AB959: Bill Text

AB959, s. 12 Section 12. 5.55 (form) of the statutes is repealed.

AB959, s. 13 Section 13. 5.58 (1c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,13,24 5.58 (1c) Municipal judge. There shall be a separate ballot for municipal judges if they are elected under s. 755.01 (4). Arrangement of the names on the ballot shall be determined by the board. The ballot shall be entitled "Official Primary Ballot for Municipal Judge" county clerk or the executive director of the county board of election commissioners of the county having the largest portion of the population in the jurisdiction served by the judge.

AB959, s. 14 Section 14. 5.58 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,14,8 5.58 (1r) Town sanitary district commission. There shall be a separate ballot for members of the town sanitary district commission if commissioners are elected under s. 60.74 and the boundaries of the district are not coterminous with one or more towns. Candidates for different seats shall be listed in separate columns or rows if more than one seat is contested in any election. Arrangement of the names on the ballot shall be determined by the town clerk of the town whose board of supervisors directs the election, in the same manner as provided in s. 5.60 (1) (b). The ballot shall be titled "Official Primary Ballot for Town Sanitary District Commission".

AB959, s. 15 Section 15. 5.58 (2) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.58 (2) and amended to read:

AB959,14,22 5.58 (2) State superintendent of public instruction; judiciary; county executive; and county supervisors. There shall be one separate ballot for state superintendent, judicial officers, county executive under s. 59.17 and county supervisor. In counties having a population of 500,000 or more, the ballot also shall include those offices under s. 8.11 (2) and (2m). The arrangement of names of candidates for state superintendent, justice, court of appeals judge and circuit court judge shall be determined by the board in the manner specified in s. 5.60 (1) (b). Arrangement of the names of candidates for county executive and county supervisor shall be determined by the county clerk or by the executive director of the county board of election commissioners in the manner specified in s. 5.60 (1) (b). The ballot shall be titled "Official Ballot for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Judicial, County Executive and County Supervisor Primary".

AB959, s. 16 Section 16. 5.58 (2) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB959, s. 17 Section 17. 5.58 (2m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,15,6 5.58 (2m) Metropolitan sewerage commission. There shall be a separate ballot for members of the metropolitan sewerage commission if commissioners are elected under s. 66.23 (11) (am), with candidates for different seats listed in separate columns or rows if more than one seat is contested at any election. Arrangement of the names on the ballot shall be determined by the board. The ballot shall be titled "Official Primary Ballot for Metropolitan Sewerage Commission".

AB959, s. 18 Section 18. 5.60 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,15,16 5.60 (1) State superintendent; judiciary; county executive and county supervisors. (intro.) There shall be one separate ballot for state superintendent, judicial officers, county executive and county supervisor. For county supervisor, the ballot shall be prepared in accordance with ss. 5.58 (2) and 59.10 (3). Arrangement of the names of candidates for county executive and, county supervisor and municipal judge, if the judge is elected under s. 755.01 (4), shall be determined by the county clerk or the executive director of the county board of election commissioners determining ballot arrangement under s. 5.58 (1c), in the manner prescribed in par. (b).

AB959, s. 19 Section 19. 5.60 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,16,3 5.60 (1) (b) The board shall certify the candidates' names and designate the official ballot arrangement for candidates for state superintendent, justice, court of appeals judge, circuit judge, municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4) and, if commissioners are elected under s. 66.23 (11) (am), the metropolitan sewerage commission. The arrangement of names of all candidates on the ballot whose nomination papers are filed with the board shall be determined by the board by the drawing of lots not later than the 2nd Tuesday in January, or the next day if the first Tuesday is a holiday. Whenever a primary is held for an office, a 2nd drawing of all candidates for that office shall be held by or under the supervision of the board not later than the 3rd day following the completion of the primary canvass to determine the arrangement of candidates on the election ballot.

AB959, s. 20 Section 20. 5.60 (8) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,16,6 5.60 (8) (a) An official ballot shall be printed and provided for use in each voting district. The form of each ballot shall be substantially as follows:

AB959,16,7 1. Form 1, to be used when there are several candidates:

AB959,16,8 OFFICIAL BALLOT

AB959,16,9 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE

AB959,16,10 .... Party

AB959,16,11 Mark this ballot in one space only. You have one of 3 choices—you may either:

AB959,16,13 Express your preference for one of the persons whose names are printed on this ballot (in that case, make a cross (8) in the square after that person's name); or

AB959,16,16 Vote for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the national convention of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (8) in the square following "Uninstructed delegation"); or

AB959,16,19 Write in the name of another person to become the presidential candidate of the .... party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in candidate").

AB959,16,20 OLE CARLSON( )

AB959,16,21 AMOS DUNCAN( )

AB959,16,22 JAMES UNDERWOOD( )

AB959,16,23 Uninstructed delegation( )

AB959,16,24 Write-in candidate

AB959,16,25 2. Form 2, to be used when there is only one candidate:

AB959,17,1 OFFICIAL BALLOT

AB959,17,2 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE

AB959,17,3 .... Party

AB959,17,4 Mark this ballot in one space only. You have one of 3 choices—you may either:

AB959,17,6 Express your preference for the person whose name is printed on this ballot (in that case, make a cross (8) in the square after that person's name); or

AB959,17,9 Vote for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the national convention of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (8) in the square marked "Uninstructed delegation" following that person's name); or

AB959,17,12 Write in the name of another person to become the presidential candidate of the .... party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in candidate").

AB959,17,13 JOHN DOE( )

AB959,17,14 Uninstructed delegation( )

AB959,17,15 Write-in candidate

AB959,17,17 3. Form 3, to be used when there are no candidates who have qualified to appear on the ballot:

AB959,17,18 OFFICIAL BALLOT

AB959,17,19 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE

AB959,17,20 .... Party

AB959,17,23 Mark this ballot in one space only. There are no candidates of the .... party who have qualified to have their names appear on the printed ballot. You have 2 choices—you may either:

AB959,18,3 Express your preference for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the national convention of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (8) in the square following "Uninstructed delegation"); or

AB959,18,6 Write in the name of a person to become the presidential candidate of the .... party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in candidate").

AB959,18,7 Uninstructed delegation( )

AB959,18,8 Write-in candidate

AB959, s. 21 Section 21. 5.62 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,19,6 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. The independent candidates for state office other than district attorney shall have a separate ballot for all such candidates as under s. 5.64 (1) (e). The ballots shall be secured together at the bottom. The party ballot of the party receiving the most votes for president or governor at the last general election shall be on top with the other parties arranged in descending order based on their vote for president or governor at the last general election. The ballots of parties qualifying under sub. (2) shall be placed after the parties qualifying under par. (b), in the same order in which the parties filed petitions with the board. The ballot listing the independent candidates shall be placed at the bottom. On that ballot, if a place is designated to write in the names of any party candidates under par. (b) 2. or sub. (2) (b), the places shall appear before the names of the independent candidates in the same order in which the ballots of their parties would appear under this paragraph. 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.

AB959, s. 22 Section 22. 5.62 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 5.62 (1) (b) 1. and amended to read:

AB959,19,25 5.62 (1) (b) 1. Every Except as provided in subd. 2. and s. 5.64 (1) (e) 2., 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 1% 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 1% 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 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 subdivision 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.

AB959, s. 23 Section 23. 5.62 (1) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB959,20,11 5.62 (1) (b) 2. Subdivision 1. applies to a party within any assembly district or county at any September primary election only if at least one candidate of the party for any national, state or county office qualifies to have his or her name appear on the ballot under the name of that party within that assembly district or county. The county clerk or county board of election commissioners shall provide a place on the ballot for the independent candidates that will permit an elector to cast a vote for a write-in candidate for the nomination of any party for each national, state and county office whenever that party qualifies to be represented on a separate primary ballot or on one or more separate columns or rows under subd. 1. but does not qualify under this subdivision.

AB959, s. 24 Section 24. 5.62 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 5.62 (2) (a) and amended to read:

AB959,21,2 5.62 (2) (a) Any Except as provided in par. (b) and s. 5.64 (1) (e) 2., any political organization may be represented on a separate primary ballot or one or more separate columns or rows on the primary ballot as prescribed in sub. (1) (a) and a separate column 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, 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 one or more separate columns or rows on the ballot for the period ending with the following general election.

AB959, s. 25 Section 25. 5.62 (2) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB959,21,13 5.62 (2) (b) Paragraph (a) applies to a party within any assembly district or county at any September primary election only if at least one candidate of the party for any national, state or county office qualifies to have his or her name appear on the ballot under the name of that party within that assembly district or county. The county clerk or county board of election commissioners shall provide a place on the ballot for the independent candidates that will permit an elector to cast a vote for a write-in candidate for the nomination of any party for each national, state and county office whenever that party qualifies to be represented on a separate primary ballot or on one or more separate columns or rows under par. (a) but does not qualify under this paragraph.

AB959, s. 26 Section 26. 5.62 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,21,22 5.62 (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, including a party candidate of a party whose name appears on the ballot, column or row designated for independent candidates, as provided in sub. (1) (b) or (2) (b), but no space shall be provided to write in the names of independent candidates.

AB959, s. 27 Section 27. 5.64 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,22,2 5.64 (1) Official ballot. (intro.) There shall be a separate ballot giving the names of all candidates for president and vice president and for statewide, congressional, legislative and county offices in the same form as prescribed by the board under s. 7.08 (1) (a).

AB959, s. 28 Section 28. 5.64 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,22,17 5.64 (1) (a) The ballot shall be labeled "Official Ballot" in lettering at least three-eighths inch high. Directly underneath in plain, legible type, shall be the following voting instructions: "If you desire permit an elector to vote a straight party ticket for president and vice president, whenever those offices are contested, and for all statewide, congressional, legislative and county offices, make a cross (8) in the circle under the party designation at the top of the party column. If you desire, to vote for individual candidates, make a cross (8) in the square at the RIGHT of the name of each candidate for whom you desire to vote. To for each office or to vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, write the name in the blank space provided for the purpose for any office. When voting for governor and lieutenant governor, you may the ballot shall permit an elector to vote only for the candidates on one ticket jointly or write in the names of persons in both spaces. ". Under the party designation at the top of each party column shall appear the following words in boldface type: "Make a cross (8) in this circle to vote a straight party ticket.".

AB959, s. 29 Section 29. 5.64 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,23,5 5.64 (1) (b) Below the voting instructions the ballot shall be divided into vertical columns. The names of the candidates on the regular party tickets nominated at the primary or replacements appointed under s. 8.35 (2) shall be printed each in appear in a separate column under the party designation. The columns shall be arranged from left to right according to rank, based on the number of votes received by the each party's candidate for president or governor at the last general election beginning with the party that received the most votes. To the right of the columns for parties qualifying under s. 5.62 (1) (b) shall be placed the columns for parties qualifying under s. 5.62 (2) in the same order in which the parties filed petitions with the board. To the right of the party columns shall be a column for the names of independent candidates for each office, or more than one column if the first column does not provide sufficient space for the names of all such candidates.

AB959, s. 30 Section 30. 5.64 (1) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

AB959, s. 31 Section 31. 5.64 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,23,10 5.64 (1) (d) The offices shall be arranged beginning with president and vice president or governor and lieutenant governor, whenever these offices are filled, and then the remaining offices in the order designated under s. 5.62 (3).

AB959, s. 32 Section 32. 5.64 (1) (e) of the statutes is renumbered 5.64 (1) (e) 1. and amended to read:

AB959,24,4 5.64 (1) (e) 1. Within each column, each space shall state the office to be voted for directly above the candidate's first and last name. The Except as provided in subd. 2., each candidate's name shall be placed in the party column of the party by which nominated or if independent, in a column designated independent and all candidates for the same office shall appear within the same rows on the ballot. Below If a place is designated to write in the names of any party candidates in the column for independent candidates under subd. 2., the places shall appear before the name of the independent candidates in the same order in which the columns of their parties would appear under par. (b). Along with 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. Independent candidates for the same county office shall be listed in the same manner in an order drawn by lot by or under supervision of the county clerk or board of election commissioners. The board shall conduct a redrawing for purposes of determining the arrangement of independent candidates for state office who appeared on the primary ballot in the manner provided in s. 5.60 (1) (b). To the right of each candidate's name, in each column, shall be a square for the elector to make his or her cross (8 ).

AB959, s. 33 Section 33. 5.64 (1) (e) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB959,24,13 5.64 (1) (e) 2. There shall be a separate column for the candidates of each party qualifying for that column under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2), except that if, within any assembly district or county, there are no candidates for any national, state or county office representing such a party who qualify to have their names appear on the ballot under the name of that party within that assembly district, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall provide a space within the column for the independent candidates that will permit an elector to cast a vote for a write-in candidate of that party for each national, state and county office.

AB959, s. 34 Section 34. 5.64 (1) (eg) of the statutes is created to read:

AB959,24,19 5.64 (1) (eg) In the case of balloting for the offices of president and vice president, the names of the candidates shall be placed in the column of the party which nominated them or if independent, in a column designated independent. In each column there shall be one choice for the elector to cast a ballot jointly for both offices.

AB959, s. 35 Section 35. 5.64 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,25,2 5.64 (1) (f) In the case of balloting for the office of governor and lieutenant governor, the names of the candidates shall be placed in the party column by which nominated or if independent, in a column designated independent. To the right of the names of the set of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, in In each column there shall be one square choice for the elector to cast a ballot jointly for both offices.

AB959, s. 36 Section 36. 5.64 (2) (a) and (b) of the statutes are repealed.

AB959, s. 37 Section 37. 5.64 (3) (intro.) of the statutes is repealed.

AB959, s. 38 Section 38. 5.64 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.64 (1) (em) and amended to read:

AB959,25,17 5.64 (1) (em) The ballot shall be titled "Official Presidential Ballot" in lettering at least three-eighths inch high. Directly underneath in plain, legible type shall be the following voting instructions: "Make a cross (8 ) in the square opposite the names of the candidates for whose electors you desire to vote or write in the names of candidates for president and vice president in the space provided for the purpose. Vote in ONE square only.". The names of the candidates for the offices of president and vice president certified under s. 8.16 (7) or filed under s. 8.20 shall appear on the ballot in the form prescribed in s. 7.08 (2) (a). The names of the presidential electors for the candidates supplied under ss. 8.18 (2) and 8.20 (2) (d) are not listed on the ballot but a vote for the candidates for president and vice president is a vote for them through their named presidential electors.

AB959, s. 39 Section 39. 5.64 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 5.64 (1) (es) and amended to read:

AB959,26,3 5.64 (1) (es) The party candidates shall be arranged consecutively from top to bottom based on the number of votes received by their party's candidate for governor at the last election beginning with the party that received the most votes. The independent president-vice president candidates shall be listed together in an order drawn by lot by or under supervision of the board, following under the party candidates. Below Along with 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. Following under the independent candidates, a space shall be left for writing in the names of a candidate for president and vice president.

AB959, s. 40 Section 40. 5.65 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB959,26,7 5.65 Special referendum ballots. Unless otherwise provided, ballots for special referenda shall conform to the format prescribed in under s. 5.64 (2), insofar as applicable.

AB959, s. 41 Section 41. 5.655 of the statutes is created to read:

AB959,26,21 5.655 Special consolidated paper ballot. (1) Whenever a municipality employing paper ballots is required to utilize separate ballots for certain offices or referenda at an election, the municipality may, with the approval of the county clerk or board of election commissioners of each county in which there is located any portion of the municipality where one or more electors reside, substitute a ballot that is utilized with an electronic voting system by any municipality that is located in any such county, if the ballot contains all of the applicable information required to be provided for paper ballots at that election. On such a ballot, there shall appear all offices and referenda on which votes are to be cast at the election. Such a ballot may only be distributed to electors who are eligible to vote for all of the offices and in all of the referenda appearing on the ballot. The municipality shall utilize separate ballots to the extent required to permit participation in an election by those electors of the municipality who are not authorized to vote for all offices and in all referenda.

AB959,26,24 (2) The board shall require the same notices and instructions to be given to electors who use a ballot that is authorized under sub. (1) as are provided to electors who use the same ballot with an electronic voting system, insofar as applicable.