SB216: Bill Text

LRB-0368/3

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1999 - 2000 LEGISLATURE

1999 Senate BILL 216

August 10, 1999 - Introduced by Senators Risser, Rude and Huelsman, cosponsored by Representatives Ziegelbauer, Kelso, Berceau, Gronemus, Schooff, Hasenohrl, Carpenter, Porter, Wasserman, Gunderson, Musser, Ryba and Staskunas. Referred to Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Government Operations.

SB216,1,7 An Act to repeal 5.35 (6) (b), 5.51 (7), 5.81 (4), 5.91 (6), 7.50 (1) (d) and 8.50 (3) (c); to renumber 5.35 (6) (a); and to amend 5.02 (16m), 5.15 (6) (b), 5.37 (4), 5.62 (1) and (2), 5.62 (3) and (5), 5.84 (1), 5.91 (1) and (3), 6.80 (2) (f), 6.87 (4), 7.08 (2) (b), 7.50 (2) (g), 8.16 (1), (6) and (7), 8.17 (1) (a), 8.20 (9), 8.50 (3) (b), 9.10 (3) (e), 10.02 (3) (b) 2. and 2m., 11.31 (3m) and 15.61 of the statutes; relating to: authorization for electors to vote in the primary 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, including the offices of governor and lieutenant governor. 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 voting procedure at the general election and other partisan elections is unaffected by the bill.

The bill initially applies to voting at the 2000 September primary election.

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

SB216, s. 1 Section 1. 5.02 (16m) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,2,4 5.02 (16m) "Recognized political party" means a political party which qualifies for a separate ballot or column or row on partisan primary and election ballots under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2).

SB216, s. 2 Section 2. 5.15 (6) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,3,9 5.15 (6) (b) No later than 60 days before each September primary and general election, and no later than 30 days before each other election the governing body of any municipality may by resolution combine 2 or more wards for voting purposes to facilitate using a common polling place. Whenever wards are so combined, the original ward numbers shall continue to be utilized for all official purposes. Except as otherwise authorized under this paragraph, every municipality having a population of 50,000 or more, or 35,000 or more after June 1, 1996, shall maintain separate returns for each ward so combined. In municipalities having a population of less than 50,000, or less than 35,000 after June 1, 1996, the governing body may provide in the resolution that returns shall be maintained only for each group of combined wards at any election. In municipalities having a population as shown in the 1990 federal decennial census of at least 87,000 but not more than 150,000, the governing body may provide in a resolution adopted prior to June 1, 1996 that groups of not more than 2 wards shall use common ballot boxes and ballots or voting machines and that returns shall be maintained only for each group of combined wards at any election held prior to June 1, 1996. Whenever a governing body provides for common ballot boxes and ballots or voting machines, separate returns shall be maintained for each separate ballot required under ss. 5.62 and s. 5.64 at the September primary and general election. The municipal clerk shall transmit a copy of the resolution to the county clerk of each county in which the municipality is contained. In municipalities having a population of less than 50,000, or less than 35,000 after June 1, 1996, the resolution shall remain in effect for each election until modified or rescinded, or until a new division is made under this section.

SB216, s. 3 Section 3. 5.35 (6) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.35 (6).

SB216, s. 4 Section 4. 5.35 (6) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

SB216, s. 5 Section 5. 5.37 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,3,22 5.37 (4) Voting machines may be used at primary elections when they comply with subs. (1) and (2) and the following provisions: All candidates' names. Each candidate's name entitled to appear on the ballots ballot at the primary and the party that he or she represents shall appear on the machine; the elector cannot vote for candidates of more than one party, whenever the restriction applies, and an elector who votes for candidates of any party may not vote for independent candidates at the September primary; the elector may secretly select the party for which he or she wishes to vote, or the independent candidates in the case of the September primary; the. The elector may vote for as many candidates for each office as he or she is lawfully entitled to vote for, but no more.

SB216, s. 6 Section 6. 5.51 (7) of the statutes is repealed.

SB216, s. 7 Section 7. 5.62 (1) and (2) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB216,4,21 5.62 (1) (a) At September primaries, the following ballot shall be provided for the nomination of candidates of recognized political parties for national, state and county offices and independent candidates for state office in each ward, in the same form as prescribed by the board under s. 7.08 (1) (a). The ballots shall be made up of the several party tickets with each party entitled to participate in the primary under par. (b) or sub. (2) having its own ballot column. The independent candidates for state office other than district attorney shall have a separate ballot column for all such candidates as under s. 5.64 (1) (e). The ballots shall be secured together at the bottom. The party ballot column of the party receiving the most votes for president or governor at the last general election shall be on top first with the other parties arranged in descending order based on their vote for president or governor at the last general election. The ballots columns of parties qualifying under sub. (2) shall be placed after to the right of the parties qualifying under par. (b), in the same order in which the parties filed petitions with the board. The ballot column listing the independent candidates shall be placed at the bottom last. At polling places where voting machines are used, each party and the independent candidates shall be represented in one or more separate columns or rows on the ballot. At polling places where an electronic voting system is used other than an electronic voting machine, each party and the independent candidates may be represented in separate columns or rows on the ballot. Any elector at any September primary may vote for any candidate for each office regardless of the political affiliation of the candidate.

SB216,5,13 (b) Every recognized political party listed on the official ballot at the last gubernatorial election whose candidate for any statewide office received at least one percent of the total votes cast for that office and, if the last general election was also a presidential election, every recognized political party listed on the ballot at that election whose candidate for president received at least one percent of the total vote cast for that office shall have a separate primary ballot or one or more separate columns or rows on the primary ballot as prescribed in par. (a) and a separate column on the general election ballot at the September primary and general election in every ward and election district. An organization which was listed as "independent" at the last general election and whose candidate meets the same qualification shall receive the same ballot status upon petition of the chairperson and secretary of the organization to the board requesting such status and specifying their party name, which may not duplicate the name of an existing party. A petition under this paragraph may be filed no later than 5 p.m. on June 1 in the year of each general election. This paragraph applies to a party only if at least one candidate of the party for a state office qualifies to have his or her name appear on the ballot under the name of the party at the last gubernatorial election.

SB216,6,2 (2) Any political organization may be represented on a separate primary ballot or in one or more separate columns or rows on the September primary ballot as prescribed in sub. (1) (a) and a separate column or row on the general election ballot in every ward and election district if, not later than 5 p.m. on June 1 in the year of a September primary, it files with the board a petition so requesting. To qualify for a separate ballot column or row, the petition shall be signed by at least 10,000 electors, including at least 1,000 electors residing in each of at least 3 separate congressional districts. The petition shall conform to the requirements of s. 8.40. No signature obtained before January 1 in the year of filing is valid. When the candidates of a political organization filing a valid petition fulfill the requirements prescribed by law, they shall appear on a separate ballot or in one or more separate columns or rows on the ballot for the period ending with the following general election.

SB216, s. 8 Section 8. 5.62 (3) and (5) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB216,6,13 5.62 (3) The board shall designate the official primary ballot arrangement for statewide offices and district attorney within each prosecutorial district by using the same procedure as provided in s. 5.60 (1) (b). On each ballot and on each separate column or row on the ballot, the candidates for office shall be listed together with the offices which they seek in the following order whenever these offices appear on the September primary ballot: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, U.S. senator, U.S. representative in congress, state senator, representative to the assembly, district attorney and the county offices. Below 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.

SB216,6,19 (5) At the September primary, an elector may vote for the candidates of only one party, or the elector may vote for any of the independent candidates for state office listed; but the elector may not vote for more than one candidate for a single office. A space shall be provided on the ballot for an elector to write in the name of his or her choice as a party candidate for any office, but no space shall be provided to write in the names of independent candidates.

SB216, s. 9 Section 9. 5.81 (4) of the statutes is repealed.

SB216, s. 10 Section 10. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,7,15 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.

SB216, s. 11 Section 11. 5.91 (1) and (3) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB216,7,19 5.91 (1) It enables an elector to vote in secrecy and to select the party or the independent candidates for whom an elector will vote in secrecy at a partisan primary election.

SB216,7,24 (3) Except in primary elections, it It enables an elector to vote for a ticket selected in part from the nominees of one party, and in part from the nominees of other parties, and in part from independent candidates and, except in the case of independent candidates at primary elections, in part of candidates whose names are written in by the elector.

SB216, s. 12 Section 12. 5.91 (6) of the statutes is repealed.

SB216, s. 13 Section 13. 6.80 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,8,11 6.80 (2) (f) In the presidential preference primary and other partisan primary elections at polling places where ballots are distributed to electors, unless the ballots are utilized with an electronic voting system in which all candidates appear on the same ballot, after the elector prepares his or her ballot the elector shall detach the remaining ballots, fold the ballots to be discarded, fold the completed ballot unless the ballot is intended for counting with automatic tabulating equipment, personally deposit the ballots to be discarded in the separate ballot box marked "blank ballot box", and deposit the completed ballot in the ballot box indicated by the inspectors. The inspectors shall keep the blank ballot box locked until the canvass is completed and shall dispose of the blank ballots as prescribed by the municipal clerk.

SB216, s. 14 Section 14. 6.87 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,9,4 6.87 (4) Except as otherwise provided in s. 6.875, the elector voting absentee shall either make and subscribe to the affidavit before a person authorized to administer oaths or make and subscribe to the certification before 2 witnesses. The absent elector, in the presence of the administrator of the oath or witnesses, shall mark or punch the ballot in a manner that will not disclose how the elector's vote is cast. The elector shall then, still in the presence of the administrator of the oath or the 2 witnesses, fold the ballots if they are paper ballots so each is separate and conceals the markings or punches thereon and deposit them in the proper envelope, but may receive assistance under sub. (5). The return envelope shall then be sealed. The witnesses or the official oath administrator may not be a candidate. The envelope shall be mailed by the elector, postage prepaid, or delivered in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot. Failure to return an unused ballot in a primary does not invalidate the ballot on which the elector's votes are cast. Return of more than one marked or punched ballot in a primary or return of a ballot used with an electronic voting system in a primary which is marked or punched for candidates of more than one party invalidates all votes cast by the elector for candidates in the primary.

SB216, s. 15 Section 15. 7.08 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,9,10 7.08 (2) (b) The certified list of candidates for president and vice president who have been nominated at a national convention by a party entitled to a separate column or row on the September primary ballot or for whom electors have been nominated under s. 8.20 shall be sent as soon as possible after the closing date for filing nomination papers, but no later than the deadlines established in s. 10.06.

SB216, s. 16 Section 16. 7.50 (1) (d) of the statutes is repealed.

SB216, s. 17 Section 17. 7.50 (2) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB216,9,15 7.50 (2) (g) In partisan primaries, if an elector writes in the name of an individual on a ballot in a column or row other than the one on which that individual's name is shown as a candidate, the write-in vote may not be counted.

SB216, s. 18 Section 18. 8.16 (1), (6) and (7) of the statutes are amended to read:

SB216,9,23 8.16 (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), the person who receives the greatest number of votes for an office on a party ballot at any partisan primary, regardless of whether the person's name appears on the ballot, shall be the party's candidate for the office, and the person's name shall so appear on the official ballot at the next election. All independent candidates shall appear on the general election ballot regardless of the number of votes received by such candidates at the September primary.

SB216,9,25 (6) The persons who receive the greatest number of votes respectively for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor on for any party ballot at a primary shall be the party's joint candidates for the offices, and their names shall so appear on the official ballot at the next election.

SB216,10,9 (7) Nominees chosen at a national convention and under s. 8.18 (2) by each party entitled to a separate column or row on a September primary ballot shall be the party's candidates for president, vice president and presidential electors. The state or national chairperson of each such party shall certify the names of the party's nominees for president and vice president to the board no later than 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in September preceding a presidential election. Each name shall be in one of the formats authorized in s. 7.08 (2) (a).