2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

2019 Senate BILL 193

April 30, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Craig, L. Taylor, Johnson, Kooyenga, Nass, Carpenter, Wanggaard, Kapenga, Jacque, Larson, Wirch and Stroebel, cosponsored by Representatives Brandtjen, Brooks, Dittrich, Duchow, Horlacher, Hutton, Knodl, Krug, Macco, Myers, Pronschinske, Sinicki, Tittl, Wichgers, Edming, Kuglitsch, Skowronski, Quinn, Kulp, Ramthun, Considine, Fields, Riemer and Allen. Referred to Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues.

SB193,1,6 An Act to repeal 6.15 (6) and 6.21; to renumber and amend 5.84 (1); to amend 5.85 (2) (a), 6.84 (2), 6.86 (1) (ar), 6.88 (3) (b), 6.92 (1), 6.925, 6.94, 6.95, 7.50 (2) (em) and 7.52 (3) (b); and to create 5.84 (1) (b), 6.91 and subchapter VI of chapter 6 [precedes 6.981] of the statutes; relating to: using an electronic voting machine to cast a vote with an in-person absentee ballot and providing a penalty.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill authorizes a municipality to allow its electors to vote before election day by using an electronic voting machine to cast an in-person absentee ballot (the efficiency option). If a municipality adopts a resolution to implement this option, and the Elections Commission certifies that the municipality is capable of implementation, an elector may vote before election day at the municipal clerk's office by completing his or her ballot and casting the ballot using an electronic voting system. Using the efficiency option may occur simultaneously or in conjunction with making an application in person using absentee ballot envelopes, but the periods for voting using the efficiency option and for making an application in person by using absentee ballot envelopes need not be the same. The votes are not tabulated before election day, but the municipal clerk publishes the daily tally of the total number of ballots cast before election day on the municipality's Internet site. The bill requires the municipality to publish a notice specifying the locations, dates, and hours for voting using the efficiency option and the location where results will be tallied on election night. Under the bill, a person who acts in any manner that would give him or her the ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from the ballots cast using the efficiency option is guilty of a Class I felony. The current law that applies to voting on election day with regard to election observers, assisting electors, the availability of accessible systems, and the privilege of absentee voting also applies to voting as provided under the bill.

Under current law, an election inspector may challenge for cause any person offering to vote whom the inspector knows or suspects is not a qualified elector. Another elector may also make such a challenge for cause. When a voter's qualifications are challenged, the inspector must administer an oath to the challenged elector to affirm that he or she will fully and truly answer the inspector's questions regarding the person's residence and qualifications. The bill allows the chief clerk, the deputy clerk, or an inspector to challenge for cause any person offering to vote and to administer the oath and ask the relevant questions regarding the person's residence and qualifications.

The bill also repeals the current law provision regarding the treatment of absentee ballots cast by a person who dies before election day.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB193,1 Section 1 . 5.84 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 5.84 (1) (a) and amended to read:

SB193,3,11 5.84 (1) (a) Where Except as provided in par. (b), where any municipality employs an electronic voting system which utilizes automatic tabulating equipment, either at the polling place or at a central counting location, the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10 days prior to the election day on which the equipment is to be utilized, have the equipment tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be given by the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the test by publication of a class 1 notice under ch. 985 in one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a newspaper is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The test shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall include for each office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots which have votes cast for candidates of more than one recognized political party, in order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the error. The clerk shall make an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the clerk for use in the election.

SB193,2 Section 2 . 5.84 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

SB193,3,17 5.84 (1) (b) For a municipality that authorizes the absentee voting efficiency option under subch. VI of ch. 6, the municipal clerk shall have the automatic tabulating equipment tested, as provided under par. (a), on any day not more than 10 days prior to the first day on which such voting is available in the municipality pursuant to s. 6.981.

SB193,3 Section 3 . 5.85 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB193,4,5 5.85 (2) (a) The Except when using a report function capable of reporting write-in votes by scanning the ballots and electronically capturing the write-in votes, the election officials shall examine the ballots or record of votes cast for write-in votes and shall count and tabulate the write-in votes. The election officials shall count write-in votes as provided in s. 7.50 (2) (d). When an electronic voting system is used in which ballots are distributed to electors, before separating the remaining ballots from their respective covering envelopes, the election officials shall examine the ballots for write-in votes. When an elector has cast a write-in vote, the election officials shall compare the write-in vote with the votes on the ballot to determine whether the write-in vote results in an overvote for any office. In case of an overvote for any office, the election officials shall follow the procedure in par. (b).

SB193,4 Section 4. 6.15 (6) of the statutes is repealed.

SB193,5 Section 5 . 6.21 of the statutes is repealed.

SB193,6 Section 6. 6.84 (2) of the statutes is amended to read: