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SB214-SSA1-SA1,1,6 6 Section 1. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,2,137 5.84 (1) Where any municipality employs an electronic voting system which
8that utilizes automatic tabulating equipment, either at the polling place or at a
9central counting location,
the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10
10days prior to the election day on which the equipment is to be utilized in an election,
11have the equipment tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for
12all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall

1be given by the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the test by publication of a class 1 notice
2under ch. 985 in one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a
3newspaper is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation
4therein. The test shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by
5processing a preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined
6number of valid votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall
7include for each office one or more ballots which that have votes in excess of the
8number allowed by law and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots
9which have votes cast for candidates of more than one recognized political party, in
10order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes.
11If any error is detected, the municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the
12error. The clerk shall make an errorless count before the automatic tabulating
13equipment is approved by the clerk for use in the election.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,2 14Section 2. 5.86 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,3,615 5.86 (1) All proceedings at each central counting location shall be under the
16direction of the municipal clerk or an election official designated by the clerk unless
17the central counting location is at the county seat and the municipal clerk delegates
18the responsibility to supervise the location to the county clerk
, in which case the
19proceedings shall be under the direction of the county clerk or an election official
20designated by the county clerk. If for any municipality the central counting location
21is at the county seat and the municipality authorizes or elects the early canvassing
22of absentee ballots under s. 7.525, the county clerk or the county clerk's designee
23shall begin the proceedings for that municipality on the day before the election
24consistent with the requirements under s. 7.525.
Unless election officials are
25selected under s. 7.30 (4) (c) without regard to party affiliation, the employees at each

1central counting location, other than any specially trained technicians who are
2required for the operation of the automatic tabulating equipment, shall be equally
3divided between members of the 2 major political parties under s. 7.30 (2) (a) and all
4duties performed by the employees shall be by teams consisting of an equal number
5of members of each political party whenever sufficient persons from each party are
6available.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,3 7Section 3. 6.15 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,3,148 6.15 (4) (b) During polling hours, or between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day before
9the election if authorized or elected for that election under s. 7.525,
the inspectors
10shall open each carrier envelope, announce the elector's name, check the affidavit for
11proper execution, and check the voting qualifications for the ward, if any. In
12municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, the municipal
13board of absentee ballot canvassers shall perform this function at a meeting of the
14board of absentee ballot canvassers.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,4 15Section 4. 6.86 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,4,1516 6.86 (1) (b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made by mail,
17the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately
18preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be
19made no earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday
20preceding the election. No application may be received on a legal holiday. A
21municipality shall specify the hours in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The
22municipal clerk or an election official shall witness the certificate for any in-person
23absentee ballot cast. Except as provided in par. (c), if the elector is making written
24application for an absentee ballot at the partisan primary, the general election, the
25presidential preference primary, or a special election for national office, and the

1application indicates that the elector is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), the
2application shall be received by the municipal clerk no later than 5 p.m. on election
3day. If the application indicates that the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is
4that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than
55 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday
6immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall
7immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and
8deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and
9give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then witness the voting procedure as
10provided in s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who
11shall deliver it to the polling place election inspectors of the proper ward or election
12district
or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to
13the municipal clerk as required in s. 6.88. If application is made under sub. (2) or
14(2m), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately
15preceding the election.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,5 16Section 5. 6.87 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,4,2317 6.87 (6) The ballot shall be returned so it is delivered to the polling place
18election inspectors of the proper ward or election district no later than 8 p.m. on
19election day. Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under
20s. 7.52, if the municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot on election day, the clerk
21shall secure the ballot and cause the ballot to be delivered to the polling place serving
22the elector's residence before 8 p.m. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided
23in this subsection may not be counted.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,6 24Section 6. 6.88 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,5,16
16.88 (1) When an absentee ballot arrives at the office of the municipal clerk,
2or at an alternate site under s. 6.855, if applicable, the clerk shall enclose it,
3unopened, in a carrier envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the
4name and official title of the clerk, and the words “This envelope contains the ballot
5of an absent elector and must be opened in the same room where votes are being cast
6at the polls during polling hours on election day or, in municipalities where absentee
7ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, stats., at a meeting of the municipal board of
8absentee ballot canvassers under s. 7.52, stats
only as provided by law." If the elector
9is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), or an overseas elector, regardless of
10whether the elector qualifies as a resident of this state under s. 6.10, and the ballot
11was received by the elector by facsimile transmission or electronic mail and is
12accompanied by a separate certificate, the clerk shall enclose the ballot in a
13certificate envelope and securely append the completed certificate to the outside of
14the envelope before enclosing the ballot in the carrier envelope. The clerk shall keep
15the ballot in the clerk's office or at the alternate site, if applicable until delivered, as
16required in sub. (2).
SB214-SSA1-SA1,7 17Section 7. 6.88 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,6,2018 6.88 (3) (a) Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed
19under s. 7.52, at any time between the opening and closing of the polls on election day,
20or between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day before the election if authorized or elected
21for that election under s. 7.525,
the inspectors shall, in the same room where votes
22are being cast, or in the place where absentee ballots are being canvassed early under
23s. 7.525
, in such a manner that members of the public can hear and see the
24procedures, open the carrier envelope only, and announce the name of the absent
25elector or the identification serial number of the absent elector if the elector has a

1confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2). When the inspectors find that the certification
2has been properly executed, the applicant is a qualified elector of the ward or election
3district, and the applicant has not voted in the election, they the inspectors shall
4enter an indication on the poll list next to the applicant's name indicating an
5absentee ballot is cast by the elector. They The inspectors shall then open the
6envelope containing the ballot in a manner so as not to deface or destroy the
7certification thereon. The inspectors shall take out the ballot without unfolding it
8or permitting it to be unfolded or examined. Unless the ballot is cast under s. 6.95,
9the inspectors shall verify that the ballot has been endorsed by the issuing clerk. If
10the poll list indicates that proof of residence under s. 6.34 is required and proof of
11residence is enclosed, the inspectors shall enter both the type of identifying
12document submitted by the absent elector and the name of the entity or institution
13that issued the identifying document on the poll list in the space provided. If the poll
14list indicates that proof of residence under s. 6.34 is required and no proof of
15residence is enclosed or the name or address on the document that is provided is not
16the same as the name and address shown on the poll list, the inspectors shall proceed
17as provided under s. 6.97 (2). The inspectors shall then deposit the ballot into the
18proper ballot box and enter the absent elector's name or voting number after his or
19her name on the poll list in the same manner as if the elector had been present and
20voted in person.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8 21Section 8. 6.91 of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,7,2 226.91 Place for challenging an elector. The vote of any elector, including an
23absent elector, may be challenged as provided under this subchapter at the polling
24place, at the municipal clerk's office, at an in-person absentee voting location during
25the period for making an in-person application for an absentee ballot under s. 6.86

1(1) (b), at a location where the early canvassing of absentee ballots is being conducted
2under s. 7.525, or at a central count location.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9 3Section 9. 7.52 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,7,234 7.52 (1) (a) The governing body of any municipality may provide by ordinance
5that, in lieu of canvassing absentee ballots at polling places under s. 6.88, the
6municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers designated under s. 7.53 (2m) shall,
7at each election held in the municipality, canvass all absentee ballots received by the
8municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day. Prior to enacting an ordinance under this
9subsection, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the
10municipality shall notify the elections commission in writing of the proposed
11enactment and shall consult with the elections commission concerning
12administration of this section. At every election held in the municipality following
13enactment of an ordinance under this subsection, the board of absentee ballot
14canvassers shall, any time after the opening of the polls, or between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
15on the day before the election if authorized or elected for that election under s. 7.525,

16and before 10 p.m. on election day, publicly convene to count the absentee ballots for
17the municipality. The municipal clerk shall give at least 48 hours' notice of any
18meeting under this subsection. Any member of the public has the same right of
19access to a meeting of the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers under this
20subsection that the individual would have under s. 7.41 to observe the proceedings
21at a polling place. The board of absentee ballot canvassers may order the removal
22of any individual exercising the right to observe the proceedings if the individual
23disrupts the meeting.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,10 24Section 10. 7.52 (10) of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8,3
17.52 (10) If, subject to s. 7.525, absentee ballots begin being canvassed under
2this section on the day before the election, no action under subs. (4) to (8) may be
3performed before election day.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,11 4Section 11. 7.525 of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8,11 57.525 Early canvassing of absentee ballots. (1) Ordinance authorizing
6early canvassing; requirements.
(a) 1. The governing body of any municipality that
7uses automatic tabulating equipment to process absentee ballots may provide by
8ordinance that absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk may begin being
9canvassed on the day before an election. Unless the ordinance provides otherwise,
10the municipal clerk or municipal board of election commissioners may elect to begin
11canvassing ballots early under this section in any election.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8,1612 2. Prior to enacting an ordinance under subd. 1., the municipal clerk or
13municipal board of election commissioners shall notify the elections commission in
14writing of the proposed enactment and shall consult with the elections commission
15concerning administration of this section. No ordinance under subd. 1. may take
16effect unless approved by the elections commission.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8,1917 (b) Ballots may be canvassed early under this section only between 7 a.m. and
188 p.m. on the day before the election and may not be tallied until after the polls close
19on election day.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,8,2220 (c) Any member of the public has the same right of access to a place where
21absentee ballots are being canvassed early under this section that the individual
22would have under s. 7.41 to observe the proceedings at a polling place.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,223 (d) When not in use, automatic tabulating equipment used for purposes of this
24section and the areas where the programmed media, memory devices, and ballots are

1housed shall be secured with tamper-evident security seals in a double-lock location
2such as a locked cabinet inside a locked office.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,63 (e) No person may act in any manner that would give him or her the ability to
4know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from the ballots
5canvassed early under this section before the close of the polls on election day. A
6person who violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class I felony.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,8 7(2) Notice requirements. Absentee ballots may not begin being canvassed
8early under this section for any election unless all of the following apply:
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,129 (a) At least 70 days before an election, the municipal clerk or executive director
10of the municipal board of election commissioners notifies in writing to the county
11clerk or executive director of the county board of election commissioners that early
12canvassing of absentee ballots will take place in the election.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,1413 (b) The notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e) specifies the date and time during which,
14and each location where, the early canvassing of absentee ballots will be conducted.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,12 15Section 12. Initial applicability.
SB214-SSA1-SA1,9,1616 (1) This act first applies to the August 9, 2022, primary election.”.
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