AB848: Bill Text

LRB-2530/1

JTK:kmg:rs

2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE

2003 Assembly BILL 848

February 19, 2004 - Introduced by Committee on Campaigns and Elections. Referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

AB848,1,3 An Act to amend 8.10 (3) (intro.), 8.15 (4) (a), 8.20 (3), 8.40 (2) and 9.10 (2) (em) 2. of the statutes; relating to: the qualifications of nomination paper and petition circulators.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, each nomination paper and petition for an election must be circulated by a qualified elector of the jurisdiction or district in which the paper or petition is circulated. The circulator must certify at the bottom of the paper or petition sheet that he or she is a qualified elector of the jurisdiction or district, that the circulator personally circulated the paper or petition and personally obtained each of the signatures, that he or she knows that they are electors of the jurisdiction or district, that he or she knows that they signed the paper or petition with full knowledge of its content, that he or she knows their residences, that he or she knows that each signer signed on the date stated and opposite his or her name, and, if a nomination paper, that the circulator intends to support the candidate named on the paper.

This bill provides that the circulator of a paper or petition must be an adult U.S. citizen instead of a qualified elector of the jurisdiction or district in which the paper or petition is circulated. With that exception, the bill required the circulator to make the same certifications specified in current law.

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

AB848, s. 1 Section 1. 8.10 (3) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB848,2,4 8.10 (3) (intro.) The certification of a qualified elector an adult U.S. citizen under s. 8.15 (4) (a) shall be appended to each nomination paper. The number of required signatures on nomination papers filed under this section is as follows:

AB848, s. 2 Section 2. 8.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB848,2,19 8.15 (4) (a) The certification of a qualified elector an adult U.S. citizen stating his or her residence with street and number, if any, shall appear at the bottom of each nomination paper, stating he or she personally circulated the nomination paper and personally obtained each of the signatures; he or she knows they are electors of the ward, aldermanic district, municipality or county, as the nomination papers require; he or she knows they signed the paper with full knowledge of its content; he or she knows their respective residences given; he or she knows each signer signed on the date stated opposite his or her name; and, that he or she, the circulator, resides within the district which the candidate named therein will represent, if elected is an adult U.S. citizen; that he or she intends to support the candidate; and that he or she is aware that falsifying the certification is punishable under s. 12.13 (3) (a), Wis. stats. The circulator shall indicate the date that he or she makes the certification next to his or her signature. The certification may be made by the candidate or any qualified elector other adult U.S. citizen.

AB848, s. 3 Section 3. 8.20 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB848,2,22 8.20 (3) The certification of an elector adult U.S. citizen under s. 8.15 (4) (a) shall be appended to each nomination paper.

AB848, s. 4 Section 4. 8.40 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB848,3,10 8.40 (2) The certification of a qualified elector an adult U.S. citizen stating his or her residence with street and number, if any, shall appear at the bottom of each separate sheet of each petition specified in sub. (1), stating that he or she personally circulated the petition and personally obtained each of the signatures; that the circulator knows that they are electors of the jurisdiction or district in which the petition is circulated; that the circulator knows that they signed the paper with full knowledge of its content; that the circulator knows their respective residences given; that the circulator knows that each signer signed on the date stated opposite his or her name; that the circulator resides within the jurisdiction or district in which the petition is circulated is an adult U.S. citizen; and that the circulator is aware that falsifying the certification is punishable under s. 12.13 (3) (a). The circulator shall indicate the date that he or she makes the certification next to his or her signature.

AB848, s. 5 Section 5. 9.10 (2) (em) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB848,3,13 9.10 (2) (em) 2. The residency of the circulator cannot be determined by the information given on the petition is not an adult U.S. citizen.

AB848, s. 6 Section 6. Initial applicability.

AB848,3,17 (1) This act first applies with respect to nomination paper circulation periods that begin and petitions that are initially circulated on the effective date of this subsection.

AB848,3,18 (End)