AB981,96 Section 96. 5.62 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,42,19 5.62 (4) (b) The county board of election commissioners in counties having a population of more than 750,000 shall prepare the official primary ballot. The commissioners shall arrange the names of all candidates for each office whose nomination papers are filed at the county level, using the same method as that used by the elections commission secretary of state under s. 5.60 (1) (b).

AB981,97 Section 97. 5.64 (1) (ag) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,42,24 5.64 (1) (ag) Except as authorized in s. 5.655, there shall be a separate ballot giving the names of all candidates for president and vice president and for statewide, congressional, legislative, and county offices in the same form as prescribed by the commission secretary of state under s. 7.08 (1) (a).

AB981,98 Section 98. 5.64 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,43,15 5.64 (1) (b) The names of the candidates for the offices of president and vice president that are certified under s. 8.16 (7) or that are contained in nomination papers filed under s. 8.20 shall appear on the ballot in the form prescribed in s. 7.08 (2) (a). The names of the candidates on the regular party tickets nominated at the primary or replacements appointed under s. 8.35 (2) shall appear in a separate column under the party designation. The columns shall be arranged from left to right according to rank, based on the number of votes received by each party's candidate for president or governor at the last general election beginning with the party that received the most votes. To the right of the columns for parties qualifying under s. 5.62 (1) (b) shall be placed the columns for parties qualifying under s. 5.62 (2) in the same order in which the parties filed petitions with the commission secretary of state. Any column required under par. (e) 2. shall be placed next in order. To the right of the party columns shall be a column for the names of independent candidates for each office, or more than one column if the first column does not provide sufficient space for the names of all such candidates.

AB981,99 Section 99. 5.64 (1) (es) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,44,2 5.64 (1) (es) The party candidates shall be arranged consecutively from top to bottom based on the number of votes received by their party's candidate for governor at the last election beginning with the party that received the most votes. The independent president-vice president candidates shall be listed together in an order drawn by lot by or under supervision of the commission secretary of state, following under the party candidates. Along with the names of the independent candidates shall appear the party or principle of the candidates, if any, in 5 words or less, as shown on their nomination papers. Following under the independent candidates, a space shall be left for writing in the names of a candidate for president and vice president.

AB981,100 Section 100. 5.64 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,44,12 5.64 (2) Referendum ballot. (am) There shall be a separate ballot when any proposed constitutional amendment or any other measure or question is submitted to a vote of the people, except as authorized in s. 5.655. The ballot shall give a concise statement of each question in accordance with the act or resolution directing submission in the same form as prescribed by the commission secretary of state under s. 7.08 (1) (a). The question may not be worded in such a manner as to require a negative vote to approve a proposition or an affirmative vote to disapprove a proposition. Unless otherwise expressly provided, this ballot form shall be used at all elections when questions are submitted to a vote of the people.

AB981,45,2 (c) The official referendum ballot prescribed under this subsection shall be utilized at every election, except that the format shall be altered to the extent provided or required by other laws establishing or authorizing referenda to be conducted. Except as authorized in s. 5.655, all referenda shall appear on a separate ballot, but more than one referendum question may appear on the same referendum ballot whenever the questions are numbered and all electors voting the ballot are entitled to vote upon all questions appearing thereon. When more than one state referendum is placed on the same ballot, the commission secretary of state shall number the questions in chronological sequence. If the legislature submits questions on different dates, the commission secretary of state shall number the questions sequentially based on the date on which the questions are submitted by the legislature. Except as authorized in s. 5.655, state and county referenda shall appear on a separate ballot from municipal or special district referenda. The form of all referendum ballots shall be substantially the same as that prescribed by the commission secretary of state under s. 7.08 (1) (a).

AB981,101 Section 101. 5.655 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,45,7 5.655 (3) The commission secretary of state shall prescribe notices and instructions to be given to electors who use a ballot that is authorized under sub. (2) in lieu of any notices and instructions that are applicable only to municipalities employing separate paper ballots.

AB981,102 Section 102. 5.72 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,45,21 5.72 Correcting ballot errors. (1) As soon as possible after ballots are delivered to the county clerk or to the municipal clerk if the municipality is preparing ballots under s. 7.15 (2), but not later than 3 weeks before any election relating to a state or national office or statewide referendum, the county or municipal clerk preparing the ballots shall submit one copy of each ballot to the commission secretary of state for review of possible errors. If the contractor preparing the ballots supplies proofs in advance of ballot preparation, the clerk shall submit one copy of the proofs in lieu of actual ballots. If a voting machine ballot or other ballot combining local candidates or referenda with state or national candidates or referenda is used, the entire ballot shall be submitted, but if ballots intended for distribution to electors are used, only those ballots relating to state or national offices and statewide referenda need be submitted. This subsection does not require delay of ballot distribution or mailing of absentee ballots.

AB981,46,2 (2) The commission secretary of state shall review ballots and proof copies submitted under sub. (1) and shall notify the county and municipal clerk of any error as soon as possible but in no event later than 7 days after submission. The clerk is not required to correct a ballot error upon receipt of notice of the error, unless ordered to do so under sub. (3) or s. 5.06 (6).

AB981,46,8 (3) Whenever an affidavit is filed by the commission secretary of state or any elector alleging an error or omission in the preparation of a ballot, the circuit court for the county where the ballot is proposed to be used or its presiding judge, by order, may summarily require a county or municipal clerk to correct the error, or show cause why it should not be corrected and, by order, after the hearing, have the correction made.

AB981,103 Section 103. 5.83 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,46,16 5.83 Preparation for use of voting devices; comparison of ballots. Where voting devices are used at a polling place, the municipal clerk shall cause the voting devices to be put in order, set, adjusted, and made ready for voting when delivered to the polling place. Before the opening of the polls the inspectors shall compare the ballots used in the voting devices with the sample ballots furnished and see that the names, numbers, and letters thereon agree and shall certify thereto on forms provided by the commission secretary of state.

AB981,104 Section 104. 5.87 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,46,23 5.87 (2) The commission shall, by rule, secretary of state shall prescribe uniform standards for determining the validity of votes cast or attempted to be cast with each electronic voting system approved for use in this state under s. 5.91. The rules standards shall apply only to situations that may arise in which the validity of a vote or attempted vote cast by an elector utilizing a particular system cannot be determined under s. 7.50.

AB981,105 Section 105. 5.905 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,47,12 5.905 (2) The commission secretary of state shall determine which software components of an electronic voting system it he or she considers to be necessary to enable review and verification of the accuracy of the automatic tabulating equipment used to record and tally the votes cast with the system. The commission secretary shall require each vendor of an electronic voting system that is approved under s. 5.91 to place those software components in escrow with the commission secretary within 90 days of the date of approval of the system and within 10 days of the date of any subsequent change in the components. The commission secretary shall secure and maintain those software components in strict confidence except as authorized in this section. Unless authorized under this section, the commission secretary shall withhold access to those software components from any person who requests access under s. 19.35 (1).

AB981,106 Section 106. 5.905 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,47,19 5.905 (3) The commission shall promulgate rules secretary of state shall prescribe standards to ensure the security, review, and verification of software components used with each electronic voting system approved by the commission secretary. The verification procedure shall include a determination that the software components correspond to the instructions actually used by the system to count votes.

AB981,107 Section 107. 5.905 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,48,5 5.905 (4) If a valid petition for a recount is filed under s. 9.01 in an election at which an electronic voting system was used to record and tally the votes cast, each party to the recount may designate one or more persons who are authorized to receive access to the software components that were used to record and tally the votes in the election. The commission secretary of state shall grant access to the software components to each designated person if, before receiving access, the person enters into a written agreement with the commission secretary that obligates the person to exercise the highest degree of reasonable care to maintain the confidentially of all proprietary information to which the person is provided access, unless otherwise permitted in a contract entered into under sub. (5).

AB981,108 Section 108. 5.91 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB981,48,17 5.91 Requisites for approval of ballots, devices and equipment. (intro.) No ballot, voting device, automatic tabulating equipment, or related equipment and materials to be used in an electronic voting system may be utilized in this state unless it is certified by the commission secretary of state. The commission secretary may revoke its his or her certification of any ballot, device, equipment, or materials at any time for cause. The commission secretary may certify any such voting device, automatic tabulating equipment, or related equipment or materials regardless of whether any such item is approved by the federal election assistance commission, but the commission secretary of state may not certify any ballot, device, equipment, or material to be used in an electronic voting system unless it fulfills the following requirements: