LRB-1634/1
JTK:skg:jlb
1995 - 1996 LEGISLATURE
February 15, 1995 - Introduced by Representatives Ourada, Ryba, Gard, Brancel,
Ziegelbauer, Baumgart, Porter, Skindrud, Springer, Hahn, Wasserman,
Musser, Dobyns, Hasenohrl, Gunderson
and Robson, cosponsored by
Senator Breske. Referred to Committee on Elections and Constitutional Law.
AB136,1,5 1An Act to repeal 5.35 (6) (b), 5.81 (4), 5.91 (6), 7.50 (1) (d) and 8.50 (3) (c); to
2renumber
5.35 (6) (a); and to amend 5.37 (4), 5.62 (1), (2) and (5), 5.84 (1), 5.91
3(1) and (3), 6.80 (2) (f), 7.50 (2) (g), 8.16 (1), (6) and (7) and 10.02 (3) (b) 2. and
42m. of the statutes; relating to: authorization for electors to vote in the
5primary of more than one political party.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Presently, a voter in a partisan primary election may cast a ballot or vote in the
column of only one political party, regardless of the number of candidates who are
running for office in that party, if any. Alternatively, a voter in the September
primary may vote for any of the independent candidates for state office, but if the
voter chooses this option, he or she may not vote for any party candidates for any
office. (Candidates of minor parties appear on the ballot as independent candidates.)
This bill permits a voter in the September primary and other partisan
primaries to "split tickets", designating the candidate of his or her choice for each
office regardless of party affiliation (except that the voter's choice for governor and
lieutenant governor must be from the same ticket). The bill also allows a voter to vote
for independent candidates for state offices in the September primary, in addition to
party candidates. Under the bill, a voter may still vote for only one candidate for each
office. The general election voting procedure is unaffected by the bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB136, s. 1 6Section 1. 5.35 (6) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.35 (6).
AB136, s. 2 7Section 2. 5.35 (6) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
AB136, s. 3
1Section 3. 5.37 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB136,2,112 5.37 (4) Voting machines may be used at primary elections when they comply
3with subs. (1) and (2) and the following provisions: All candidates' names. Each
4candidate's name
entitled to appear on the ballots ballot at the primary and the party
5that he or she represents
shall appear on the machine; the elector cannot vote for
6candidates of more than one party, whenever the restriction applies, and an elector
7who votes for candidates of any party may not vote for independent candidates at the
8September primary; the elector may secretly select the party for which he or she
9wishes to vote, or the independent candidates in the case of the September primary;
10the
. The elector may vote for as many candidates for each office as he or she is
11lawfully entitled to vote for, but no more.
AB136, s. 4 12Section 4. 5.62 (1), (2) and (5) of the statutes are amended to read:
AB136,3,1013 5.62 (1) (a) At September primaries, the following ballot shall be provided for
14the nomination of candidates of recognized political parties for national, state and
15county offices and independent candidates for state office in each ward, in the same
16form as prescribed by the board under s. 7.08 (1) (a). The ballots shall be made up
17of the several party tickets with each party entitled to participate in the primary
18under par. (b) or sub. (2) having its own ballot column. The independent candidates
19for state office other than district attorney shall have a separate ballot column for
20all such candidates as under s. 5.64 (1) (e). The ballots shall be secured together at
21the bottom.
The party ballot column of the party receiving the most votes for
22president or governor at the last general election shall be on top first with the other
23parties arranged in descending order based on their vote for president or governor
24at the last general election. The ballots columns of parties qualifying under sub. (2)
25shall be placed after to the right of the parties qualifying under par. (b), in the same

1order in which the parties filed petitions with the board. The ballot column listing
2the independent candidates shall be placed at the bottom last. At polling places
3where voting machines are used, each party and the independent candidates shall
4be represented in one or more separate columns or rows on the ballot. At polling
5places where an electronic voting system is used other than an electronic voting
6machine, each party and the independent candidates may be represented in separate
7columns or rows on the ballot. Any elector at any September primary may vote for
8any candidate for each office regardless of the political affiliation of the candidate;
9except that an elector may not cast votes for candidates for governor and lieutenant
10governor if the candidates are of more than one political affiliation.
AB136,4,211 (b) Every recognized political party listed on the official ballot at the last
12gubernatorial election whose candidate for any statewide office received at least one
13percent of the total votes cast for that office and, if the last general election was also
14a presidential election, every recognized political party listed on the ballot at that
15election whose candidate for president received at least one percent of the total vote
16cast for that office shall have a separate primary ballot or one or more separate
17columns or rows on the primary ballot as prescribed in par. (a) and a separate column
18on the general election
ballot at the September primary and general election in every
19ward and election district. An organization which was listed as "independent" at the
20last general election and whose candidate meets the same qualification shall receive
21the same ballot status upon petition of the chairperson and secretary of the
22organization to the board requesting such status and specifying their party name,
23which may not duplicate the name of an existing party. A petition under this
24paragraph may be filed no later than 5 p.m. on June 1 in the year of each general
25election. This paragraph applies to a party only if at least one candidate of the party

1for a state office qualifies to have his or her name appear on the ballot under the name
2of the party at the last gubernatorial election.
AB136,4,15 3(2) Any political organization may be represented on a separate primary ballot
4or
in one or more separate columns or rows on the September primary ballot as
5prescribed in sub. (1) (a) and a separate column or row on the general election ballot
6in every ward and election district if, not later than 5 p.m. on June 1 in the year of
7a September primary, it files with the board a petition so requesting. To qualify for
8a separate ballot column or row, the petition shall be signed by at least 10,000
9electors, including at least 1,000 electors residing in each of at least 3 separate
10congressional districts. The petition shall conform to the requirements of s. 8.40. No
11signature obtained before January 1 in the year of filing is valid. When the
12candidates of a political organization filing a valid petition fulfill the requirements
13prescribed by law, they shall appear on a separate ballot or in one or more separate
14columns or rows on the ballot for the period ending with the following general
15election.
AB136,4,21 16(5) At the September primary, an elector may vote for the candidates of only
17one party, or the elector may vote for any of the independent candidates for state
18office listed; but the elector may not vote for more than one candidate for a single
19office.
A space shall be provided on the ballot for an elector to write in the name of
20his or her choice as a party candidate for any office, but no space shall be provided
21to write in the names of independent candidates.
AB136, s. 5 22Section 5. 5.81 (4) of the statutes is repealed.
AB136, s. 6 23Section 6. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB136,5,1724 5.84 (1) Where any municipality employs an electronic voting system which
25utilizes automatic tabulating equipment, either at the polling place or at a central

1counting location, the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10 days prior
2to the election day on which the equipment is to be utilized, have the equipment
3tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all
4measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be given by the clerk
5at least 48 hours prior to the test by publication of a class 1 notice under ch. 985 in
6one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a newspaper is
7published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The test
8shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a preaudited
9group of ballots so punched or marked as to record a predetermined number of valid
10votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall include for each
11office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law
12and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots which have votes cast for
13candidates of more than one recognized political party,
in order to test the ability of
14the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the
15municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the error. The clerk shall make
16an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the
17clerk for use in the election.
AB136, s. 7 18Section 7. 5.91 (1) and (3) of the statutes are amended to read:
AB136,5,2119 5.91 (1) It enables an elector to vote in secrecy and to select the party or the
20independent candidates for whom an elector will vote in secrecy at a partisan
21primary election
.
AB136,6,2 22(3) Except in primary elections, it It enables an elector to vote for a ticket
23selected in part from the nominees of one party, and in part from the nominees of
24other parties, and in part from independent candidates and, except in the case of

1independent candidates at primary elections,
in part of candidates whose names are
2written in by the elector.
AB136, s. 8 3Section 8. 5.91 (6) of the statutes is repealed.
AB136, s. 9 4Section 9. 6.80 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB136,6,145 6.80 (2) (f) In the presidential preference primary and other partisan primary
6elections
at polling places where ballots are distributed to electors, unless the ballots
7are utilized with an electronic voting system in which all candidates appear on the
8same ballot, after the elector prepares his or her ballot the elector shall detach the
9remaining ballots, fold the ballots to be discarded, fold the completed ballot unless
10the ballot is intended for counting with automatic tabulating equipment, personally
11deposit the ballots to be discarded in the separate ballot box marked "blank ballot
12box", and deposit the completed ballot in the ballot box indicated by the inspectors.
13The inspectors shall keep the blank ballot box locked until the canvass is completed
14and shall dispose of the blank ballots as prescribed by the municipal clerk.
AB136, s. 10 15Section 10. 7.50 (1) (d) of the statutes is repealed.
AB136, s. 11 16Section 11. 7.50 (2) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB136,6,1917 7.50 (2) (g) In partisan primaries, if an elector writes in the name of an
18individual on a ballot in a column or row other than the one on which that individual's
19name is shown as a candidate, the write-in vote may not be counted.
AB136, s. 12 20Section 12. 8.16 (1), (6) and (7) of the statutes are amended to read:
AB136,7,221 8.16 (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), the person who receives the greatest
22number of votes for an office on a party ballot at any partisan primary, regardless of
23whether the person's name appears on the ballot, shall be the party's candidate for
24the office, and the person's name shall so appear on the official ballot at the next
25election. All independent candidates shall appear on the general election ballot

1regardless of the number of votes received by such candidates at the September
2primary.
AB136,7,6 3 (6) The persons who receive the greatest number of votes respectively for the
4offices of governor and lieutenant governor on for any party ballot at a primary shall
5be the party's joint candidates for the offices, and their names shall so appear on the
6official ballot at the next election.
AB136,7,13 7(7) Nominees chosen at a national convention and under s. 8.18 (2) by each
8party entitled to a separate column or row on a September primary ballot shall be
9the party's candidates for president, vice president and presidential electors. The
10state or national chairperson of each such party shall certify the names of the party's
11nominees for president and vice president to the board no later than 5 p.m. on the
12first Tuesday in September preceding a presidential election. Each name shall be in
13one of the formats authorized in s. 7.08 (2) (a).
AB136, s. 13 14Section 13. 8.50 (3) (c) of the statutes is repealed.
AB136, s. 14 15Section 14. 10.02 (3) (b) 2. and 2m. of the statutes are amended to read:
AB136,7,2016 10.02 (3) (b) 2. At a special partisan primary, the elector shall select the party
17ballot
candidate of his or her choice for each office and shall make a cross (8) in the
18square at the right of or depress the lever or button next to the candidate's name for
19each office for whom the elector intends to vote, or shall insert or write in the name
20of the elector's choice for a candidate.
AB136,8,421 2m. At the September primary, the elector shall select the party ballot
22candidate of his or her choice or the ballot containing the names of the independent
23candidates
for state each office, and make a cross (8) in the square at the right of or
24depress the lever or button next to the candidate's name for each office for whom the
25elector intends to vote or insert or write in the name of the elector's choice for a party

1candidate, if any. In order to qualify for participation in the Wisconsin election
2campaign fund, a candidate for state office at the September primary, other than a
3candidate for district attorney, must receive at least 6% of all votes cast on all ballots
4for the office for which he or she is a candidate, in addition to other requirements.
AB136,8,55 (End)
Loading...
Loading...