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LRB-5268/1
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2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
February 3, 2022 - Introduced by Senators Bernier, Cowles, Darling, Stroebel,
Felzkowski, Marklein and Wanggaard, cosponsored by Representatives
Dittrich, Allen, Armstrong, Edming, Gundrum, Knodl, Krug, Kuglitsch,
Macco, Magnafici, Murphy, Mursau, Penterman, Schraa and Spiros.
Referred to Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics.
SB934,1,8 1An Act to renumber 5.84 (1) and 7.315 (2); to renumber and amend 6.50 (3);
2to amend 5.056, 5.40 (7), 7.08 (1) (a), 7.08 (1) (c), 7.15 (1m), 85.61 (1) and 301.03
3(20m); and to create 5.057, 5.058, 5.84 (1) (b), 5.84 (3), 5.84 (4), 6.36 (1) (ae) 3.,
46.50 (3) (b) and (c), 6.50 (4m), 6.78 (5), 7.15 (16), 7.23 (1) (jm), 7.315 (2) (b) and
569.03 (16) of the statutes; relating to: maintenance of the voter registration
6list, training of municipal clerks, data sharing agreements, pre-election
7procedures, lines at the polls on election day, and granting rule-making
8authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Electronic Registration Information Center
Under current law, if a municipal clerk or board of election commissioners
receives reliable information that a voter has moved outside of the municipality, the
clerk or board of election commissioners must send a letter or postcard to the voter
to verify the voter's address and change the voter's status on the registration list from
eligible to ineligible if the voter's address has changed. Under this bill, if the
Elections Commission receives reliable information that a voter has moved outside
of the municipality specified on the voter's registration or to different address within
that municipality, the commission must send a letter or postcard to the voter to verify

the voter's address and change the voter's status on the registration list from eligible
to ineligible if the voter's address has changed. Under the bill, if the municipal clerk
or board of election commissioners receives reliable information that a voter has
moved, neither the clerk nor the board is required to send a letter or postcard to that
elector if the commission has also received reliable information that the elector has
moved. In that case, the commission must send a letter or postcard to the elector to
verify the voter's address.
Under the bill, information received from the Electronic Registration
Information Center, Inc., is considered reliable information for purposes of
determining whether a voter has moved. In addition, the bill requires the
commission to request available information from ERIC at least once every 90 days
and to annually request information from ERIC regarding eligible, but unregistered,
residents of this state. Furthermore, the commission must, when it becomes
available following an election for a national office, request information from ERIC
regarding registered voters who may have voted multiple times in the same election.
Data sharing agreements
Current law requires the administrator of the Elections Commission to enter
into an agreement with the secretary of the Department of Transportation to match
personally identifiable information on the official registration list maintained by the
commission with personally identifiable information maintained by DOT in vehicle
registration and license records. The bill requires the administrator and the
secretary to update the agreement at least once every two years. In addition, the bill
requires DOT to conduct matching of personally identifiable information maintained
by DOT with that on the registration list on a daily basis. Under the bill, if the
information on the official registration list for an individual does not match the
information for the individual maintained by DOT, DOT must provide to the
commission the name and date of birth of the individual and the number of the
driver's license or identification card issued by DOT to the individual. The bill also
requires DOT to indicate to the commission whether the individual reported a
change of address for purposes of updating records regarding a driver's license,
identification card, or vehicle registration.
Under current law, the municipal clerk must change the registration of
deceased electors from eligible to ineligible status by means of checking vital
statistics reports. Current law requires the Department of Health Services to
establish the Office of Vital Records and to appoint a state registrar to supervise the
office. Generally, the Office of Vital Records and the state registrar are responsible
for accepting, indexing, and preserving vital records, such as original marriage
documents and records of birth, death, and divorce. The bill requires the
administrator of the Elections Commission and the state registrar to enter into an
agreement to match personally identifiable information from the registration list
with the death records maintained by the Office of Vital Records. The administrator
and the state registrar must update the agreement at least once every two years.
Under the bill, the Office of Vital Records must conduct matching of personally
identifiable information on a daily basis and immediately notify the administrator
of the Elections Commission of the name, date of birth, date of death, and place of

death of any person on the official registration list for which the Office of Vital
Records has a death record. The commission must then change the registration
status of the person from eligible to ineligible.
Under current law, the Department of Corrections must transmit to the
commission, on a continuous basis, a list containing the name of each living person
who has been convicted of a felony and whose civil rights have not been restored,
together with the person's residential address and the date on which DOC expects
the person's civil rights to be restored. The bill requires DOC to transmit this
information to the commission on a daily basis. In addition, the bill requires the
secretary of DOC and the administrator of the Elections Commission to enter into
an agreement to match personally identifiable information from the registration list
with the personally identifiable information maintained by DOC and update that
agreement at least once every two years.
Electronic voting equipment
Current law requires the municipal clerk of each municipality that employs an
electronic voting system that uses automatic tabulating equipment at a polling place
or a central count location to conduct a public test of the equipment not more than
10 days before an election. Under the bill, the municipal clerk is also required to
conduct a test of the equipment according to specifications recommended by the
equipment manufacturer and to conduct that test prior to the public test of the
equipment under current law. In addition, the bill requires the Elections
Commission to promulgate rules for training municipal clerks for the testing of
automatic tabulating equipment and for the use of tamper-evident seals on all
electronic voting equipment. Also, under the bill, no voting machine, electronic
voting system, or automatic tabulating equipment, and no component of any such
machine, system, or equipment, may be connected to the Internet for any purpose.
Under current law, a municipal clerk must notify, in writing, the county clerk
and the administrator of the Elections Commission whenever the municipality
adopts and purchases voting machines or an electronic voting system. The bill
requires that the municipal clerk notify the county clerk and the administrator also
whenever the municipality adopts and rents voting machines or an electronic voting
system.
Training
Current law requires each municipal clerk to attend training sponsored by the
Elections Commission at least once every two years. Current law also requires the
commission to prescribe by rule the contents of the training. Under the bill, each
municipal clerk is required to complete at least three hours of training prior to
conducting an election for the first time. The bill also requires the commission to
notify the county clerk, prior to an election, if a municipal clerk in the county fails
to attend the required training prior to conducting an election for the first time or
fails to attend annual training sponsored by the commission. If a county clerk
receives such a notification, the county clerk must facilitate the training of the
municipal clerk and may assume the election duties of the municipal clerk for that
election. Under the bill, if the county clerk facilitates the training or assumes the
election duties of the municipal clerk, the municipality must reimburse the county

for all reasonable expenses incurred by the county for providing training to the
municipal clerk or for assuming the election duties of the municipal clerk.
Vacancies
The bill requires a municipality to notify the Elections Commission of a vacancy
in the position of municipal clerk and requires the commission to notify the county
clerk of that vacancy. Under the bill, if the vacancy occurs within 20 days prior to
the date of an election and a deputy municipal clerk has not been appointed prior to
that election, the county clerk may assume the duties of the municipal clerk with
regard to that election or designate another qualified individual to assume those
duties.
Polling places
Under current law, the polls are open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If
a voter is waiting in line to vote at the time the polls officially close, that voter must
be permitted to vote.
Under this bill, on election day, the chief inspector at each polling place in a
municipality must complete an incident report documenting each occurrence of
voters waiting in line for at least one hour before voting. The bill further provides
that, after each election, any municipality in which one or more such incident reports
were completed must take all necessary steps, including establishing additional
polling places, to ensure that voters do not wait in line for an hour or more at future
elections.
Default dates
The bill requires the Elections Commission to remove any default birthdate or
registration date in the official registration list and to replace those dates with actual
dates. Currently, the registration list contains a number of default dates that
resulted from the migration of a past registration system to the current one.
Reviewing forms
Finally, the bill requires the Elections Commission to review at least once every
four years all forms that the commission provides to the public, including ballot and
registration forms. The bill also requires the commission to review the forms for
accessibility, usability, clarity, and readability and to update the forms as needed.
For further information see the state and 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:
SB934,1 1Section 1. 5.056 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB934,5,5 25.056 Matching program with secretary of transportation. The
3commission administrator shall enter into the agreement with the secretary of

1transportation specified under s. 85.61 (1) to match personally identifiable
2information on the official registration list maintained by the commission under s.
36.36 (1) and the information specified in s. 6.34 (2m) with personally identifiable
4information maintained by the department of transportation. The administrator
5and the secretary shall update the agreement at least once every 2 years.
SB934,2 6Section 2. 5.057 of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,5,13 75.057 Matching program with the state registrar. The commission
8administrator shall enter into the agreement specified under s. 69.03 (16) with the
9state registrar appointed under s. 69.02 (1) (b) to match personally identifiable
10information on the official registration list maintained by the commission under s.
116.36 (1) and the information specified in s. 6.34 (2m) with personally identifiable
12information and vital statistics maintained by the state registrar. The administrator
13and the registrar shall update the agreement at least once every 2 years.
SB934,3 14Section 3. 5.058 of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,5,21 155.058 Matching program with the department of corrections. The
16commission administrator shall enter into the agreement with the secretary of
17corrections specified under s. 301.03 (20m) to match personally identifiable
18information on the official registration list maintained by the commission under s.
196.36 (1) and the information specified in s. 6.34 (2m) with the personally identifiable
20information provided under s. 301.03 (20m). The administrator and the secretary
21shall update the agreement at least once every 2 years.
SB934,4 22Section 4. 5.40 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB934,6,423 5.40 (7) Whenever a municipality adopts and purchases or rents voting
24machines or an electronic voting system, or adopts and purchases or rents a different
25type of voting machine or electronic voting system from the type it was previously

1using, the municipal clerk or executive director of the municipal board of election
2commissioners shall promptly notify the county clerk or executive director of the
3county board of election commissioners and the administrator of the elections
4commission in writing.
SB934,5 5Section 5. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 5.84 (1) (a).
SB934,6 6Section 6. 5.84 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,6,97 5.84 (1) (b) Prior to the test of automatic tabulating equipment open to the
8public under par. (a), the municipal clerk shall conduct a test of the equipment
9according to specifications recommended by the equipment manufacturer.
SB934,7 10Section 7. 5.84 (3) of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,6,1611 5.84 (3) No voting machine, electronic voting system, or automatic tabulating
12equipment, and no component of any such machine, system, or equipment, may be
13connected to the Internet for any purpose. For purposes of this subsection,
14“connected to the Internet” does not include a modem receiving wireless
15transmissions to establish a transmission control protocol exchange with a county
16election server after the close of polls on election day.
SB934,8 17Section 8. 5.84 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,6,2018 5.84 (4) The commission shall promulgate rules for training municipal clerks
19for the testing of equipment under sub. (1) and for the use of tamper-evident seals
20on all electronic voting equipment.
SB934,9 21Section 9. 6.36 (1) (ae) 3. of the statutes is created to read:
SB934,6,2422 6.36 (1) (ae) 3. If the chief election officer enters into an agreement under subd.
231., the commission shall request available information from the Electronic
24Registration Information Center, Inc., at least once every 90 days, except as follows:
SB934,7,3
1a. The commission shall annually request information from the Electronic
2Registration Information Center, Inc., regarding eligible, but unregistered residents
3of this state.
SB934,7,74 b. The commission shall, when it becomes available following an election for
5a national office, request information from the Electronic Registration Information
6Center, Inc., regarding registered voters who may have voted multiple times in the
7same election.
SB934,10 8Section 10. 6.50 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 6.50 (3) (a) and amended to
9read:
SB934,8,210 6.50 (3) (a) Upon receipt of reliable information that a registered elector has
11changed his or her residence to a location outside of the municipality, the municipal
12clerk or board of election commissioners shall notify the elector by mailing a notice
13by 1st class mail to the elector's registration address stating the source of the
14information. All municipal departments and agencies receiving information that a
15registered elector has changed his or her residence shall notify the clerk or board of
16election commissioners. If the elector no longer resides in the municipality or fails
17to apply for continuation of registration within 30 days of the date the notice is
18mailed, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the elector's
19registration from eligible to ineligible status. Upon receipt of reliable information
20that a registered elector has changed his or her residence within the municipality,
21the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the elector's
22registration and mail the elector a notice of the change. This subsection paragraph
23does not restrict the right of an elector to challenge any registration under s. 6.325,
246.48, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5). This paragraph does not apply if the commission also
25receives reliable information that the registered elector has changed his or her

1residence to a location outside of the municipality and sends notice to the elector
2under par. (b).
SB934,11 3Section 11. 6.50 (3) (b) and (c) of the statutes are created to read:
SB934,8,154 6.50 (3) (b) If the commission receives reliable information that a registered
5elector has changed his or her residence to a location outside of the municipality
6specified on the elector's registration or to a different address within the
7municipality specified on the elector's registration, the commission shall notify the
8elector by mailing a notice by 1st class mail to the elector's registration address
9stating the source of the information. If the elector no longer resides in the
10municipality specified on the elector's registration, resides at a different address
11within that municipality, or fails to apply for continuation of registration within 30
12days of the date the notice is mailed, the commission shall change the elector's
13registration from eligible to ineligible status. This paragraph does not restrict the
14right of an elector to challenge any registration under s. 6.325, 6.48, 6.925, 6.93, or
157.52 (5).
SB934,8,2216 (c) Information received from the Electronic Registration Information Center,
17Inc., is reliable information for purposes of this subsection. If a municipal clerk or
18board of election commissioners receives information from the Electronic
19Registration Information Center, Inc., that a voter has changed residence, the clerk
20or board shall comply with the requirements under par. (a). If the commission
21receives such information, the commission shall comply with the requirements
22under par. (b).
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