Amendment AA8-SB110

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2001 - 2002 LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT 8, TO 2001 SENATE BILL 110

June 12, 2001 - Offered by Representative Powers.

SB110-AA8,1,1 At the locations indicated, amend the engrossed bill as follows:

SB110-AA8,1,2 1. Page 1, line 1: delete "Section 1" and substitute "Section 1m".

SB110-AA8,1,4 2. Page 2, line 4: after "electors," insert "elimination of punch card electronic voting systems,".

SB110-AA8,1,5 3. Page 6, line 1: before that line insert:

SB110-AA8,1,6 " Section 1am. 5.02 (1e) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,1,11 5.02 (1e) "Ballot" means a tabulating card, ballot label, sheet of paper or envelope on which votes are recorded. The term also includes a sheet or card, filmstrip or other device listing or containing information relative to offices, candidates and referenda which is placed, projected or composed on the board or screen inside a voting machine.

SB110-AA8, s. 1b Section 1b. 5.02 (1m) of the statutes is repealed.".

SB110-AA8,1,13 4. Page 7, line 7: after that line insert:

SB110-AA8,2,1 " Section 4m. 5.35 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,2,5 5.35 (2) Voting booths. There shall be one voting booth for every 200 electors who voted at the last general election. The booths shall have a surface on which to write or work and be sufficiently enclosed to assure privacy for the elector and anyone lawfully assisting the elector while marking or punching the elector's ballot.".

SB110-AA8,2,6 5. Page 8, line 2: after that line insert:

SB110-AA8,2,7 " Section 8m. 5.35 (6) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,2,19 5.35 (6) (b) At each polling place in the state where a consolidated ballot under s. 5.655 is used or an electronic voting system is utilized at a partisan primary election incorporating a ballot upon which electors may mark or punch votes for candidates of more than one recognized political party or for candidates of a recognized political party and independent candidates, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall prominently post a sign in the form prescribed by the board warning electors in substance that on any ballot with votes cast for candidates of more than one recognized political party or any ballot with votes cast for candidates of a recognized political party and independent candidates, no votes cast for any candidates for partisan office will be counted unless a preference for a party or for the independent candidates is made. If the elector designates a preference, only votes cast for candidates of that preference will be counted.

SB110-AA8, s. 8p Section 8p. 5.54 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,3,2 5.54 Notice to electors. Every ballot, except a ballot label or voting machine ballot, shall bear substantially the following information on the face: "Notice to electors: This ballot may be invalid unless initialed by 2 election inspectors. If cast as an absentee ballot, the ballot must bear the initials of the municipal clerk or deputy clerk.".

SB110-AA8, s. 8q Section 8q. 5.55 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,3,14 5.55 Ballot identification. On every ballot, except a ballot label or voting machine ballot, shall be printed "Official .... Ballot" or "Official .... Ballot for ...." followed by the designation of the polling place for which the ballot has been prepared, the date of the election, and the official endorsement and blank certificates. The number of the ward or wards or aldermanic district, if any, and the name of the municipality may be omitted in printing and stamped or written on the ballots at any location which is clearly visible at the option of the county clerk. Printed information and initials shall appear on the back and outside of the ballot. When a ballot card is employed with an electronic voting system, the date of the election may be printed or stamped on the back of the ballot card in such a manner that the card is not reusable, at the option of the county clerk.

SB110-AA8, s. 8r Section 8r. 5.66 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,4,7 5.66 (2) The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall print a sufficient number of sample ballots. The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall print sample ballots whenever the municipality prepares ballots under s. 7.15 (2) (b) or (c). Sample ballots shall be printed on nonwhite colored paper and shall be overprinted "SAMPLE". Voting machine sample ballots shall be a reduced size diagram of the face of the board or screen inside the voting machine with all candidates, issues and voting instructions as they will appear on the official ballot. Sample ballots to be used with an electronic voting system in which ballot labels and ballot cards ballots that are distributed to electors are used shall be an actual size copy of the ballot label and ballot card. The clerk or board of election commissioners printing the ballots shall distribute the samples approximately as follows: 45% shall be kept in the clerk's or board's office and distributed to electors requesting them; 45% shall be sent to the municipalities, or, if the municipality prints ballots, 45% shall be sent to the county for distribution to the electors; and 10% shall be reserved to be sent to the polling places by municipalities in proportion to the number certified in sub. (1) and made available to electors at the polls on election day.

SB110-AA8, s. 8s Section 8s. 5.68 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,4,16 5.68 (3) If voting machines are used or if an electronic voting system is used in which all candidates and referenda appear on the same ballot card, the ballots for all national, state and county offices and for county and state referenda shall be prepared and paid for by the county wherein they are used. If the voting machine or electronic voting system ballot includes a municipal or school, technical college, sewerage or sanitary district ballot, the cost of that portion of the ballot shall be reimbursed to the county or paid for by the municipality or district, except as provided in a 1st class city school district under sub. (2).

SB110-AA8, s. 8t Section 8t. 5.79 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,4,25 5.79 Instruction of electors. At polling places where an electronic voting system employing the use of ballot cards or ballot labels ballots and voting devices is used, the election officials shall offer each elector instruction in the operation of the voting device and ballot label or ballot card before the elector enters the voting booth. No instructions may be given after the elector has entered the voting booth, except as authorized under s. 6.82 (2). All instructions shall be given by election officials in such a manner that they may be observed by other persons in the polling place.

SB110-AA8, s. 8u Section 8u. 5.81 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,5,10 5.81 (1) Whenever the statutes provide for the use of separate ballots or columns or rows for offices, parties or referenda, and an electronic voting system employing a ballot label or ballot card in which ballots are distributed to electors is used at a polling place, a single ballot may be used for all offices, referenda and parties. The ballot information, whether placed on the ballot or on the voting device, shall, as far as practicable, be grouped and ordered in the same manner as provided for other ballots under this chapter, except that the information on the ballot card need not be in separate columns or rows and the information in the ballot label booklet may appear on a number of pages.

SB110-AA8, s. 8w Section 8w. 5.81 (2) of the statutes is repealed.

SB110-AA8, s. 8x Section 8x. 5.81 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,5,20 5.81 (3) If a municipality utilizes an electronic voting system in which ballots distributed to electors are employed, absentee ballots may consist of ballots utilized with the system or paper ballots and envelopes voted in person in the office of the municipal clerk or voted by mail. If a ballot card is used for voting by mail it shall be accompanied by a punching tool or marking device, elector instructions and a sample ballot showing the proper positions to vote on the ballot card for each party, candidate or referendum and, if the ballot card is to be punched, shall be mounted on a suitable material.

SB110-AA8, s. 8y Section 8y. 5.82 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,6,2 5.82 Write-in ballots. If the ballot card employed by a municipality does not provide a space for write-in votes, the municipality shall provide a separate write-in ballot, which may be in the form of a paper ballot, to permit electors to write in the names of persons whose names are not on the ballot whenever write-in votes are authorized.

SB110-AA8, s. 8ym Section 8ym. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,6,22 5.84 (1) 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 punched or 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.

SB110-AA8, s. 8yn Section 8yn. 5.85 (2) and (3) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB110-AA8,8,5 5.85 (2) 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. When an electronic voting system is used which utilizes a ballot which is distributed to electors, before separating the remaining ballot cards 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 make a true duplicate ballot of all votes on the ballot card except for the office which is overvoted, by using the an official ballot label booklet and voting device for the ward, if any of that kind used by the elector who voted the original ballot, and one of the punching or marking devices so as to transfer all votes of the elector except for the office overvoted, to an official ballot of that kind used in the ward at that election. Unless election officials are selected under s. 7.30 (4) (c) without regard to party affiliation, the election officials shall consist in each case of at least one election official of each of the 2 major political parties, whenever officials of both parties are present. Write-in votes shall be counted as provided in s. 7.50 (2) (d). The original ballot upon which there is an overvote shall be clearly labeled "Overvoted Ballot" and the ballot so produced "Duplicate Overvoted Ballot", and each shall bear the same serial number which shall be placed thereon by the election officials, commencing with number "1" and continuing consecutively for each of the ballots of that kind in that ward or election district. The election officials shall initial the "Duplicate Overvoted Ballot" ballots and shall place them in the container for return of the ballots. The "Overvoted Ballot" ballots and their envelopes shall be placed in the "Original Ballots" envelope. Ballots bearing write-in votes marked in the place designated therefor and bearing the initials of an election official and not resulting in an overvote and otherwise complying with the election laws as to marking shall be counted, tallied, and their votes recorded on a tally sheet provided by the municipal clerk. Ballot cards Ballots and ballot card envelopes shall be separated and all ballots except any which are defective or overvoted shall be placed separately in the container for return of the ballots, along with the ballots marked "Duplicate Overvoted Ballots".

SB110-AA8,8,23 (3) The election officials shall examine the ballots to determine if any is damaged or defective so that it cannot be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment. If any ballot is damaged or defective so that it cannot be properly counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, the election officials, in the presence of witnesses, shall make a true duplicate ballot of all votes on that ballot by using the ballot label booklet and voting device for the ward, if any, and one of the punching or marking devices so as to transfer all votes of the elector to an official ballot of that kind used in the ward by the elector who voted the original ballot in that election. Unless election officials are selected under s. 7.30 (4) (c) without regard to party affiliation, the election officials shall consist in each case of at least one election official of each of the 2 major political parties, whenever officials of both parties are present. The original ballot shall be clearly labeled "Damaged Ballot" and the ballot so produced "Duplicate Damaged Ballot", and each shall bear the same number which shall be placed thereon by the election officials, commencing with number "1" and continuing consecutively for the ballots of that kind in the ward. The election officials shall initial the "Duplicate Damaged Ballot" ballots, and shall place them in the container for return of the ballots. The officials shall place "Damaged Ballot" ballots and their envelopes in the "Original Ballots" envelope.

SB110-AA8, s. 8yo Section 8yo. 5.91 (14) of the statutes is created to read:

SB110-AA8,9,2 5.91 (14) It does not employ any mechanism by which a ballot is punched or punctured to record the votes cast by an elector.

SB110-AA8, s. 8yp Section 8yp. 5.94 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB110-AA8,9,13 5.94 Sample ballot labels and cards ballots; publication. When an electronic voting system employing a ballot label and ballot card that is distributed to electors is used, the county and municipal clerk of the county and municipality in which the polling place designated for use of the system is located shall cause to be published, in the type B notices, a true actual-size copy of the ballot label and ballot card containing the names of offices and candidates and statements of measures to be voted on, as nearly as possible, in the form in which they will appear on the official ballot label and ballot card on election day. The notice may be published as a newspaper insert. Municipal clerks may post the notice if the remainder of the type B notice is posted.

SB110-AA8, s. 8yq Section 8yq. 6.15 (3) (a) 1. and (b) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB110-AA8,9,24 6.15 (3) (a) 1. Upon proper completion of the application and cancellation card, the municipal clerk shall inform the elector that he or she may vote for the presidential electors not sooner than 9 days nor later than 5 p.m. on the day before the election at the office of the municipal clerk, or at a specified polling place on election day. When voting at the municipal clerk's office, the applicant shall provide identification and shall mark or punch the ballot in the clerk's presence in a manner that will not disclose his or her vote. Unless the ballot is utilized with an electronic voting system, the applicant shall fold the ballot so as to conceal his or her vote. The applicant shall then deposit the ballot and seal it in an envelope furnished by the clerk.

SB110-AA8,10,10 (b) Election day. An eligible elector may appear at the polling place for the ward or election district where he or she resides and make application for a ballot under sub. (2). In such case, the inspector or special registration deputy shall perform the duties of the municipal clerk. The elector shall provide identification. If the elector is qualified, he or she shall be permitted to vote. The elector shall mark or punch the ballot and, unless the ballot is utilized with an electronic voting system, the elector shall fold the ballot, and shall deposit the ballot into the ballot box or give it to the inspector. The inspector shall deposit it directly into the ballot box. Voting machines or ballots utilized with electronic voting systems may only be used by electors voting under this section if they permit voting for president and vice president only.

SB110-AA8, s. 8yr Section 8yr. 6.22 (4) and (5) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB110-AA8,11,2 6.22 (4) Instructions and handling. An individual who qualifies as a military elector may request an absentee ballot for any election, or for all elections until the individual otherwise requests or until the individual no longer qualifies as a military elector. A military elector's application may be received at any time. The municipal clerk shall not send a ballot for an election if the application is received later than 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding that election. The municipal clerk shall send a ballot, as soon as available, to each military elector who requests a ballot. The board shall prescribe the instructions for marking or punching and returning ballots and the municipal clerk shall enclose instructions with each ballot and shall also enclose supplemental instructions for local elections. The envelope, return envelope and instructions may not contain the name of any candidate appearing on the enclosed ballots other than that of the municipal clerk affixed in the fulfillment of his or her duties. Whenever the material is mailed, the material shall be prepared and mailed to make use of the federal free postage laws. The mailing list established under this subsection shall be kept current in the same manner as provided in s. 6.86 (2) (b).

SB110-AA8,11,8 (5) Voting procedure. Except as authorized in s. 6.25, the ballot shall be marked or punched and returned, deposited and recorded in the same manner as other absentee ballots. In addition, the certification under s. 6.87 (2) shall have a statement of the elector's birth date. Failure to return any unused ballots in a primary election does not invalidate the ballot on which the elector casts his or her votes.

SB110-AA8, s. 8ys Section 8ys. 6.24 (6) and (7) of the statutes are amended to read: