2013 WISCONSIN ACT 146
(Vetoed in Part)
An Act to amend 6.86 (1) (b); and to create 6.86 (1) (bb) and 20.566 (2) (c) of the statutes;
relating to: limiting the times for voting by absentee ballots in person and making an appropriation.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
146,1
Section
1. 6.86 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
6.86 (1) (b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made by mail, the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be made no earlier than the opening of business on the 3rd Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. or the close of business, whichever is later, 7 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election. No application may be received on a legal holiday. An application made in person may only be received Monday to Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day. A municipality
may make available no more than 45 hours each week for in-person absentee voting for any statewide election and shall specify the hours in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The municipal clerk or an election official shall witness the certificate for any in-person absentee ballot cast. Except as provided in par. (c), if the elector is making written application for an absentee ballot at the partisan primary, the general election, the presidential preference primary, or a special election for national office, and the application indicates that the elector is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), the application shall be received by the municipal clerk no later than 5 p.m. on election day. If the application indicates that the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then witness the voting procedure as provided in s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who shall deliver it to the polling place or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal clerk as required in s. 6.88. If application is made under sub. (2) or (2m), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election.
146,2d
Section 2d. 6.86 (1) (bb) of the statutes is created to read:
6.86 (1) (bb) A municipality may hire individuals to assist in receiving absentee ballots in person for any statewide election during the period described under par. (b) and shall compensate the individuals as provided under s. 7.03 (1) (a), except that the state shall reimburse the municipality for 50 percent of the compensation paid to such individuals during the 2014-15 fiscal year, not to exceed compensation of 45 hours a week for each such individual. A municipality may receive compensation under this paragraph if it notifies the department of revenue, in the manner prescribed by the department, no later than July 1, 2015, of the amount of compensation paid to individuals to assist in receiving absentee ballots in person in the municipality for a statewide election. The department of revenue shall make payments under this paragraph from the appropriation account under s. 20.566 (2) (c).
146,2m
Section 2m. 20.566 (2) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
20.566 (2) (c) Absentee ballots in person. A sum sufficient to reimburse municipalities for compensation paid to individuals to assist in receiving absentee ballots in person, as provided under s. 6.86 (1) (bb).
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Section
3.
Initial applicability.
(1) This act first applies to elections held no earlier than 60 days after the effective date of this subsection.
