canvassed, and the total number of absentee ballots that
remain to be canvassed. The county clerk must promptly post each statement on the
Internet site on which the county clerk posts returns on election night. In a 1st class
city, the city clerk or his or her designee may post the statement on the city clerk's
Internet site. The statement may not include the names or addresses of any electors.
An absentee ballot may be considered canvassed for purposes of this reporting
requirement only after all tasks have been completed in the canvassing process
except for the tallying of votes.
5. Requires that when the meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers
recesses on the day before the election, the board must secure the automatic
tabulating equipment, and the areas where the programmed media, memory
devices, and absentee ballots are housed, with tamper-evident security seals in a
double-lock location such as a locked cabinet inside a locked office. Before resuming
the canvassing of absentee ballots, the board must check and record the status of
each tamper-evident seal and must immediately notify the Elections Commission
of any evidence of tampering. If the board discovers evidence of tampering with
respect to automatic tabulating equipment, the canvass may not resume until the
equipment is replaced and the replacement equipment is tested. Also, if the board
discovers evidence of tampering, the municipality must conduct a recount after the
election and must audit the election equipment to verify the accuracy of the absentee
ballot count.
6. Provides that votes on absentee ballots canvassed early under the bill may
not be tallied until after the canvass is complete or after the polls close on election
day, whichever is later.
7. Provides that no person may act in a manner that would give him or her the
ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from
the ballots canvassed under the bill before the canvass is complete or before the polls
close on election day, whichever is later. Whoever intentionally violates that
prohibition is guilty of a Class I felony, the penalty for which is a fine not to exceed
$10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both.
8. Authorizes municipalities not utilizing a central counting location and not
having a board of absentee ballot canvassers to begin processing absentee ballots
beginning at 7 a.m. on the day before the election subject to some of the requirements
described above. In order to canvass absentee ballots early, such a municipality must
provide by ordinance that absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk may be
canvassed on the day before the election. Prior to enacting the ordinance, the
municipal clerk must notify the Elections Commission in writing of the proposed
ordinance and must consult with the Elections Commission concerning the early
canvassing of absentee ballots.
Finally, under current law, criminal penalties are provided for election officials
who commit certain specified kinds of election fraud. Otherwise, the willful neglect
or refusal of an election official to perform a duty prescribed under the election laws
is punishable by disqualification to act as an election official for five years. Under
the bill, a member of the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers or other
election official who willfully neglects or refuses to perform any of the duties
prescribed under the bill, and other duties prescribed under current law, with respect
to the canvassing of absentee ballots by a municipal board of absentee ballot
canvassers is guilty of a Class I felony.
Election night reporting
Under the bill, at 9 p.m. on election night, and every hour thereafter until the
canvass is complete, each municipal clerk or his or her designee must provide to the
county clerk of the county in which the municipality is located a statement that
shows the total number of ballots, including absentee ballots, cast at the
municipality in the election, the total number of ballots, including absentee ballots,
that have been canvassed, and the total number of ballots, including absentee
ballots, that remain to be canvassed. The county clerk must promptly post each
statement on the Internet site on which the county clerk posts returns on election
night. In a 1st class city, the city clerk or his or her designee may post the statement
on the city clerk's Internet site. The statement may not include the names or
addresses of any electors. An absentee ballot may be considered canvassed for
purposes of this reporting requirement only after all tasks have been completed in
the canvassing process except for the tallying of votes.
Issuance of presidential ballots
Under current law, certain new and former residents of Wisconsin may apply
for and receive a ballot for the purpose of voting only for candidates for president and
vice president at a presidential election in Wisconsin. The bill prohibits poll workers
and other election officials from providing a ballot used for voting for the offices of
president and vice president only, unless the elector is a new or former resident of
the state and applies and qualifies for the presidential ballot as provided by law.
Timeline for sending or transmitting absentee ballots
Current law requires a municipal clerk to send an absentee ballot for each
partisan primary, presidential preference primary, and general election to all
electors requesting the ballot, including military and overseas electors, no later than
the 47th day before the partisan primary, presidential preference primary, or general
election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business day after
the request is received. For all other primaries and elections, the municipal clerk
must send or transmit the absentee ballot no later than the 21st day before the
primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business
day after the request is received.
Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or transmit an absentee ballot for
all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of primary or election, to electors
other than military and overseas electors no later than the 21st day before the
primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business
day after the request is received. Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or
transmit an absentee ballot for all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of
primary or election, to military and overseas electors no later than the 45th day
before the primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within
one business day after the request is received. That 45th day timeline is consistent
with federal law.
Nomination papers for certain independent candidates
Under current law, nomination papers for independent candidates for any
office to be voted upon at a general election, except president and vice president, may
be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the June 1 preceding the partisan primary, which is held
on the second Tuesday in August preceding the general election. Under current law,
nomination papers for independent candidates for president and vice president may
be circulated no sooner than the July 1 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in August preceding a presidential
election.
Under the bill, the timeline for circulating and filing nomination papers for
independent candidates for president and vice president is the same as that for all
other independent candidates for offices to be voted on at the general election:
nomination papers may be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the
general election and must be filed no later than the June 1 preceding the partisan
primary.
Whistleblower protections
The bill provides whistleblower protection for municipal clerks who witness
and report election fraud or irregularities. Under the bill, no municipal clerk may
be discriminated against in regard to employment, including by being discharged,
disciplined, or demoted, as a reprisal because the clerk lawfully reported, or is
believed to have reported, witnessing what the clerk reasonably believed to be
election fraud or irregularities.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB946-ASA1,1
1Section
1. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,32
5.84
(1) Where any municipality employs an electronic voting system
which 3that utilizes automatic tabulating equipment,
either at the polling place or at a
4central counting location, the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10
5days prior to the
election day on which the equipment is to be utilized
in an election,
6have the equipment tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for
7all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall
8be given by the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the test
by posting notice on the
9municipality's Internet site if it has one and by publication of a class 1 notice under
10ch. 985 in one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a newspaper
11is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The
12test shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a
13preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined number of valid
14votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall include for each
15office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law
16and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots which have votes cast for
17candidates of more than one recognized political party, in order to test the ability of
18the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the
1municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the error. The clerk shall make
2an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the
3clerk for use in the election.
SB946-ASA1,2
4Section
2. 6.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,95
6.15
(4) (a) Clerks holding new resident ballots shall deliver them to the
6election inspectors in the proper ward or election district where the new residents
7reside or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the
8municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers
when it convenes at a meeting
9convened under s. 7.52 (1), as provided by s. 6.88 for absentee ballots.
SB946-ASA1,3
10Section
3. 6.15 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,1611
6.15
(4) (b) During polling hours,
or on the day before the election under s. 6.88
12(4), the inspectors shall open each carrier envelope, announce the elector's name,
13check the affidavit for proper execution, and check the voting qualifications for the
14ward, if any. In municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52,
15the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers shall perform this function at a
16meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers.
SB946-ASA1,4
17Section
4. 6.19 of the statutes is created to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,20
186.19 Presidential ballots.
(1) In this section, “presidential ballot” means a
19ballot that allows an elector to vote only for candidates for president and vice
20president.
SB946-ASA1,6,23
21(2) No election inspector or other election official may provide a presidential
22ballot to an elector for voting at a presidential election, except as provided under ss.
236.15 and 6.18.
SB946-ASA1,5
24Section
5. 6.86 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,7,25
16.86
(1) (b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made by mail,
2the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately
3preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be
4made no earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday
5preceding the election. No application may be received on a legal holiday. A
6municipality shall specify the hours in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The
7municipal clerk or an election official shall witness the certificate for any in-person
8absentee ballot cast. Except as provided in par. (c), if the elector is making written
9application for an absentee ballot at the partisan primary, the general election, the
10presidential preference primary, or a special election for national office, and the
11application indicates that the elector is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), the
12application shall be received by the municipal clerk no later than 5 p.m. on election
13day. If the application indicates that the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is
14that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than
155 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday
16immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall
17immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and
18deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and
19give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then witness the voting procedure as
20provided in s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who
21shall deliver it to the
polling place election inspectors of the proper ward or election
22district or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to
23the municipal clerk as required in s. 6.88. If application is made under sub. (2) or
24(2m), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately
25preceding the election.
SB946-ASA1,6
1Section
6. 6.87 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,8,82
6.87
(6) The ballot shall be returned so it is delivered to the
polling place 3election inspectors of the proper ward or election district no later than 8 p.m. on
4election day. Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under
5s. 7.52, if the municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot on election day, the clerk
6shall secure the ballot and cause the ballot to be delivered to the polling place serving
7the elector's residence before 8 p.m. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided
8in this subsection may not be counted.
SB946-ASA1,7
9Section
7. 6.88 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,8,2510
6.88
(1) When an absentee ballot arrives at the office of the municipal clerk,
11or at an alternate site under s. 6.855, if applicable, the clerk shall enclose it,
12unopened, in a carrier envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the
13name and official title of the clerk, and the words “This envelope contains the ballot
14of an absent elector and must be opened
in the same room where votes are being cast
15at the polls during polling hours on election day or, in municipalities where absentee
16ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, stats., at a meeting of the municipal board of
17absentee ballot canvassers under s. 7.52, stats only as provided by law." If the elector
18is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), or an overseas elector, regardless of
19whether the elector qualifies as a resident of this state under s. 6.10, and the ballot
20was received by the elector by facsimile transmission or electronic mail and is
21accompanied by a separate certificate, the clerk shall enclose the ballot in a
22certificate envelope and securely append the completed certificate to the outside of
23the envelope before enclosing the ballot in the carrier envelope. The clerk shall keep
24the ballot in the clerk's office or at the alternate site, if applicable until delivered, as
25required in sub. (2).
SB946-ASA1,8
1Section
8. 6.88 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,9,142
6.88
(2) When an absentee ballot is received by the municipal clerk prior to the
3delivery of the official ballots to the election officials of the ward in which the elector
4resides or, where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal board
5of absentee ballot canvassers, the municipal clerk shall seal the ballot envelope in
6the carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1), and shall enclose the envelope in a
7package and deliver the package to the election inspectors of the proper ward or
8election district or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s.
97.52, to the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers
when it convenes at a
10meeting convened under s. 7.52 (1). When the official ballots for the ward or election
11district have been delivered to the election inspectors before the receipt of an
12absentee ballot, the clerk shall immediately enclose the envelope containing the
13absentee ballot in a carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1) and deliver it in
14person to the proper election officials.
SB946-ASA1,9
15Section
9. 6.88 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
SB946-ASA1,9,1816
6.88
(4) (a) 1. The governing body of any municipality not specified in s. 7.52
17(1) (a) may provide by ordinance that absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk
18may be canvassed on the day before the election.
SB946-ASA1,9,2119
2. Prior to enacting an ordinance under subd. 1., the municipal clerk shall
20notify the commission in writing of the proposed enactment and shall consult with
21the commission concerning administration of this subsection.
SB946-ASA1,9,2422
(am) In any municipality having an ordinance under par. (a), subject to pars.
23(b) to (f), the election inspectors may convene a meeting to begin canvassing absentee
24ballots beginning at 7 a.m. on the day before the election.
SB946-ASA1,10,5
1(b) The municipal clerk shall give at least 60 days' notice of a meeting under
2this subsection. Any member of the public has the same right of access to observe
3the proceedings at a meeting under this subsection that the individual would have
4under s. 7.41. The election inspectors may order the removal of any individual
5exercising the right to observe the proceedings if the individual disrupts the meeting.
SB946-ASA1,10,166
(c) 1. At 7 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m. on the day before the election, and at 7 a.m.,
7noon, and 8 p.m. on election day, the municipal clerk or his or her designee shall
8provide to the county clerk of the county in which the municipality is located a
9statement that shows the total number of absentee ballots returned to the
10municipality, the total number of absentee ballots the election inspectors have
11canvassed under this subsection, and the total number of absentee ballots that
12remain to be canvassed. The county clerk shall promptly post each statement on the
13Internet site on which the county posts returns on election night under s. 7.60. In
14a 1st class city, the city clerk or his or her designee may post the statement required
15under this paragraph on the city clerk's Internet site. The statement may not include
16the names or addresses of any electors.
SB946-ASA1,10,1917
2. An absentee ballot may be considered canvassed for purposes of subd. 1. only
18after all tasks have been completed in the canvassing process except for the tallying
19of votes.
SB946-ASA1,11,920
(d) When the meeting of the election inspectors recesses on the day before the
21election, the election inspectors shall secure the automatic tabulating equipment,
22and the areas where the programmed media, memory devices, and absentee ballots
23are housed, with tamper-evident security seals in a double-lock location such as a
24locked cabinet inside a locked office. Before resuming the canvassing of absentee
25ballots on election day, the election inspectors shall check and record the status of
1each tamper-evident seal. The election inspectors shall immediately notify the
2commission of any evidence of tampering. If the election inspectors discover evidence
3of tampering with respect to automatic tabulating equipment, the canvass may not
4resume until the equipment is replaced and the replacement equipment is tested as
5provided in s. 5.84. If the election inspectors discover evidence of tampering under
6this paragraph, the municipality shall conduct a recount after the election of all
7absentee ballots cast in the municipality in the election in the manner provided
8under s. 9.01 and shall audit the election equipment to verify the accuracy of the
9absentee ballot count in the municipality in the election.
SB946-ASA1,11,1210
(e) Votes on absentee ballots canvassed under this subsection may not be tallied
11until after the canvass is complete or after the polls close on election day, whichever
12is later.
SB946-ASA1,11,1713
(f) No person may intentionally act in a manner that would give him or her the
14ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from
15the ballots canvassed under this subsection before the canvass is complete or before
16the polls close on election day, whichever is later. Whoever intentionally violates this
17paragraph is guilty of a Class I felony.
SB946-ASA1,10
18Section
10. 7.15 (1) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read: