1999 Wisconsin Act 49

6.47 Confidentiality of information relating to victims of domestic abuse. (1) In this section:

(a) "Eligible individual" means:

1. An individual who has been granted a protective order that is in effect.

2. An individual who files an affidavit with the municipal clerk of the municipality where the individual resides, on a form prescribed by the board, which is signed by a sheriff or the chief of a police department and directed to the municipal clerk, and which verifies that a person has been charged with or convicted of an offense relating to domestic abuse in which the individual was a victim and reasonably continues to be threatened by that person.

3. An individual who resides in a shelter.

(b) "Offense relating to domestic abuse" means an offense specified in s. 940.19, 940.20 (1m), 940.201, 940.22, 940.225, 940.32, 947.013, 948.02, 948.025, 948.06, 948.09 or 948.095.

(c) "Protected individual" means an individual whose name and address is confidential under sub. (2).

(d) "Protective order" means a temporary restraining order or an injunction issued under s. 813.12 or 813.125.

(e) "Shelter" means a place where at least 4 unrelated individuals reside that provides residential shelter to individuals whose personal security is or may be threatened by family members or other persons with whom the individuals have had contact.

(2) Except as authorized in sub. (8), the municipal clerk shall withhold from public inspection under s. 19.35 (1) the name and address of any eligible individual whose name appears on a poll list or registration list if the individual files a valid written request with the clerk to protect the individual's confidentiality. To be valid, a request under this subsection must be accompanied by a copy of a protective order that is in effect, an affidavit under sub. (1) (a) 2. that is dated within 30 days of the date of the request or a statement signed by the operator or an authorized agent of the operator of a shelter that is dated within 30 days of the date of the request and that indicates that the operator operates the shelter and that the individual making the request resides in the shelter. A physically disabled individual who appears personally at the office of the municipal clerk accompanied by another elector of this state may designate that elector to make a request under this subsection on his or her behalf.

(3) Upon listing of an elector under sub. (2), the municipal clerk shall issue to the elector a voting identification card on a form prescribed by the board that shall contain the name of the municipality issuing the card and in the case of a town, the county in which the town is located, the elector's name, the ward in which the elector resides, if any, and a unique identification serial number issued by the board. The number issued to an elector under this subsection shall not be changed for so long as the elector continues to qualify for a listing under sub. (2).

(4) Except as provided in sub. (5), a confidential listing under sub. (2) expires on the date that a protective order expires, the date that the protected individual ceases to reside in a shelter or at the end of the 24-month period that follows creation or renewal of the listing under sub. (2), whichever is earlier.

(5) (a) The municipal clerk shall cancel a confidential listing under sub. (2) if:

1. The clerk receives notification from a sheriff or chief of police under sub. (8).

2. The name of the protected individual is legally changed.

3. The protected individual changes his or her address without notifying the municipal clerk.

4. The municipal clerk finds that the protected individual provided false information to the clerk for the purpose of obtaining a confidential listing under sub. (2).

(b) An individual whose confidential listing is canceled under par. (a) may file a new request and qualify under sub. (2) to obtain a renewal of the listing.

(6) Upon expiration of a confidential listing on a registration list under sub. (2), the municipal clerk shall cancel the registration of the protected individual unless the individual files a new request and qualifies under sub. (2) to obtain a renewal of the listing or unless the individual applies for and qualifies to obtain a nonconfidential voter registration. Except as authorized in sub. (8), the municipal clerk shall withhold from public inspection under s. 19.35 (1) the name and address of any individual whose registration is canceled under this subsection if the individual qualified for a confidential listing at the time of that listing.

(7) (a) If the municipal clerk has notice that a confidential listing under sub. (2) is scheduled to expire, the municipal clerk shall provide 30 days' notice to the protected individual of the scheduled expiration of the listing.

(b) If notice to a protected individual is not provided under par. (a), the municipal clerk shall provide notice to the subject individual upon canceling a confidential listing under sub. (2).

(8) The municipal clerk shall provide access to a name and address under sub. (2):

(a) To a law enforcement officer for official purposes.

(b) To a state or local governmental officer pursuant to a specific law that necessitates obtaining the name or address.

(c) Pursuant to a court order citing a reason that access to the name or address should be provided.

(d) To a clerk of circuit court for purposes of s. 756.04 (5) (a).

(e) At the request of a protected individual, for purposes of permitting that individual to sign a petition under s. 59.05 (2) or a protest petition, consent or counter petition under s. 125.05.

(9) No person who obtains access to a name or address under sub. (8) may disclose the name or address to any person other than a public employe for the same purpose for which the information was obtained.

(10) If a sheriff or chief of a police department who signs an affidavit under sub. (1) (a) 2. obtains information that the person who was charged with an offense relating to domestic abuse is no longer so charged or that the person's judgment of conviction has been vacated, and the charge or conviction was the sole basis for the affidavit, the sheriff or chief shall provide written notice of that information to the municipal clerk to whom the affidavit was directed.

49,10 Section 10. 6.55 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

6.55 (2) (a) Except where the procedure under par. (c) or (cm) is employed, any person who qualifies as an elector in the ward or election district where he or she desires to vote, but has not previously filed a registration form, or was registered at another location in a municipality where registration is required, may request permission to vote at the polling place for that ward or election district, or at an alternate polling place assigned under s. 5.25 (5) (b). When a proper request is made, the inspector shall require the person to execute a registration form prescribed by the board which shall contain the following certification:

"I, ...., hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge, I am a qualified elector, having resided at .... for at least 10 days immediately preceding this election, and that I am not disqualified on any ground from voting, and I have not voted, at this election." If a change of address is made from outside the municipality, the elector shall file a cancellation under s. 6.40 (1) (b) 6.

49,11 Section 11. 6.55 (2) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

6.55 (2) (cm) If an elector who is not registered wishes to obtain a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2), the elector shall register at the office of the municipal clerk of the municipality where the elector resides. Upon completion of registration, the municipal clerk or a deputy clerk shall serially number the registration form and issue a voting identification card to the elector under s. 6.47 (3). The elector may vote at the polling place serving his or her residence by presenting the identification card or by providing his or her name and identification serial number to the inspectors.

49,12 Section 12. 6.79 (1) to (3) of the statutes are amended to read:

6.79 (1) Municipalities without registration. Where Except as provided in sub. (6) (a), where there is no registration, before being permitted to vote, each person shall state his or her full name and address. The officials shall record each name and address on a poll list in the same order as the votes are cast. If the residence of the elector does not have a number, the election officials shall, in the appropriate space, write "none". Alternatively, the municipal clerk may maintain a poll list consisting of the full name and address of electors compiled from previous elections. Whenever an elector appears to vote, the officials shall verify the correctness of the elector's name and address, and shall enter a serial number next to the name of the elector in the order that the votes are cast, beginning with the number one. If the name and address of an elector do not appear on the prepared poll list, the officials shall record the name, address and serial number of the elector at the bottom of the list. The officials may require any elector to provide identification, including acceptable proof of residence, or to have another elector corroborate his or her information in accordance with the procedure specified in s. 6.55 (2) (b) before permitting the elector to vote. An elector who presents an identification card under sub. (6) (a) is not required to provide separate identification. The officials shall maintain a separate list of those persons voting under ss. 6.15 and 6.24.

(2) Municipalities with registration. Where Except as provided in sub. (6) (b), where there is registration, each person, before receiving a voting number, shall state his or her full name and address. Upon the prepared registration list, after the name of each elector, the officials shall enter the serial number of the vote as it is polled, beginning with number one. Each elector shall receive a slip bearing the same serial number. A separate list shall be maintained for electors who are voting under s. 6.15, 6.29 or 6.55 (2) or (3) and electors who are reassigned from another polling place under s. 5.25 (5) (b). Each such elector shall have his or her full name, address and serial number likewise recorded and shall be given a slip bearing such number.

(3) Refusal to give name and address. If Except as provided in sub. (6), if any elector offering to vote at any polling place refuses to give his or her name and address, the elector may not be permitted to vote.

49,13 Section 13. 6.79 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

6.79 (5) Poll list forms. Poll lists shall be kept on forms designed by the board to be substantially similar to the standard registration list forms used in municipalities where registration is required and shall require, for each person offering to vote, the entry of the person's full name and address, except as otherwise required under sub. (6) (a).

49,14 Section 14. 6.79 (6) of the statutes is created to read:

6.79 (6) Confidential names and addresses. (a) In municipalities where there is no registration, an elector who has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) may present an identification card issued under s. 6.47 (3) in lieu of providing his or her name and address. If the elector resides in the area served by the polling place, the inspectors shall then enter the elector's name and identification serial number on the poll list in a section following the other names, shall issue a voting serial number to the elector and shall record that number on the poll list and permit the elector to vote.

(b) In municipalities where registration is required, an elector who has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) may present his or her identification card issued under s. 6.47 (3) or may give his or her name and identification serial number issued under s. 6.47 (3). If the elector's name and identification serial number appear on the confidential portion of the list, the inspectors shall issue a voting serial number to the elector, record that number on the registration list and permit the elector to vote.

49,15 Section 15. 6.87 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

6.87 (2) The municipal clerk shall place the ballot in an unsealed envelope furnished by the clerk. The envelope shall have the name, official title and post-office address of the clerk upon its face. The other side of the envelope shall have a printed certificate-affidavit in substantially the following form:

[STATE OF ....

County of ....]

or

[(name of foreign country and city or other jurisdictional unit)]

I, ...., (certify) (do solemnly swear) subject to the penalties of s. 12.60 (1) (b), Wis. Stats. for false statements that I am a resident of the [.... ward of the] (town) (village) of ...., or of the .... aldermanic district in the city of ...., residing at .... in said city, the county of ...., state of Wisconsin, and am entitled to vote in the (ward) (election district) at the election to be held on ....; that I am not voting at any other location in this election; that I cannot appear at the polling place in the (ward) (election district) on election day because I expect to be absent from the municipality or because of age, sickness, handicap, physical disability, religious reasons, jury duty, service as an election official, or because I have changed my residence within the state from one ward or election district to another within 10 days before the election. An elector who provides an identification serial number issued under s. 6.47 (3) need not provide a street address. I (certify) (swear) that I exhibited the enclosed ballot unmarked to the (2 witnesses) (person administering the oath), that I then in (their) (his) (her) presence and in the presence of no other person marked the ballot and enclosed and sealed the same in this envelope in such a manner that no one but myself and any person rendering assistance under s. 6.87 (5), Wis. Stats., if I requested assistance, could know how I voted.

Signed ....

Identification serial number, if any: ....

The (2 witnesses) (person administering the oath) shall execute either of the following as appropriate:

We, the undersigned witnesses, subject to the penalties of s. 12.60 (1) (b), Wis. Stats., for false statements, certify that the above statements are true and the voting procedure was executed as there stated. Neither of us is a candidate for any office on the enclosed ballot (except in the case of an incumbent municipal clerk). The elector was not solicited or advised by us to vote for or against any candidate or measure.

....(Name)

....(Address)

....(Name)

....(Address)

Subscribed and sworn to before me this .... day of ...., A.D., ...., and I hereby certify that I am not a candidate on the ballot upon which the affiant voted (unless I am an incumbent municipal clerk), that the voting procedure above was executed as therein stated, and that the affiant was not solicited or advised by me to vote for or against any candidate or measure.

....(Name)

....(Title)

....(State or nation)

49,16 Section 16. 6.87 (6m) of the statutes is created to read:

6.87 (6m) Except as authorized in s. 6.47 (8), the municipal clerk shall withhold from public inspection under s. 19.35 (1) the name and address of any absent elector who obtains a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2).

49,17 Section 17. 6.88 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

6.88 (3) (a) Any time between the opening and closing of the polls on election day, the inspectors shall open the carrier envelope only, and announce the absent elector's name of the absent elector or the identification serial number of the absent elector if the elector has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2). When the inspectors find that the certification or affidavit has been properly executed, the applicant is a qualified elector of the ward or election district, and the applicant has not voted in the election, they shall enter an indication on the poll or registration list next to the applicant's name indicating an absentee ballot is cast by the elector. They shall then open the envelope containing the ballot in a manner so as not to deface or destroy the affidavit or certification thereon. The inspectors shall take out the ballot without unfolding it or permitting it to be unfolded or examined. Unless the ballot is cast under s. 6.95, the inspectors shall verify that the ballot has been endorsed by the issuing clerk. The inspectors shall deposit the ballot in the proper ballot box and enter the absent elector's name or voting number after his or her name on the poll or registration list the same as if the elector had been present and voted in person.

49,18 Section 18. 7.08 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

7.08 (1) (c) Prescribe forms required by ss. 6.24 (3) and (4), 6.30 (3) and (4), 6.33 (1), 6.40 (1) (b), 6.47 (1) (a) 2. and (3), 6.55 (2) and (3), 6.79 (5) and 6.86 (2) and (3). All such forms shall contain a statement of the penalty applicable to false or fraudulent registration or voting through use of the form. Forms are not required to be furnished by the board.

49,19 Section 19. 7.39 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

7.39 (5) Poll positions. Observers of election proceedings, as a matter of right, shall be so positioned at the polls by the chief inspector as to reasonably be enabled to closely observe proceedings and hear instructions given to voters. No observer may view the confidential portion of a registration list maintained under s. 6.36 (4) or poll list maintained under s. 6.79 (6). However, the inspectors shall disclose to any observer, upon request, the existence of such a list, the number of electors whose names appear on the list and the number of those electors who have voted at any point in the proceedings. No observer may view the certificate-affidavit form of an absent elector who obtains a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2).

49,19m Section 19m. 7.41 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

7.41 (4) An individual exercising the right under sub. (1) may not view any records to which access by observers is prohibited under s. 7.39 (5). The inspectors shall disclose to such an individual, upon request, the existence of confidential records specified in s. 7.39 (5) and the information required to be provided to observers under s. 7.39 (5).

49,20 Section 20. 7.51 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

7.51 (1) Canvass procedure. Immediately after the polls close the inspectors shall proceed to canvass publicly all votes received at the polling place. In any municipality where an electronic voting system is used, the municipal governing body or board of election commissioners may provide or authorize the municipal clerk or executive director of the board of election commissioners to provide for the adjournment of the canvass to one or more central counting locations for specified polling places in the manner prescribed in subch. III of ch. 5. No central counting location may be used to count votes at a polling place where an electronic voting system is not employed. The canvass, whether conducted at the polling place or at the central counting location, shall continue without adjournment until the canvass is completed and the return statements are made. The inspectors shall not permit access to the name of any elector who has obtained a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) during the canvass, except as authorized in s. 6.47 (8).

49,21 Section 21. 9.01 (1) (b) 11. of the statutes is amended to read:

9.01 (1) (b) 11. All steps of the recount shall be performed publicly. All Except as provided in subd. 12., all materials and ballots may be viewed and identified by the candidates, the person demanding the recount and their authorized representatives and counsel, but only members of the board of canvassers and tabulators assisting them may touch any of the materials or ballots. The candidates, the person demanding the recount and their authorized representatives and counsel may object to the counting of any ballot. Any errors shall be corrected.

49,22 Section 22. 9.01 (1) (b) 12. of the statutes is created to read:

9.01 (1) (b) 12. Except as authorized in s. 6.47 (8), the board of canvassers shall not permit access to the name of any elector who has obtained a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) during the recanvass.

49,23 Section 23. 12.13 (2) (b) 8. of the statutes is created to read:

12.13 (2) (b) 8. Intentionally disclose the name or address of any elector who obtains a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) to any person who is not authorized by law to obtain that information.

49,24 Section 24. 12.13 (3) (zm) and (zn) of the statutes are created to read:

12.13 (3) (zm) Wilfully provide to a municipal clerk false information for the purpose of obtaining a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) for that person or another person.

(zn) Disclose to any person information provided under s. 6.47 (8) when not authorized to do so.

49,25 Section 25. 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

12.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11 or 12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7. or (3) (a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or (z) may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 3 years in the Wisconsin state prisons or both.

49,26 Section 26 . 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes, as affected by 1997 Wisconsin Act 283, is amended to read:

12.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11 or 12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7. or (3) (a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or (z) may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 4 years and 6 months or both.

49,27 Section 27. 12.60 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

12.60 (1) (b) Whoever violates s. 12.03, 12.05, 12.07, 12.08 or 12.13 (2) (b) 8.,(3) (b), (c), (d), (g), (i) or, (n) to (x), (zm) or (zn) may be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 6 months or both.