6.87(4)(b)3.3. If the absentee elector has received an absentee ballot from the municipal clerk by mail for a previous election, has provided proof of identification with that ballot, and has not changed his or her name or address since providing that proof of identification, the elector is not required to provide proof of identification.

6.87(4)(b)4.4. If the absentee elector has received a citation or notice of intent to revoke or suspend an operator’s license from a law enforcement officer in any jurisdiction that is dated within 60 days of the date of the election and is required to surrender his or her operator’s license or driving receipt issued to the elector under ch. 343 at the time the citation or notice is issued, the elector may enclose a copy of the citation or notice in lieu of a copy of an operator’s license or driving receipt issued under ch. 343 if the elector is voting by mail, or may present an original copy of the citation or notice in lieu of an operator’s license or driving receipt under ch. 343 if the elector is voting at the office of the municipal clerk.

6.87(4)(b)5.5. Unless subd. 3. or 4. applies, if the absentee elector resides in a qualified retirement home, as defined in s. 6.875 (1) (at), or a residential care facility, as defined in s. 6.875 (1) (bm), and the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality where the facility or home is located does not send special voting deputies to visit the facility or home at the election under s. 6.875, the elector may, in lieu of providing proof of identification, submit with his or her absentee ballot a statement signed by the same individual who witnesses voting of the ballot that contains the certification of an authorized representative of the facility or home that the elector resides in the facility or home and the facility or home is certified or registered as required by law, that contains the name and address of the elector, and that verifies that the name and address are correct.

6.87(5)(5) If the absent elector declares that he or she is unable to read, has difficulty in reading, writing or understanding English or due to disability is unable to mark his or her ballot, the elector may select any individual, except the elector’s employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector, to assist in marking the ballot, and the assistant shall then sign his or her name to a certification on the back of the ballot, as provided under s. 5.55.

6.87(6)(6) The ballot shall be returned so it is delivered to the polling place no later than 8 p.m. on election day. Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, if the municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot on election day, the clerk shall secure the ballot and cause the ballot to be delivered to the polling place serving the elector’s residence before 8 p.m. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided in this subsection may not be counted.

6.87(6m)(6m) Except as authorized in s. 6.47 (8), the municipal clerk shall withhold from public inspection under s. 19.35 (1) the name and address of any absent elector who obtains a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2).

6.87(7)(7) No individual who is a candidate at the election in which absentee ballots are cast may serve as a witness. Any candidate who serves as a witness shall be penalized by the discounting of a number of votes for his or her candidacy equal to the number of certificate envelopes bearing his or her signature.

6.87(8)(8) The provisions of this section which prohibit candidates from serving as a witness for absentee electors shall not apply to the municipal clerk in the performance of the clerk’s official duties.

6.87(9)(9) If a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an improperly completed certificate or with no certificate, the clerk may return the ballot to the elector, inside the sealed envelope when an envelope is received, together with a new envelope if necessary, whenever time permits the elector to correct the defect and return the ballot within the period authorized under sub. (6).

6.87 AnnotationThe directions in sub. (3) for mailing or personal delivery of an absentee ballot and in sub. (6) that a ballot not mailed or delivered as provided in the section should not be counted are directory and not mandatory. Lanser v. Koconis, 62 Wis. 2d 86, 214 N.W.2d 425 (1974).

6.87 AnnotationSub. (4) is directory and not mandatory, and voters printing their names constituted substantial, albeit nontechnical, compliance with the statute’s requirements. Lanser v. Koconis, 62 Wis. 2d 86, 214 N.W.2d 425 (1974).

6.87 AnnotationA challenge of compliance with procedures for absent voting is within the board of canvasser’s jurisdiction. Absent connivance, fraud, or undue influence, substantial compliance with statutory voting procedures is sufficient. Johnson v. Hayden, 105 Wis. 2d 468, 313 N.W.2d 869 (Ct. App. 1981).

6.87 AnnotationGiven the definition of “municipal clerk” in s. 5.02 (10), an inanimate object, such as a ballot drop box, cannot be the municipal clerk. Accordingly, dropping a ballot into an unattended drop box is not delivery “to the municipal clerk,” as required under sub. (4) (b) 1. Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2022 WI 64, 403 Wis. 2d 607, 976 N.W.2d 519, 22-0091.

6.87 AnnotationSub. (4) (b) 1. contemplates only two ways to vote absentee: by mail and at “the office of the municipal clerk” or “an alternate site” as described under s. 6.855. No third option exists. Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2022 WI 64, 403 Wis. 2d 607, 976 N.W.2d 519, 22-0091.

6.87 AnnotationAs used throughout Wisconsin’s election code, the phrase “in person” refers to a voter acting directly, not through an agent. An absentee ballot delivered in person under sub. (4) (b) 1. must be delivered personally by the voter. Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2022 WI 64, 403 Wis. 2d 607, 976 N.W.2d 519, 22-0091. But see Carey v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 624 F. Supp. 3d 1020 (2022).

6.87 Annotation2011 Wis. Act 23, which created requirements that voters present photo identification in order to vote at a polling place or obtain an absentee ballot, does not violate either section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, 52 USC 10301, or the U.S. Constitution. Frank v. Walker, 768 F.3d 744 (2014).

6.87 AnnotationSub. (3), which prohibits election officials from sending absentee ballots via email or fax to all but a few categories of voters, does not violate the U.S. Constitution. Some travelers’ potential inconvenience does not permit a court to override the state’s judgment that other interests predominate. Wisconsin wants to control errors arising from the fact that faxed or emailed ballots cannot be counted by machine and to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

6.87 AnnotationThe federal Voting Rights Act is clear: disabled voters who need assistance in returning an absentee ballot are entitled to ask a person of their choosing for that assistance. Wisconsin state courts have construed sub. (4) (b) 1. as prohibiting voters, including disabled voters, from receiving such assistance, so that portion of sub. (4) (b) 1. is preempted by the Act. Carey v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 624 F. Supp. 3d 1020 (2022).

6.875(1)(ae)(ae) “Community-based residential facility” has the meaning given in s. 50.01 (1g), except that the term does not include a place where fewer than 10 adults who are not related to the operator or administrator reside.

6.875(1)(am)(am) “Nursing home” means a facility occupied by 10 or more unrelated individuals for the primary purpose of obtaining full-time personal or nursing care which is necessitated by their physical or mental conditions, but does not include a hospital.