LRB-4488/1
CMH&TKK:sac
2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
February 12, 2016 - Introduced by Representatives Goyke, Barnes, Johnson,
Kessler, Ohnstad, Pope, Sinicki, Subeck and Zepnick, cosponsored by
Senators L. Taylor, Harris Dodd and Miller. Referred to Committee on
Corrections.
AB907,1,9
1An Act to repeal 6.29 (2) (am), 6.55 (2) (cs), 6.55 (3) (b), 6.56 (3m), 6.79 (2) (dm),
26.88 (3) (c), 301.03 (20m), 302.117, 304.078 (1) and 973.09 (4m);
to renumber
36.55 (3) (a);
to renumber and amend 6.03 (1) (b) and 304.078 (3);
to amend
46.33 (1), 6.33 (2) (a), 6.36 (1) (a), 7.52 (6), 301.03 (3a) (intro.), 304.078 (2) and
5973.176 (2); and
to create 6.03 (1) (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes;
relating
6to: restoring the right to vote to certain persons barred from voting as a result
7of a felony conviction, changing the information required on voter registration
8forms, and changing voting procedure for certain persons who are convicted of
9felonies.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, when a person is barred from voting as the result of a felony
conviction (a "disqualifying offense"), the person's right to vote may be restored
through a pardon. Otherwise, it is restored when the person completes his or her
sentence, including extended supervision or parole, or any term of probation
imposed.
Under this bill, a person loses his or her right to vote based on a disqualifying
offense only while he or she is incarcerated for that offense. A person released to
extended supervision or parole may resume voting. In addition, a person convicted
of a disqualifying offense and on probation retains the right to vote while on
probation unless he or she is confined as a condition of probation. But if a person who
committed a disqualifying offense is incarcerated after the revocation of extended
supervision, parole, or probation, the person loses the right to vote until he or she is
released.
Currently, an applicant for voter registration must affirm: 1) whether he or she
has been convicted of a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned and, if so,
whether the applicant is incarcerated or on parole, probation, or extended
supervision; and 2) whether the applicant is disqualified on any other ground from
voting. This bill deletes the requirement that an applicant provide any information
relating to a felony conviction but retains the requirement that an applicant affirm
that he or she is not disqualified on any ground from voting.
Currently, election officials are required to verify the eligibility of electors who
vote at an election or who register to vote at an election after the close of voter
registration for that election by checking each elector's name against a list provided
by the Department of Corrections (DOC) that contains the names of convicted felons
who have not completed their sentences and have not been pardoned. If a person's
name appears on the list, the election officials are directed to allow the person to vote
if he or she is otherwise eligible, but to mark and challenge the elector's ballot for
possible later review. This bill deletes the requirements for DOC to provide the list
of convicted felons and for election officials to review the names on the list.
The bill also requires DOC, the Government Accountability Board, and the
Director of State Courts to include in their ongoing training programs a discussion
of the changes in law made by this bill and to offer the training to judges, attorneys,
election officials, employees of DOC, and the public.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB907,1
1Section
1. 6.03 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 6.03 (1) (b) (intro.) and
2amended to read:
AB907,2,53
6.03
(1) (b) (intro.) Any person
convicted of treason, who, as a result of a felony
4or bribery, unless the person's right to vote is restored through a pardon or under s.
5304.078 (3). conviction, is any of the following:
AB907,2
6Section
2. 6.03 (1) (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes are created to read:
AB907,3,2
16.03
(1) (b) 1. Incarcerated while serving a sentence that was not imposed
2under s. 973.01.
AB907,3,43
2. Serving a term of confinement, or incarcerated after revocation of extended
4supervision, while serving a sentence that was imposed under s. 973.01.
AB907,3,55
3. Incarcerated following the revocation of probation.
AB907,3,66
4. Confined as a condition of probation under s. 973.09 (4) (a).
AB907,3
7Section
3. 6.29 (2) (am) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,4
8Section
4. 6.33 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,4,189
6.33
(1) The board shall prescribe the format, size, and shape of registration
10forms. All forms shall be printed on cards and each item of information shall be of
11uniform font size, as prescribed by the board. The municipal clerk shall supply
12sufficient forms to meet voter registration needs. The forms shall be designed to
13obtain from each applicant information as to name; date; residence location; location
14of previous residence immediately before moving to current residence location;
15citizenship; date of birth; age; the number of a current and valid operator's license
16issued to the elector under ch. 343 or the last 4 digits of the elector's social security
17account number; whether the applicant has resided within the ward or election
18district for at least 28 consecutive days;
whether the applicant has been convicted of
19a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned, and if so, whether the applicant
20is incarcerated, or on parole, probation, or extended supervision; whether the
21applicant is disqualified
on any other ground for any reason from voting; and
22whether the applicant is currently registered to vote at any other location. The form
23shall include a space for the applicant's signature. Below the space for the signature,
24the form shall state "Falsification of information on this form is punishable under
25Wisconsin law as a Class I felony.". The form shall include a space to enter the name
1of any special registration deputy under s. 6.26 or 6.55 (6) or inspector, municipal
2clerk, or deputy clerk under s. 6.55 (2) who obtains the form and a space for the
3deputy, inspector, clerk, or deputy clerk to sign his or her name, affirming that the
4deputy, inspector, clerk, or deputy clerk has accepted the form. The form shall
5include a space for entry of the ward and aldermanic district, if any, where the elector
6resides and any other information required to determine the offices and referenda
7for which the elector is certified to vote. The form shall also include a space where
8the clerk may record an indication of whether the form is received by mail, a space
9where the clerk shall record an indication of the type of identifying document
10submitted by the elector as proof of residence under s. 6.34, the name of the entity
11or institution that issued the identifying document, and, if the identifying document
12includes a number that applies only to the individual holding that document, that
13number. The form shall also include a space where the clerk, for any applicant who
14possesses a valid voting identification card issued to the person under s. 6.47 (3), may
15record the identification serial number appearing on the voting identification card.
16Each county clerk shall obtain sufficient registration forms for completion by an
17elector who desires to register to vote at the office of the county clerk under s. 6.28
18(4).
AB907,5
19Section
5. 6.33 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,5,620
6.33
(2) (a) All information may be recorded by any person, except that the ward
21and aldermanic district, if any, other geographic information under sub. (1), the
22indication of whether the registration is received by mail, the type of identifying
23document submitted by the elector as proof of residence under s. 6.34, and any
24information relating to an applicant's voting identification card shall be recorded by
25the clerk.
An applicant is not required to provide a copy of any certificate or notice
1issued to the applicant under s. 304.078. Each applicant shall sign his or her own
2name unless the applicant is unable to sign his or her name due to physical disability.
3In such case, the applicant may authorize another elector to sign the form on his or
4her behalf. If the applicant so authorizes, the elector signing the form shall attest
5to a statement that the application is made upon request and by authorization of a
6named elector who is unable to sign the form due to physical disability.
AB907,6
7Section
6. 6.36 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,6,48
6.36
(1) (a) The board shall compile and maintain electronically an official
9registration list. The list shall contain the name and address of each registered
10elector in the state
,; the date of birth of the elector
,; the ward and aldermanic district
11of the elector, if any
,; and, for each elector, a unique registration identification
12number assigned by the board, the number of a valid operator's license issued to the
13elector under ch. 343, if any, or the last 4 digits of the elector's social security account
14number, if any
,; any identification serial number issued to the elector under s. 6.47
15(3)
,; the date of any election in which the elector votes
,; an indication of whether the
16elector is an overseas elector, as defined in s. 6.24 (1)
, any information relating to the
17elector that appears on the current list transmitted to the board by the department
18of corrections under s. 301.03 (20m),; an indication of any accommodation required
19under s. 5.25 (4) (a) to permit voting by the elector
,
; an indication of the method by
20which the elector's registration form was received
,; and an indication of whether the
21elector was required under s. 6.34 to provide proof of residence and, if so, the type of
22identifying document submitted as proof of residence, the name of the entity or
23institution that issued the identifying document, and, if the identifying document
24included a number that applies only to the individual holding that document, up to
25the last 4 digits of that number. If the number on the identifying document submitted
1by the elector had 6 or fewer digits, the list under this paragraph may not contain
2more than the last 2 digits of that number. The list under this paragraph may contain
3such other information as may be determined by the board to facilitate
4administration of elector registration requirements.
AB907,7
5Section
7. 6.55 (2) (cs) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,8
6Section
8. 6.55 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 6.55 (3).
AB907,9
7Section
9. 6.55 (3) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,10
8Section
10. 6.56 (3m) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,11
9Section
11. 6.79 (2) (dm) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,12
10Section
12. 6.88 (3) (c) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,13
11Section
13. 7.52 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,6,2012
7.52
(6) The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall review each certificate
13envelope to determine whether any absentee ballot is cast by an elector whose name
14appears on the poll list as ineligible to vote at the election
, including ineligibility to
15vote by reason of a felony conviction. If the board of absentee ballot canvassers
16receives an absentee ballot that has been cast by an elector whose name appears on
17the poll list as ineligible to vote, the inspectors shall challenge the ballot in the same
18manner as provided for inspectors making challenges under s. 6.92 and shall treat
19the ballot in the
same manner as provided for treatment of challenged ballots by
20inspectors under s. 6.95.
AB907,14
21Section
14. 301.03 (3a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,6,2422
301.03
(3a) (intro.) Subject to all of the following, design a form to provide
23notice under
ss. 302.117, 973.09 (4m), and s. 973.176 (2) of ineligibility to vote under
24s. 6.03 (1) (b):
AB907,15
25Section
15. 301.03 (20m) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,16
1Section
16. 302.117 of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,17
2Section
17. 304.078 (1) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,18
3Section
18. 304.078 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,7,144
304.078
(2) Except
for the right to vote, which is restored as provided in sub.
5(3), every person who is convicted of a crime obtains a restoration of his or her civil
6rights by serving out his or her term of imprisonment or otherwise satisfying his or
7her sentence. The certificate of the department or other responsible supervising
8agency that a convicted person has served his or her
sentence term of imprisonment 9or otherwise satisfied the
judgment sentence against him or her is evidence of that
10fact and that the person is restored to his or her civil rights. The department or other
11agency shall list in the person's certificate rights which have been restored and which
12have not been restored. Persons who served out their terms of imprisonment or
13otherwise satisfied their sentences prior to August 14, 1947, are likewise restored to
14their civil rights from and after September 25, 1959.
AB907,19
15Section
19. 304.078 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 304.078 (3) (a) and
16amended to read:
AB907,7,2117
304.078
(3) (a) If a person is disqualified
from voting under s. 6.03 (1) (b)
from
18voting, his or her right to vote is restored when
he or she completes the term of
19imprisonment or probation for the crime that led to the disqualification. The the
20factor under s. 6.03 (1) (b) that disqualified him or her from voting no longer applies
21to him or her.
AB907,8,3
22(b) When a person is placed on parole or extended supervision or when a person
23is discharged from an incarceration sentence or a confinement period that
24disqualified him or her under s. 6.03 (1) (b) from voting, the department or, if the
25person is sentenced to a county jail or house of correction, the jailer shall
inform the
1person in writing at the time his or her provide the person written notice of the right
2to vote
is restored under this subsection and, if the person resided in this state at the
3time of conviction, a voter registration form.
AB907,20
4Section
20. 973.09 (4m) of the statutes is repealed.
AB907,21
5Section
21. 973.176 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB907,8,136
973.176
(2) Voting. Whenever a court imposes a sentence or
places a defendant
7on probation for a conviction a condition of probation that disqualifies the defendant
8from voting under s. 6.03 (1) (b), the court shall inform the defendant in writing that
9he or she may not vote in any election until
his or her civil rights are restored the
10factor under s. 6.03 (1) (b) that disqualified him or her from voting no longer applies
11to him or her. The court shall use the form designed by the department of corrections
12under s. 301.03 (3a) to inform the defendant, and the defendant and a witness shall
13sign the form.