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2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO ASSEMBLY BILL 179
June 9, 2021 - Offered by Representative Duchow.
AB179-ASA1,1,5 1An Act to renumber and amend 6.875 (4) (b); to amend 6.875 (6) (a), 6.875 (6)
2(c) 2., 6.875 (7), 7.315 (1) (a) and 12.60 (1) (a); and to create 6.875 (4) (b) 2., 6.875
3(6) (f), 6.875 (8) and 12.13 (3m) of the statutes; relating to: absentee voting in
4certain residential care facilities and retirement homes and providing a
5penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a municipal clerk is required, under certain circumstances,
to 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. Under
current law, a retirement home is a facility occupied as a primary residence by 10 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 requires a municipality that appoints special voting deputies to
appoint at least two special voting deputies for the municipality and the deputies

must be eligible voters of the county where the municipality is located. In addition,
the two deputies designated to visit each qualified retirement home and residential
care facility must be affiliated with different political parties whenever deputies
representing different parties are available. Current law prohibits individuals
employed at a residential care facility or qualified retirement home in the
municipality, or any member of the individual's immediate family, from serving as
a special voting deputy.
Under this bill, the municipal clerk may appoint any individual who is
employed at a qualified retirement home or residential care facility in the
municipality to serve as an absentee voting assistant to assist in the procedures for
voting at the home or facility in the event that special voting deputies are denied
entry into the home or facility. An absentee voting assistant may carry out the same
duties as a special voting deputy and must be an eligible voter of the county where
the home or facility is located. An absentee voting assistant must complete a
two-hour online training prescribed by the Elections Commission and take the same
oath of office as a special voting deputy appointed under current law. In addition,
the absentee voting assistants appointed to each facility or home must be affiliated
with different political parties whenever assistants representing different parties
are available. Under the bill, the administer of each facility or home must provide
at least two employees to serve as absentee voting assistants. The bill also modifies
current law so that no current or former employee of a qualified retirement home or
residential care facility may serve as a special voting deputy.
Under current law, the special voting deputies must, not later than 5 p.m. on
the sixth working day preceding an election, arrange with the administrator of the
qualified retirement home or residential care facility one or more convenient times
to visit the home or facility. The administrator of the home or facility may, upon the
request of a relative of an occupant of the home or facility notify the relative of the
time or times at which special voting deputies will conduct absentee voting at the
home or facility. Current law also requires that the visits may be no earlier than the
fourth Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday
preceding the election
Under the bill, the special voting deputies must make arrangements to visit the
qualified retirement homes or residential care facilities no later than 5 p.m. on the
11th working day preceding the election and the visits may be no earlier than the
fourth Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. on the sixth working
day preceding the election. This bill also requires the administrator to provide notice
of the dates and times when the deputies or absentee voting assistants will be
assisting voters at the home or facility to the relatives for whom the home or facility
has contact information. In addition, under the bill, no administrator of a qualified
retirement home or residential care facility may deny a special voting deputy from
entering the home or facility unless the governor declares a public health emergency
within 60 days preceding the election for which the deputies are appointed or the
Department of Health Services or the federal Centers for Medicare or Medicaid
Services recommends that the family members of the occupants of a home or facility
be denied access to the home or facility.

The bill also provides that an employee of a qualified retirement home or
residential care facility who coerces an occupant of the home or facility to apply for
or not apply for an absentee ballot or cast or refrain from casting a ballot or who
coerces an occupant to cast a ballot for or against a particular candidate or ballot
question is guilty of a Class I felony.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB179-ASA1,1 1Section 1. 6.875 (4) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 6.875 (4) (b) 1. and
2amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,3,123 6.875 (4) (b) 1. Nominations for the special voting deputy positions described
4in par. (a) may be submitted by the 2 recognized political parties whose candidates
5for governor or president received the greatest numbers of votes in the municipality
6at the most recent general election. The deputies shall be specially appointed to
7carry out the duties under par. (a) for the period specified in s. 7.30 (6) (a). The clerk
8or board of election commissioners may revoke an appointment at any time. No
9individual who is employed or retained, or within the 2 years preceding appointment
10has been employed or retained,
at a qualified retirement home or residential care
11facility in the municipality, or any member of the individual's immediate family, as
12defined in s. 19.42 (7), may be appointed to serve as a deputy.
AB179-ASA1,2 13Section 2 . 6.875 (4) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
AB179-ASA1,3,1814 6.875 (4) (b) 2. No individual who is employed or retained at a qualified
15retirement home or residential care facility in the municipality who is not an
16absentee voting assistant appointed under sub. (8) may assist an occupant of the
17home or facility in requesting, completing, or returning the occupant's absentee
18ballot.
AB179-ASA1,3 19Section 3. 6.875 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,4,17
16.875 (6) (a) Special voting deputies in each municipality shall, not later than
25 p.m. on the 6th 11th working day preceding an election, arrange one or more
3convenient times with the administrator of each qualified retirement home and
4residential care facility in the municipality that the deputies are scheduled to visit.
5The time may be no earlier than the 4th Monday preceding the election and no later
6than 5 p.m. on the Monday 6th working day preceding the election. The municipal
7clerk shall give notice of each visit by special voting deputies to a qualified retirement
8home or residential care facility in the same manner that notices of public meetings
9are provided by presiding officers under s. 19.84 (1) (b) at least 5 working days in
10advance of each visit, indicating the date and time of the visit. The municipal clerk
11also shall post a notice at the home or facility and on the Internet indicating the date
12and time that absentee voting will take place at that home or facility. The notice shall
13be posted as soon as practicable after arranging the visit but in no case less than 5
14working days before the visit. A municipal clerk whose municipality does not
15maintain an Internet site need not comply with the Internet posting requirement.
16At the designated time, 2 deputies appointed under sub. (4) shall visit the home or
17facility.
AB179-ASA1,4 18Section 4. 6.875 (6) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,5,219 6.875 (6) (c) 2. Upon the request of a relative of an occupant of a qualified
20retirement home or residential care facility, the administrator of the home or facility
21may notify the relative of the time or times at which special voting deputies will
22conduct absentee voting at the home or facility and permit the
The administrator of
23a qualified retirement home or residential care facility shall provide notice of the
24dates and times when the deputies or absentee voting assistants appointed under
25sub. (8) will be facilitating absentee voting at the home or facility to each relative of

1an occupant for whom the home or facility has contact information. The
relative to
2may be present in the room where the voting is conducted.
AB179-ASA1,5 3Section 5. 6.875 (6) (f) of the statutes is created to read:
AB179-ASA1,5,104 6.875 (6) (f) No administrator of a qualified retirement home or residential care
5facility may deny special voting deputies from entering the home or facility unless
6the governor declares a public health emergency under s. 323.10 within 60 days
7preceding the election for which the deputies are appointed or guidance issued by the
8department of health services or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
9Services recommends that the family members of the occupants of a home or facility
10be denied entry to the home or facility.
AB179-ASA1,6 11Section 6. 6.875 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,5,2112 6.875 (7) One observer from each of the 2 recognized political parties whose
13candidate for governor or president received the greatest number of votes in the
14municipality at the most recent general election may accompany the deputies to each
15home or facility where absentee voting will take place under this section. In addition,
16one relative, or the legal guardian, of each occupant of the home or facility may
17accompany the deputies to observe the absentee voting.
The observers may observe
18the process of absentee ballot distribution in the common areas of the home or facility.
19Each party or occupant wishing to have an observer present shall submit the name
20of the observer to the clerk or board of election commissioners no later than the close
21of business on the last business day prior to the visit.
AB179-ASA1,7 22Section 7 . 6.875 (8) of the statutes is created to read:
AB179-ASA1,6,623 6.875 (8) (a) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of each
24municipality in which one or more qualified retirement homes or residential care
25facilities are located may appoint any individual who is employed or retained at a

1qualified retirement home or residential care facility in the municipality to serve as
2an absentee voting assistant to assist in the procedures for voting at the home or
3facility in the event that special voting deputies appointed under sub. (4) (a) are
4denied entry into the home or facility, as provided under sub. (6) (f). The
5administrator of each such home or facility shall provide at least 2 employees to serve
6as absentee voting assistants.
AB179-ASA1,6,117 (b) Absentee voting assistants appointed under par. (a) shall comply with the
8duties for special voting deputies under this section and complete a 2-hour online
9training, as prescribed by the commission under s. 7.315 (1) (a). An absentee voting
10assistant appointed under par. (a) shall be a qualified elector of the county where the
11municipality is located.
AB179-ASA1,6,2412 (c) Prior to entering upon his or her duties, each individual appointed to serve
13as an absentee voting assistant under par. (a) shall file the oath required by s. 7.30
14(5). In the oath, the individual shall swear that he or she is qualified to act as an
15absentee voting assistant under this subsection, that he or she has read the statutes
16governing absentee voting, that he or she understands the proper absentee voting
17procedure, that he or she understands the penalties for noncompliance with the
18procedure under s. 12.13, and that his or her sacred obligation will be to fully and
19fairly implement the absentee voting law and seek to have the intent of the electors
20ascertained. In addition, the oath shall state that the individual realizes that any
21error in conducting the voting procedure may result in invalidation of an elector's
22vote under s. 7.51 (2) (e) and that the individual realizes that absentee voting is a
23privilege and not a constitutional right. The form of the oath shall be prescribed by
24the commission.
AB179-ASA1,7,6
1(d) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall appoint at
2least 2 individuals employed or retained by the qualified retirement home or
3residential care facility to serve as absentee voting assistants under par. (a). The
4absentee voting assistants for each home or facility shall be affiliated with different
5political parties whenever absentee voting assistants representing different parties
6are available.
AB179-ASA1,8 7Section 8 . 7.315 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,7,118 7.315 (1) (a) The commission shall, by rule, prescribe the contents of the
9training that municipal clerks must provide to inspectors, other than chief
10inspectors, and to special voting deputies appointed under s. 6.875 (4), and to
11absentee voting assistants appointed under s. 6.875 (8)
.
AB179-ASA1,9 12Section 9. 12.13 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB179-ASA1,7,1813 12.13 (3m) Absentee voting in certain residential care facilities and
14retirement homes
. No employee of a qualified retirement home, as defined in s.
156.875 (1) (at), or residential care facility, as defined in s. 6.875 (1) (bm), may coerce
16an occupant of the home or facility to apply for or not apply for an absentee ballot or
17cast or refrain from casting a ballot or coerce an occupant to cast a ballot for or against
18a particular candidate or ballot question.
AB179-ASA1,10 19Section 10. 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB179-ASA1,7,2120 12.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11 or 12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7. or, (3)
21(a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or (z), or (3m) is guilty of a Class I felony.
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