SB685: Bill Text

SB685,,71 7.52 (1) (a) 1. The governing body of any municipality may provide by ordinance that, in lieu of canvassing absentee ballots at polling places under s. 6.88, the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers designated under s. 7.53 (2m) shall, at each election held in the municipality, canvass all absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day. Prior to enacting an ordinance under this subsection subdivision, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality shall notify the elections commission in writing of the proposed enactment and shall consult with the elections commission concerning administration of this section. At Except as provided under par. (h), at every election held in the municipality following enactment of an ordinance under this subsection subdivision, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall, any time after the opening of the polls and before 10 p.m. on election day, publicly convene at 7 a.m. on the day before the election to count the begin the canvass of absentee ballots for the municipality and may not recess until 8 p.m. on that day, or at such time when there are no further absentee ballots to be processed on that day, whichever is earlier, at which time the meeting shall recess; the meeting shall reconvene at 7 a.m. on election day and continue until all absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day have been canvassed.

SB685,,72 2. The municipal clerk shall give at least 48 hours’ 60 days’ notice of any the meeting under this subsection. Any member of the public has the same right of access to a meeting of the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers under this subsection that the individual would have under s. 7.41 to observe the proceedings at a polling place. The board of absentee ballot canvassers may order the removal of any individual exercising the right to observe the proceedings if the individual disrupts the meeting.

SB685,29 Section 29. 7.52 (1) (d) to (h) of the statutes are created to read:

SB685,,74 7.52 (1) (d) 1. 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 or municipal board of election inspectors shall provide to the county clerk of the county in which the municipality is located or the county board of election inspectors a statement that shows the total number of absentee ballots returned to the municipality and the total number of absentee ballots the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers has canvassed under this subsection. The county clerk or county board of election inspectors shall promptly post each statement on the website on which returns for the county are posted on election night under s. 7.60. In a municipality having a municipal board of election inspectors, the statement required under this paragraph shall also be posted on the website maintained by the municipal board of election inspectors. The statement may not include the names or addresses of any electors.

SB685,,75 2. An absentee ballot shall be considered canvassed for purposes of subd. 1. only after all tasks have been completed in the canvassing process except for the tallying of votes.

SB685,,76 (e) When the meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers recesses on the day before the election, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall 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 ballots on election day, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall check and record the status of each tamper-evident seal. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall immediately notify the commission of any evidence of tampering. If the board of absentee ballot canvassers 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 as provided in s. 5.84, except that public notice need not be provided 48 hours prior to the test. If the board of absentee ballot canvassers discovers evidence of tampering under this paragraph, the commission shall verify the accuracy of the absentee ballot count in the municipality in the election by doing all of the following:

SB685,,77 1. Ordering the municipality to conduct a recount after the election of all absentee ballots cast in the municipality in the election. The commission’s order shall establish procedures for the recount consistent with s. 9.01.

SB685,,78 2. Auditing the election equipment in the same manner as audits are conducted under s. 7.08 (6).

SB685,,79 (f) Votes on absentee ballots canvassed under this section may not be tallied until after the polls close on election day.

SB685,,80 (g) No person may intentionally act in a manner that would give him or her the ability to know or to provide information on the tallied results from the ballots canvassed under this section before the polls close on election day. Whoever intentionally violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class I felony.

SB685,,81 (h) Canvassing absentee ballots on the day before the election under this section 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.

SB685,30 Section 30. 7.52 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB685,,83 7.52 (2) In counting the absentee ballots, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall use 2 duplicate copies of a single poll list for the entire municipality prepared in accordance with s. 6.36 (2). Upon accepting reviewing each absentee ballot certificate envelope to ensure that it satisfies all applicable legal requirements, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall enter a poll list sequential count number on the poll list next to the name of the elector who voted the ballot, beginning with the number one. If the elector’s name does not appear on the poll list, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall enter the number on a separate list maintained under this subsection. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall record each elector’s sequential count number on the face of the elector’s certificate envelope.

SB685,31 Section 31. 7.52 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB685,,85 7.52 (3) (a) The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall first open the carrier envelope only, and, in such a manner that a member of the public, if he or she desired, could hear, announce the name of the absent elector or the identification serial number of the absent elector if the elector has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2). When the board of absentee ballot canvassers finds that the certification has been properly executed and the applicant is a qualified elector of the ward or election district, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall enter an indication, including the elector’s sequential count number as provided under sub. (2), on the poll list next to the applicant’s name indicating an absentee ballot is cast by the elector. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then open the envelope containing the ballot in a manner so as not to deface or destroy the certification thereon. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall take out the ballot without unfolding it or permitting it to be unfolded or examined and shall remove the ballot from the certificate envelope without viewing who the elector voted for. Unless the ballot is cast under s. 6.95, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall verify that the ballot has been endorsed by the issuing clerk. If the poll list indicates that proof of residence is required and no proof of residence is enclosed or the name or address on the document that is provided is not the same as the name and address shown on the poll list, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall proceed as provided under s. 6.97 (2). The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall mark the poll list number of each elector who casts an absentee ballot on the back of the elector’s ballot. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then deposit the ballot into the proper ballot box and enter the absent elector’s name or poll list number after his or her name on the poll list or automatic tabulating equipment.

SB685,32 Section 32. 7.52 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB685,,87 7.52 (4) (a) The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then open the ballot box and remove and count the number of ballots therein without examination except as is necessary to ascertain that each is a single ballot. If 2 or more ballots are folded together so as to appear as a single ballot, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall lay them aside until the count is completed; and if, after a comparison of the count and the appearance of the ballots it appears to the board of absentee ballot canvassers that the ballots folded together were voted by the same person they shall not be counted but the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall mark them as to the reason for removal, set them aside, and carefully preserve them. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then proceed under par. (b).

SB685,33 Section 33. 7.52 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB685,,89 7.52 (9) The governing body of any municipality that has provided by ordinance enacted under sub. (1) (a) 1. for the canvassing of absentee ballots at all elections held in the municipality under this section may by similar action rescind that decision. Thereafter, the absentee ballots at all elections held in the municipality shall be canvassed as provided in s. 6.88.

SB685,34 Section 34. 7.52 (10) of the statutes is created to read:

SB685,,91 7.52 (10) A member of the board of absentee ballot canvassers or other election official who willfully neglects or refuses to perform any of the duties prescribed under this section is guilty of a Class I felony.

SB685,35 Section 35. 7.52 (11) of the statutes is created to read:

SB685,,93 7.52 (11) An ordinance under sub. (1) may not take effect less than 60 days before an election.

SB685,36 Section 36. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB685,,95 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g. The right to register to vote or to vote in an election, if the court finds that the individual is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process. Also, in accordance with s. 6.03 (3), any elector of a municipality may petition the circuit court for a determination that an individual residing in the municipality is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process and thereby ineligible to register to vote or to vote in an election. This determination shall be made by the court in accordance with the procedures specified in this paragraph. If a petition is filed under this subd. 1. g., the finding of the court shall be limited to a determination as to voting eligibility. The appointment of a guardian is not required for an individual whose sole limitation is ineligibility to vote. The No later than one business day after the date of a determination, the court shall notify the elections commission by electronic means of the determination of the court. In addition, the determination of the court shall be communicated in writing by the clerk of court to the election official or agency charged under s. 6.48, 6.92, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5) with the responsibility for determining challenges to registration and voting that may be directed against that elector. The determination may be reviewed as provided in s. 54.64 (2) and. The court shall notify election official or agency charged under s. 6.48, 6.92, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5) with the responsibility for determining challenges to registration and voting that may be directed against that elector of any subsequent determination of the court shall be likewise communicated by the clerk of court no later than one business day after the determination. All notices provided under this subd. 1. g. shall include the full name; address, including city, state, and zip code; and date of birth of the individual subject to the determination. If the court appoints a guardian for an individual who is ineligible to vote, the guardian shall report an address change for the individual to the court within 10 business days of the change and the court shall notify the elections commission by electronic means of that address change using the methods described in this subd. 1. g. no later than one business day after receiving the information.

SB685,37 Section 37. 66.0512 of the statutes is created to read:

SB685,,97 66.0512 Whistleblower protection for certain disclosures made by municipal clerks. No municipal clerk may be discharged, disciplined, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against in regard to employment, or threatened with any such treatment, 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. For purposes of this section, “lawfully reported” means a report of information the disclosure of which is not expressly prohibited by state or federal law, rule, or regulation.

SB685,38 Section 38. 756.04 (11) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

SB685,,99 756.04 (11) (am) Notwithstanding par. (a), each clerk of circuit court shall notify the appropriate county clerk or board of election commissioners and the elections commission of any prospective juror included on the list of prospective jurors received by the clerk of circuit court under sub. (3m) whose returned juror qualification form shows that the person is not qualified for jury service in that circuit under s. 756.02 because the person either is not a U.S. citizen or does not live in the circuit for which he or she was called for jury duty. The clerk of circuit court shall determine the appropriate county clerk or board of election commissioners for notification under this paragraph on the basis of the address information used for mailing the juror qualification forms. Unless otherwise ordered by a court upon a showing of good cause, notifications provided under this paragraph shall be kept confidential and are not subject to the right of inspection and copying under s. 19.35 (1).

SB685,39 Section 39. Nonstatutory provisions.

SB685,,101 (1) Citizenship verification. The elections commission shall verify the citizenship of all electors on the official registration list as soon as practicable after the effective date of this subsection using the information provided by the department of transportation under s. 5.056.

SB685,,102 (end)