This bill specifies the following recount fees depending on the vote differential
between the votes cast for the leading candidate and those cast for the petitioner or the
difference between the affirmative and negative votes cast upon any referendum
question:
1. No fee if the vote differential is less than one-half of 1%.
2. Five dollars per ward (or municipality where no wards exist) if the vote
differential is at least one-half of 1% but less than 3%.
3. One-half the actual cost of the recount if the vote differential is at least 3% but
less than 5%.
4. The actual cost of the recount if the vote differential is 5% or more.
Additionally, the bill requires the elections board to promulgate an administrative
rule defining the "actual cost" of conducting a recount.
•Delivery of Recount Documents
Under current law, when a petition for an election recount is filed, the clerk or body
with whom the petition is filed must have copies of the petition delivered to the candidates
affected by the recount by the sheriff in the manner provided for service of a summons
in a civil action.
This bill allows the opportunity for a candidate or an agent designated by the
candidate to accept a copy of the petition personally.
•Minutes of Recount Proceedings
Under current law, a board of canvassers must keep complete minutes of all of its
recount proceedings. This bill requires a copy of those minutes to be provided to the state
elections board.
•Time for a Hearing on Recount Appeals
Under current law, an appeal of a recount determination may be made to the circuit
court. When an appeal is filed, the court must set the matter for a hearing. However, the
time prescribed by the statutes in which the hearing must be held appears to conflict in
two different statutory provisions. One provision requires the hearing to be held within
five days of the date of the order requiring the municipal clerks to transfer relevant
election materials to the court, and another provision requires the hearing to be held
within 15 days of the filing of an answer to the appeal. This bill removes this apparent
conflict and requires the court to hold a hearing 15 days after the date that the answer
to the appeal is filed.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB434, s. 1
1Section
1. 5.01 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,10,82
5.01
(4) (a) If 2 or more candidates for the same office receive the greatest, but
3an equal number of votes, the winner shall be chosen by lot in the presence of the
4board of canvassers charged with the responsibility to determine the election,
except
5as provided in s. 8.17 (4) (b), or in the case of an election for state or national office
6or municipal judge, if the judge is elected under s. 755.01 (4), or metropolitan
7sewerage commissioner, if the commissioner is elected under s. 66.23 (11) (am), in the
8presence of the chairperson of the board.
AB434, s. 2
9Section
2. 5.02 (26) of the statutes is created to read:
AB434,10,1210
5.02
(26) "Write-in candidate" means a candidate who seeks or receives votes
11at an election for an office without qualifying to have his or her name appear on the
12ballot at that election for the office for which the candidate seeks or receives votes.
AB434, s. 3
13Section
3. 5.05 (1) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,11,314
5.05
(1) (e) Delegate to its executive director the authority to issue a subpoena
15under par. (b), apply for a search warrant under par. (b), commence an action under
16par. (d), intervene in an action or proceeding under sub. (9), issue an order under s.
175.06, exempt a polling place from accessibility requirements under s. 5.25 (4) (a),
18exempt a municipality from the requirement to use voting machines or an electronic
19voting system under s. 5.40 (5m)
, approve an electronic data recording system for
1maintaining poll lists under s. 6.79, or authorize nonappointment of an individual
2who is nominated to serve as an election official under s. 7.30 (4) (e), subject to such
3limitations as the board deems appropriate.
AB434, s. 4
4Section
4. 5.15 (6) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,12,25
5.15
(6) (b) No later than 60 days before each September primary and general
6election, and no later than 30 days before each other election the governing body of
7any municipality may by resolution combine 2 or more wards for voting purposes to
8facilitate using a common polling place. Whenever wards are so combined, the
9original ward numbers shall continue to be utilized for all official purposes. Except
10as otherwise authorized under this paragraph, every municipality having a
11population of 50,000 or more
, or 35,000 or more after June 1, 1996, shall maintain
12separate returns for each ward so combined. In municipalities having a population
13of less than 50,000
, or less than 35,000 after June 1, 1996, the governing body may
14provide in the resolution that returns shall be maintained only for each group of
15combined wards at any election.
In municipalities having a population as shown in
16the 1990 federal decennial census of at least 87,000 but not more than 150,000, the
17governing body may provide in a resolution adopted prior to June 1, 1996 that groups
18of not more than 2 wards shall use common ballot boxes and ballots or voting
19machines and that returns shall be maintained only for each group of combined
20wards at any election held prior to June 1, 1996. Whenever a governing body
21provides for common ballot boxes and ballots or voting machines, separate returns
22shall be maintained for each separate ballot required under ss. 5.62 and 5.64 at the
23September primary and general election. The municipal clerk shall transmit a copy
24of the resolution to the county clerk of each county in which the municipality is
25contained. In municipalities having a population of less than 50,000
, or less than
135,000 after June 1, 1996, the resolution shall remain in effect for each election until
2modified or rescinded, or until a new division is made under this section.
AB434, s. 5
3Section
5. 5.25 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,12,94
5.25
(1) All elections under chs. 5 to 12 shall be held at the polling places
5provided in this section.
So far as practicable, the
The places chosen shall be public
6buildings
, unless the use of a public building for this purpose is impracticable or a
7nonpublic building better serves the needs of the electorate, as determined by the
8authority charged with the responsibility for establishing polling places under sub.
9(2).
AB434, s. 6
10Section
6. 5.25 (4) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
AB434, s. 7
11Section
7. 5.25 (4) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB434,12,1612
5.25
(4) (d) No later than June 30, 2001, and every 2 years thereafter, the board
13shall submit a report on impediments to voting faced by elderly and handicapped
14individuals to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172
15(3). In preparing its report under this paragraph, the board shall consult with
16appropriate advocacy groups representing the elderly and handicapped populations.
AB434, s. 8
17Section
8. 5.35 (6) (a) 4. of the statutes is repealed.
AB434, s. 9
18Section
9. 5.37 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,12,2219
5.37
(3) For presidential electors one device shall be provided to vote for all of
20one party's electoral candidates at the same time. The device shall be opposite or
21adjacent to the
ballot containing the names of the party's candidates for president
22and vice president.
AB434, s. 10
23Section
10. 5.51 (8) of the statutes is created to read:
AB434,12,2524
5.51
(8) Unless otherwise specifically provided, the form of all ballots shall
25conform to the ballot forms prescribed by the board under s. 7.08 (1) (a).
AB434, s. 11
1Section
11. 5.55 (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 5.55 and amended to
2read:
AB434,13,14
35.55 Ballot identification. On every ballot, except a ballot label or voting
4machine ballot, shall be printed "Official .... Ballot" or "Official .... Ballot for ...."
5followed by the designation of the polling place for which the ballot has been
6prepared, the date of the election, and the official endorsement and blank
7certificates. The number of the ward or wards or aldermanic district, if any, and the
8name of the municipality may be omitted in printing and stamped or written on the
9ballots at any location which is clearly visible at the option of the county clerk.
10Printed information and initials shall appear on the back and outside of the ballot.
11When a ballot card is employed with an electronic voting system, the date of the
12election may be printed or stamped on the back of the ballot card in such a manner
13that the card is not reusable, at the option of the county clerk.
Each ballot shall be
14prepared in substantially the following form:
AB434, s. 12
15Section
12. 5.55 (form) of the statutes is repealed.
AB434, s. 13
16Section
13. 5.58 (1c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,13,2217
5.58
(1c) Municipal judge. There shall be a separate ballot for municipal
18judges if they are elected under s. 755.01 (4). Arrangement of the names on the ballot
19shall be determined by the
board. The ballot shall be entitled "Official Primary
20Ballot for Municipal Judge" county clerk or the executive director of the county board
21of election commissioners of the county having the largest portion of the population
22in the jurisdiction served by the judge.
AB434, s. 14
23Section
14. 5.58 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,14,624
5.58
(1r) Town sanitary district commission. There shall be a separate ballot
25for members of the town sanitary district commission if commissioners are elected
1under s. 60.74 and the boundaries of the district are not coterminous with one or more
2towns. Candidates for different seats shall be listed in separate columns or rows if
3more than one seat is contested in any election. Arrangement of the names on the
4ballot shall be determined by the town clerk of the town whose board of supervisors
5directs the election, in the same manner as provided in s. 5.60 (1) (b).
The ballot shall
6be titled "Official Primary Ballot for Town Sanitary District Commission".
AB434, s. 15
7Section
15. 5.58 (2) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 5.58 (2) and amended to
8read:
AB434,14,209
5.58
(2) State superintendent of public instruction; judiciary; county
10executive; and county supervisors. There shall be one separate ballot for state
11superintendent, judicial officers, county executive under s. 59.17 and county
12supervisor. In counties having a population of 500,000 or more, the ballot also shall
13include those offices under s. 8.11 (2) and (2m). The arrangement of names of
14candidates for state superintendent, justice, court of appeals judge and circuit court
15judge shall be determined by the board in the manner specified in s. 5.60 (1) (b).
16Arrangement of the names of candidates for county executive and county supervisor
17shall be determined by the county clerk or by the executive director of the county
18board of election commissioners in the manner specified in s. 5.60 (1) (b).
The ballot
19shall be titled "Official Ballot for State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
20Judicial, County Executive and County Supervisor Primary".
AB434, s. 16
21Section
16. 5.58 (2) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
AB434, s. 17
22Section
17. 5.58 (2m) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,15,323
5.58
(2m) Metropolitan sewerage commission. There shall be a separate
24ballot for members of the metropolitan sewerage commission if commissioners are
25elected under s. 66.23 (11) (am), with candidates for different seats listed in separate
1columns or rows if more than one seat is contested at any election. Arrangement of
2the names on the ballot shall be determined by the board.
The ballot shall be titled
3"Official Primary Ballot for Metropolitan Sewerage Commission".
AB434, s. 18
4Section
18. 5.60 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,15,135
5.60
(1) State superintendent; judiciary; county executive and county
6supervisors. (intro.) There shall be one separate ballot for state superintendent,
7judicial officers, county executive and county supervisor. For county supervisor, the
8ballot shall be prepared in accordance with ss. 5.58 (2) and 59.10 (3). Arrangement
9of the names of candidates for county executive
and, county supervisor
and
10municipal judge, if the judge is elected under s. 755.01 (4), shall be determined by
11the county clerk or the executive director of the county board of election
12commissioners
determining ballot arrangement under s. 5.58 (1c), in the manner
13prescribed in par. (b).
AB434, s. 19
14Section
19. 5.60 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,15,2515
5.60
(1) (b) The board shall certify the candidates' names and designate the
16official ballot arrangement for candidates for state superintendent, justice, court of
17appeals judge, circuit judge
, municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4) and, if
18commissioners are elected under s. 66.23 (11) (am), the metropolitan sewerage
19commission. The arrangement of names of all candidates on the ballot whose
20nomination papers are filed with the board shall be determined by the board by the
21drawing of lots not later than the 2nd Tuesday in January, or the next day if the first
22Tuesday is a holiday. Whenever a primary is held for an office, a 2nd drawing of all
23candidates for that office shall be held by or under the supervision of the board not
24later than the 3rd day following the completion of the primary canvass to determine
25the arrangement of candidates on the election ballot.
AB434, s. 20
1Section
20. 5.60 (8) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,16,32
5.60
(8) (a) An official ballot shall be printed and provided for use in each voting
3district.
The form of each ballot shall be substantially as follows:
AB434,16,4
41. Form 1, to be used when there are several candidates:
AB434,16,5
5OFFICIAL BALLOT
AB434,16,6
6PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE
AB434,16,8
8Mark this ballot in one space only. You have one of 3 choices—you may either:
AB434,16,10
9Express your preference for one of the persons whose names are printed on this
10ballot (in that case, make a cross (7) in the square after that person's name); or
AB434,16,13
11Vote for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the national convention
12of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (7) in the square following "Uninstructed
13delegation"); or
AB434,16,16
14Write in the name of another person to become the presidential candidate of the
15.... party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in
16candidate").
AB434,16,17
17OLE CARLSON( )
AB434,16,18
18AMOS DUNCAN( )
AB434,16,19
19JAMES UNDERWOOD( )
AB434,16,20
20Uninstructed delegation( )
AB434,16,21
21Write-in candidate
AB434,16,22
222. Form 2, to be used when there is only one candidate:
AB434,16,23
23OFFICIAL BALLOT
AB434,16,24
24PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE
AB434,17,1
1Mark this ballot in one space only. You have one of 3 choices—you may either:
AB434,17,3
2Express your preference for the person whose name is printed on this ballot (in
3that case, make a cross (7) in the square after that person's name); or
AB434,17,6
4Vote for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the national convention
5of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (7) in the square marked "Uninstructed
6delegation" following that person's name); or
AB434,17,9
7Write in the name of another person to become the presidential candidate of the
8.... party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in
9candidate").
AB434,17,10
10JOHN DOE( )
AB434,17,11
11Uninstructed delegation( )
AB434,17,12
12Write-in candidate
AB434,17,14
133. Form 3, to be used when there are no candidates who have qualified to appear
14on the ballot:
AB434,17,15
15OFFICIAL BALLOT
AB434,17,16
16PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTE
AB434,17,20
18Mark this ballot in one space only. There are no candidates of the .... party who
19have qualified to have their names appear on the printed ballot. You have 2
20choices—you may either:
AB434,17,23
21Express your preference for an uninstructed delegation from Wisconsin to the
22national convention of the .... party (in that case, make a cross (7) in the square
23following "Uninstructed delegation"); or
AB434,18,3
1Write in the name of a person to become the presidential candidate of the ....
2party (in that case, write that person's name into the space following "Write-in
3candidate").
AB434,18,4
4Uninstructed delegation( )
AB434,18,5
5Write-in candidate
AB434, s. 21
6Section
21. 5.62 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB434,19,37
5.62
(1) (a) At September primaries, the following ballot shall be provided for
8the nomination of candidates of recognized political parties for national, state and
9county offices and independent candidates
for state office in each ward, in the same
10form as prescribed by the board under s. 7.08 (1) (a). The ballots shall be made up
11of the several party tickets with each party entitled to participate in the primary
12under par. (b) or sub. (2) having its own ballot. The independent candidates
for state
13office other than district attorney shall have a separate ballot for all such candidates
14as under s. 5.64 (1) (e). The ballots shall be secured together at the bottom. The party
15ballot of the party receiving the most votes for president or governor at the last
16general election shall be on top with the other parties arranged in descending order
17based on their vote for president or governor at the last general election. The ballots
18of parties qualifying under sub. (2) shall be placed after the parties qualifying under
19par. (b), in the same order in which the parties filed petitions with the board. The
20ballot listing the independent candidates shall be placed at the bottom.
On that
21ballot, if a place is designated to write in the names of any party candidates under
22par. (b) 2. or sub. (2) (b), the places shall appear before the names of the independent
23candidates in the same order in which the ballots of their parties would appear under
24this paragraph. At polling places where voting machines are used, each party and
25the independent candidates shall be represented in one or more separate columns
1or rows on the ballot. At polling places where an electronic voting system is used
2other than an electronic voting machine, each party and the independent candidates
3may be represented in separate columns or rows on the ballot.
AB434, s. 22
4Section
22. 5.62 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 5.62 (1) (b) 1. and
5amended to read:
AB434,19,226
5.62
(1) (b) 1.
Every Except as provided in subd. 2. and s. 5.64 (1) (e) 2., every 7recognized political party listed on the official ballot at the last gubernatorial election
8whose candidate for any statewide office received at least
one percent 1% of the total
9votes cast for that office and, if the last general election was also a presidential
10election, every recognized political party listed on the ballot at that election whose
11candidate for president received at least
one percent
1% of the total vote cast for that
12office shall have a separate primary ballot or one or more separate columns or rows
13on the primary ballot as prescribed in par. (a) and a separate column on the general
14election ballot in every ward and election district. An organization which was listed
15as "independent" at the last general election and whose candidate meets the same
16qualification shall receive the same ballot status upon petition of the chairperson
17and secretary of the organization to the board requesting such status and specifying
18their party name, which may not duplicate the name of an existing party. A petition
19under this
paragraph subdivision may be filed no later than 5 p.m. on June 1 in the
20year of each general election.
This paragraph applies to a party only if at least one
21candidate of the party for a state office qualifies to have his or her name appear on
22the ballot under the name of the party at the last gubernatorial election.
AB434, s. 23
23Section
23. 5.62 (1) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
AB434,20,824
5.62
(1) (b) 2. Subdivision 1. applies to a party within any assembly district or
25county at any September primary election only if at least one candidate of the party
1for any national, state or county office qualifies to have his or her name appear on
2the ballot under the name of that party within that assembly district or county. The
3county clerk or county board of election commissioners shall provide a place on the
4ballot for the independent candidates that will permit an elector to cast a vote for a
5write-in candidate for the nomination of any party for each national, state and
6county office whenever that party qualifies to be represented on a separate primary
7ballot or in one or more separate columns or rows under subd. 1. but does not qualify
8under this subdivision.