Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or transmit an absentee ballot for
all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of primary or election, to electors
other than military and overseas electors no later than the 21st day before the
primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business
day after the request is received. Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or
transmit an absentee ballot for all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of
primary or election, to military and overseas electors no later than the 45th day
before the primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within
one business day after the request is received. That 45th day timeline is consistent
with federal law.
Nomination papers for certain independent candidates
Under current law, nomination papers for independent candidates for any
office to be voted upon at a general election, except president and vice president, may
be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the June 1 preceding the partisan primary, which is held
on the second Tuesday in August preceding the general election. Under current law,
nomination papers for independent candidates for president and vice president may
be circulated no sooner than the July 1 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in August preceding a presidential
election.
Under the bill, the timeline for circulating and filing nomination papers for
independent candidates for president and vice president is the same as that for all
other independent candidates for offices to be voted on at the general election:
nomination papers may be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the
general election and must be filed no later than the June 1 preceding the partisan
primary.

Whistleblower protections
The bill provides whistleblower protection for municipal clerks who witness
and report election fraud or irregularities. Under the bill, no municipal clerk may
be discriminated against in regard to employment, including by being discharged,
disciplined, or demoted, as a reprisal because the clerk lawfully reported, or is
believed to have reported, witnessing what the clerk reasonably believed to be
election fraud or irregularities.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB946-ASA1,1 1Section 1. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,32 5.84 (1) Where any municipality employs an electronic voting system which
3that utilizes automatic tabulating equipment, either at the polling place or at a
4central counting location,
the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10
5days prior to the election day on which the equipment is to be utilized in an election,
6have the equipment tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for
7all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall
8be given by the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the test by posting notice on the
9municipality's Internet site if it has one and
by publication of a class 1 notice under
10ch. 985 in one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a newspaper
11is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The
12test shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a
13preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined number of valid
14votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall include for each
15office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law
16and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots which have votes cast for
17candidates of more than one recognized political party, in order to test the ability of
18the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the

1municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the error. The clerk shall make
2an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the
3clerk for use in the election.
SB946-ASA1,2 4Section 2. 6.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,95 6.15 (4) (a) Clerks holding new resident ballots shall deliver them to the
6election inspectors in the proper ward or election district where the new residents
7reside or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the
8municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers when it convenes at a meeting
9convened
under s. 7.52 (1), as provided by s. 6.88 for absentee ballots.
SB946-ASA1,3 10Section 3. 6.15 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,1611 6.15 (4) (b) During polling hours, or on the day before the election under s. 6.88
12(4),
the inspectors shall open each carrier envelope, announce the elector's name,
13check the affidavit for proper execution, and check the voting qualifications for the
14ward, if any. In municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52,
15the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers shall perform this function at a
16meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers.
SB946-ASA1,4 17Section 4. 6.19 of the statutes is created to read:
SB946-ASA1,6,20 186.19 Presidential ballots. (1) In this section, “presidential ballot” means a
19ballot that allows an elector to vote only for candidates for president and vice
20president.
SB946-ASA1,6,23 21(2) No election inspector or other election official may provide a presidential
22ballot to an elector for voting at a presidential election, except as provided under ss.
236.15 and 6.18.
SB946-ASA1,5 24Section 5. 6.86 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,7,25
16.86 (1) (b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made by mail,
2the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately
3preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be
4made no earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday
5preceding the election. No application may be received on a legal holiday. A
6municipality shall specify the hours in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The
7municipal clerk or an election official shall witness the certificate for any in-person
8absentee ballot cast. Except as provided in par. (c), if the elector is making written
9application for an absentee ballot at the partisan primary, the general election, the
10presidential preference primary, or a special election for national office, and the
11application indicates that the elector is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), the
12application shall be received by the municipal clerk no later than 5 p.m. on election
13day. If the application indicates that the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is
14that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than
155 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday
16immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall
17immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and
18deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and
19give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then witness the voting procedure as
20provided in s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who
21shall deliver it to the polling place election inspectors of the proper ward or election
22district
or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to
23the municipal clerk as required in s. 6.88. If application is made under sub. (2) or
24(2m), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately
25preceding the election.
SB946-ASA1,6
1Section 6. 6.87 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,8,82 6.87 (6) The ballot shall be returned so it is delivered to the polling place
3election inspectors of the proper ward or election district no later than 8 p.m. on
4election day. Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under
5s. 7.52, if the municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot on election day, the clerk
6shall secure the ballot and cause the ballot to be delivered to the polling place serving
7the elector's residence before 8 p.m. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided
8in this subsection may not be counted.
SB946-ASA1,7 9Section 7. 6.88 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,8,2510 6.88 (1) When an absentee ballot arrives at the office of the municipal clerk,
11or at an alternate site under s. 6.855, if applicable, the clerk shall enclose it,
12unopened, in a carrier envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the
13name and official title of the clerk, and the words “This envelope contains the ballot
14of an absent elector and must be opened in the same room where votes are being cast
15at the polls during polling hours on election day or, in municipalities where absentee
16ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, stats., at a meeting of the municipal board of
17absentee ballot canvassers under s. 7.52, stats
only as provided by law." If the elector
18is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), or an overseas elector, regardless of
19whether the elector qualifies as a resident of this state under s. 6.10, and the ballot
20was received by the elector by facsimile transmission or electronic mail and is
21accompanied by a separate certificate, the clerk shall enclose the ballot in a
22certificate envelope and securely append the completed certificate to the outside of
23the envelope before enclosing the ballot in the carrier envelope. The clerk shall keep
24the ballot in the clerk's office or at the alternate site, if applicable until delivered, as
25required in sub. (2).
SB946-ASA1,8
1Section 8. 6.88 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB946-ASA1,9,142 6.88 (2) When an absentee ballot is received by the municipal clerk prior to the
3delivery of the official ballots to the election officials of the ward in which the elector
4resides or, where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal board
5of absentee ballot canvassers, the municipal clerk shall seal the ballot envelope in
6the carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1), and shall enclose the envelope in a
7package and deliver the package to the election inspectors of the proper ward or
8election district or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s.
97.52, to the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers when it convenes at a
10meeting convened
under s. 7.52 (1). When the official ballots for the ward or election
11district have been delivered to the election inspectors before the receipt of an
12absentee ballot, the clerk shall immediately enclose the envelope containing the
13absentee ballot in a carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1) and deliver it in
14person to the proper election officials.
SB946-ASA1,9 15Section 9. 6.88 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
SB946-ASA1,9,1816 6.88 (4) (a) 1. The governing body of any municipality not specified in s. 7.52
17(1) (a) may provide by ordinance that absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk
18may be canvassed on the day before the election.
SB946-ASA1,9,2119 2. Prior to enacting an ordinance under subd. 1., the municipal clerk shall
20notify the commission in writing of the proposed enactment and shall consult with
21the commission concerning administration of this subsection.
SB946-ASA1,9,2422 (am) In any municipality having an ordinance under par. (a), subject to pars.
23(b) to (f), the election inspectors may convene a meeting to begin canvassing absentee
24ballots beginning at 7 a.m. on the day before the election.