LRBs0296/1
MPG:skw&amn
2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO SENATE BILL 214
February 21, 2022 - Offered by Senator Stafsholt.
SB214-SSA1,1,7
1An Act to repeal 8.20 (8) (am);
to renumber and amend 7.52 (1) (a);
to amend
25.84 (1), 6.15 (4) (a), 6.15 (4) (b), 6.86 (1) (b), 6.87 (6), 6.88 (1), 6.88 (2), 7.15 (1)
3(cm), 7.52 (2), 7.52 (3) (a), 7.52 (4) (a), 7.52 (9) and 8.20 (8) (a); and
to create 6.19,
46.88 (4), 7.52 (1) (a) 2., 7.52 (1) (d) to (g) and 7.52 (10) of the statutes;
relating
5to: early canvassing of absentee ballots, issuance of presidential ballots,
6timeline for sending or transmitting absentee ballots, nomination papers for
7certain independent candidates, and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Early canvassing of absentee ballots
Under current law, absentee ballots may not be canvassed until election day.
Current law additionally provides that any municipality may provide by ordinance
that, in lieu of canvassing absentee ballots at polling places, a municipal board of
absentee ballot canvassers established by the municipality is responsible for
canvassing all absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election
day. In such a municipality, the board of absentee ballot canvassers is required to
convene a meeting any time after the polls open and before 10 p.m. on election day
to canvass the absentee ballots cast in the municipality in the election. Among the
requirements governing such a meeting, any member of the public has the same right
of access to the meeting that the individual would have to observe the canvassing of
absentee ballots at a polling place.
Also under current law, other than as described above, votes, including votes
cast by absentee ballot, are canvassed at the polling place after polls close on election
day. However, in a municipality that uses an electronic voting system, the municipal
clerk or municipal board of election commissioners may adjourn the vote canvass to
a central counting location where votes cast at multiple polling places in the
municipality and absentee ballots may all be counted after the polls close on election
day.
This bill does all of the following:
1. Requires the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers in a municipality
having an ordinance described above to begin canvassing absentee ballots on the day
before an election.
2. Provides that no municipality may utilize a central counting location unless
it has passed an ordinance providing for the canvassing of absentee ballots by a board
of absentee ballot canvassers.
3. Provides that the board of absentee ballot canvassers must publicly convene
at 7 a.m. on the day before the election to begin the canvass of absentee ballots for
the municipality and may not recess until 10 p.m. on that day, or at such time when
there are no further absentee ballots to be processed on that day, whichever is earlier,
at which time the meeting must recess and then reconvene at 7 a.m. on election day
and continue until all absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on
election day have been canvassed.
4. Upon recess of the board of absentee ballot canvassers on the day before the
election, at least once every four hours on election day until the polls close, and at
least once every hour after the polls close until the canvass is complete, requires the
municipal clerk or his or her designee to post, at his or her office and on the Internet
at a site announced by the clerk before canvassing begins, and to make available to
any person upon request, a statement that shows the number of absentee ballots that
the board has canvassed and the number of absentee ballots returned to the clerk
that remain to be canvassed.
5. If the meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers convenes and then
recesses on the day before the election, requires the board to secure the automatic
tabulating equipment, and the areas where the programmed media, memory
devices, and absentee ballots are housed, with tamper-evident security seals in a
double-lock location such as a locked cabinet inside a locked office. Before resuming
the canvassing of absentee ballots on election day, the board must check and record
the status of each tamper-evident seal and must immediately notify the Elections
Commission of any evidence of tampering. If the board discovers evidence of
tampering with respect to automatic tabulating equipment, the canvass may not
resume until the equipment is replaced and the replacement equipment is tested.
Also, if the board discovers evidence of tampering, the municipality must conduct a
recount after the election and must audit the election equipment to verify the
accuracy of the absentee ballot count.
6. Allows a board of absentee ballot canvassers to perform only certain tasks
in canvassing of absentee ballots on the day before the election. Automatic
tabulating equipment may not be used to tabulate absentee ballots until election day,
and absentee ballots canvassed under the bill may not be tallied until after the
canvass is complete or after the polls close on election day, whichever is later.
7. Provides that no person may act in a manner that would give him or her the
ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from
the ballots canvassed under the bill before the canvass is complete or before the polls
close on election day, whichever is later. Whoever intentionally violates that
prohibition is guilty of a Class I felony, the penalty for which is a fine not to exceed
$10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both.
8. Authorizes, at the discretion of the municipal clerk, municipalities not
utilizing a central counting location and not having a board of absentee ballot
canvassers to begin processing absentee ballots beginning at 7 a.m. on the day before
the election subject to requirements substantially similar to those described above.
Finally, under current law, criminal penalties are provided for election officials
who commit certain specified kinds of election fraud. Otherwise, the willful neglect
or refusal of an election official to perform a duty prescribed under the election laws
is punishable by disqualification to act as an election official for five years. Under
the bill, a member of the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers or other
election official who willfully neglects or refuses to perform any of the duties
prescribed under the bill, and other duties prescribed under current law, with respect
to the canvassing of absentee ballots by a municipal board of absentee ballot
canvassers is guilty of a Class I felony.
Issuance of presidential ballots
Under current law, certain new and former residents of Wisconsin may apply
for and receive a ballot for the purpose of voting only for candidates for president and
vice president at a presidential election in Wisconsin. This bill prohibits poll workers
and other election officials from providing a ballot used for voting for the offices of
president and vice president only, unless the elector is a new or former resident of
the state and applies and qualifies for the presidential ballot as provided by law.
Timeline for sending or transmitting absentee ballots
Current law requires a municipal clerk to send an absentee ballot for each
partisan primary, presidential preference primary, and general election to all
electors requesting the ballot, including military and overseas electors, no later than
the 47th day before the partisan primary, presidential preference primary, or general
election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business day after
the request is received. For all other primaries and elections, the municipal clerk
must send or transmit the absentee ballot no later than the 21st day before the
primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business
day after the request is received.
Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or transmit an absentee ballot for
all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of primary or election, to electors
other than military and overseas electors no later than the 21st day before the
primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within one business
day after the request is received. Under the bill, a municipal clerk must send or
transmit an absentee ballot for all primaries and elections, regardless of the type of
primary or election, to military and overseas electors no later than the 45th day
before the primary or election or, if the request is not made before that day, within
one business day after the request is received. That 45th day timeline is consistent
with federal law.
Nomination papers for certain independent candidates
Under current law, nomination papers for independent candidates for any
office to be voted upon at a general election, except president and vice president, may
be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the June 1 preceding the partisan primary, which is held
on the second Tuesday in August preceding the general election. Under current law,
nomination papers for independent candidates for president and vice president may
be circulated no sooner than the July 1 preceding the general election and must be
filed no later than 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in August preceding a presidential
election.
Under the bill, the timeline for circulating and filing nomination papers for
independent candidates for president and vice president is the same as that for all
other independent candidates for offices to be voted on at the general election:
nomination papers may be circulated no sooner than the April 15 preceding the
general election and must be filed no later than the June 1 preceding the partisan
primary.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB214-SSA1,1
1Section 1
. 5.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,5,122
5.84
(1) Where any municipality employs an electronic voting system
which 3that utilizes automatic tabulating equipment,
either at the polling place or at a
4central counting location, the municipal clerk shall, on any day not more than 10
5days prior to the
election day on which the equipment is to be utilized
in an election,
6have the equipment tested to ascertain that it will correctly count the votes cast for
7all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall
8be given by the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the test
by posting notice on the
9municipality's Internet site if it has one and by publication of a class 1 notice under
1ch. 985 in one or more newspapers published within the municipality if a newspaper
2is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The
3test shall be open to the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a
4preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined number of valid
5votes for each candidate and on each referendum. The test shall include for each
6office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law
7and, for a partisan primary election, one or more ballots which have votes cast for
8candidates of more than one recognized political party, in order to test the ability of
9the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the
10municipal clerk shall ascertain the cause and correct the error. The clerk shall make
11an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the
12clerk for use in the election.
SB214-SSA1,2
13Section 2
. 6.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,5,1814
6.15
(4) (a) Clerks holding new resident ballots shall deliver them to the
15election inspectors in the proper ward or election district where the new residents
16reside or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the
17municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers
when it convenes at a meeting
18convened under s. 7.52 (1), as provided by s. 6.88 for absentee ballots.
SB214-SSA1,3
19Section 3
. 6.15 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,5,2520
6.15
(4) (b) During polling hours,
or on the day before the election if elected by
21the municipal clerk under s. 6.88 (4), the inspectors shall open each carrier envelope,
22announce the elector's name, check the affidavit for proper execution, and check the
23voting qualifications for the ward, if any. In municipalities where absentee ballots
24are canvassed under s. 7.52, the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers shall
25perform this function at a meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers.
SB214-SSA1,4
1Section
4. 6.19 of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1,6,4
26.19 Presidential ballots. (1) In this section, “presidential ballot” means a
3ballot that allows an elector to vote only for candidates for president and vice
4president.
SB214-SSA1,6,7
5(2) No election inspector or other election official may provide a presidential
6ballot to an elector for voting at a presidential election, except as provided under ss.
76.15 and 6.18.
SB214-SSA1,5
8Section 5
. 6.86 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,7,89
6.86
(1) (b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made by mail,
10the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 5th day immediately
11preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be
12made no earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday
13preceding the election. No application may be received on a legal holiday. A
14municipality shall specify the hours in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The
15municipal clerk or an election official shall witness the certificate for any in-person
16absentee ballot cast. Except as provided in par. (c), if the elector is making written
17application for an absentee ballot at the partisan primary, the general election, the
18presidential preference primary, or a special election for national office, and the
19application indicates that the elector is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), the
20application shall be received by the municipal clerk no later than 5 p.m. on election
21day. If the application indicates that the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is
22that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than
235 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday
24immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall
25immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and
1deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and
2give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then witness the voting procedure as
3provided in s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who
4shall deliver it to the
polling place election inspectors of the proper ward or election
5district or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to
6the municipal clerk as required in s. 6.88. If application is made under sub. (2) or
7(2m), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately
8preceding the election.
SB214-SSA1,6
9Section 6
. 6.87 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,7,1610
6.87
(6) The ballot shall be returned so it is delivered to the
polling place 11election inspectors of the proper ward or election district no later than 8 p.m. on
12election day. Except in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under
13s. 7.52, if the municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot on election day, the clerk
14shall secure the ballot and cause the ballot to be delivered to the polling place serving
15the elector's residence before 8 p.m. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided
16in this subsection may not be counted.
SB214-SSA1,7
17Section 7
. 6.88 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,8,818
6.88
(1) When an absentee ballot arrives at the office of the municipal clerk,
19or at an alternate site under s. 6.855, if applicable, the clerk shall enclose it,
20unopened, in a carrier envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the
21name and official title of the clerk, and the words “This envelope contains the ballot
22of an absent elector and must be opened
in the same room where votes are being cast
23at the polls during polling hours on election day or, in municipalities where absentee
24ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, stats., at a meeting of the municipal board of
25absentee ballot canvassers under s. 7.52, stats only as provided by law." If the elector
1is a military elector, as defined in s. 6.34 (1), or an overseas elector, regardless of
2whether the elector qualifies as a resident of this state under s. 6.10, and the ballot
3was received by the elector by facsimile transmission or electronic mail and is
4accompanied by a separate certificate, the clerk shall enclose the ballot in a
5certificate envelope and securely append the completed certificate to the outside of
6the envelope before enclosing the ballot in the carrier envelope. The clerk shall keep
7the ballot in the clerk's office or at the alternate site, if applicable until delivered, as
8required in sub. (2).
SB214-SSA1,8
9Section 8
. 6.88 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,8,2210
6.88
(2) When an absentee ballot is received by the municipal clerk prior to the
11delivery of the official ballots to the election officials of the ward in which the elector
12resides or, where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal board
13of absentee ballot canvassers, the municipal clerk shall seal the ballot envelope in
14the carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1), and shall enclose the envelope in a
15package and deliver the package to the election inspectors of the proper ward or
16election district or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s.
177.52, to the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers
when it convenes at a
18meeting convened under s. 7.52 (1). When the official ballots for the ward or election
19district have been delivered to the election inspectors before the receipt of an
20absentee ballot, the clerk shall immediately enclose the envelope containing the
21absentee ballot in a carrier envelope as provided under sub. (1) and deliver it in
22person to the proper election officials.
SB214-SSA1,9
23Section
9. 6.88 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1,9,3
16.88
(4) (a) At the municipal clerk's discretion, and subject to pars. (b) to (f), the
2election inspectors may convene a meeting to begin processing absentee ballots
3beginning at 7 a.m. on the day before the election.
SB214-SSA1,9,84
(b) The municipal clerk shall give at least 48 hours' notice of a meeting under
5this subsection. Any member of the public has the same right of access to observe
6the proceedings at a meeting under this subsection that the individual would have
7under s. 7.41. The election inspectors may order the removal of any individual
8exercising the right to observe the proceedings if the individual disrupts the meeting.
SB214-SSA1,9,179
(c) Upon recess of a meeting convened under this subsection on the day before
10the election, at least once every 4 hours on election day until the polls close, and at
11least once every hour after the polls close until the canvass is complete, the municipal
12clerk or his or her designee shall post, at the municipal clerk's office and on the
13Internet at a site announced by the clerk before canvassing begins, and shall make
14available to any person upon request, a statement that shows the number of absentee
15ballots that the election inspectors have canvassed and the number of absentee
16ballots returned that remain to be canvassed. The posting may not include the
17names or addresses of any electors.
SB214-SSA1,9,2518
(d) If the meeting of the election inspectors recesses on the day before the
19election, the election inspectors shall place the absentee ballots in secure ballot bags
20and shall secure the automatic tabulating equipment, and the areas where the
21programmed media, memory devices, and absentee ballots are housed, with
22tamper-evident security seals in a double-lock location such as a locked cabinet
23inside a locked office. Before resuming the canvassing of absentee ballots on election
24day, the election inspectors shall check and record the status of each tamper-evident
25seal. The election inspectors shall immediately notify the commission of any
1evidence of tampering. If the election inspectors discover evidence of tampering with
2respect to automatic tabulating equipment, the canvass may not resume until the
3equipment is replaced and the replacement equipment is tested as provided in s.
45.84. If the election inspectors discover evidence of tampering under this paragraph,
5the municipality shall conduct a recount after the election of all absentee ballots cast
6in the municipality in the election in the manner provided under s. 9.01 and shall
7audit the election equipment to verify the accuracy of the absentee ballot count in the
8municipality in the election.
SB214-SSA1,10,129
(e) Only those tasks specified in sub. (3) may be performed on the day before
10the election. Automatic tabulating equipment may not be used until election day,
11and absentee ballots canvassed under this section may not be tallied until after the
12canvass is complete or after the polls close on election day, whichever is later.
SB214-SSA1,10,1713
(f) No person may intentionally act in a manner that would give him or her the
14ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from
15the ballots canvassed under this section before the canvass is complete or before the
16polls close on election day, whichever is later. Whoever intentionally violates this
17paragraph is guilty of a Class I felony.
SB214-SSA1,10
18Section 10
. 7.15 (1) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,11,1019
7.15
(1) (cm) Prepare official absentee ballots for delivery to electors requesting
20them
, and
except as provided in this paragraph, send an official absentee ballot
to
21each elector who has requested a ballot by mail, and to each military elector, as
22defined in s. 6.34 (1), and overseas elector who has requested a ballot by mail,
23electronic mail, or facsimile transmission
, no later than the
47th 45th day before
24each partisan primary
, presidential preference primary, special primary or election, 25and general election
and no later than the 21st day before each other primary and
1election if the request is made before that day; otherwise, the municipal clerk shall
2send or transmit an official absentee ballot within one business day of the time the
3military or overseas elector's request for such a ballot is received. The clerk shall
4send or transmit an absentee ballot
for the presidential preference primary to each
5elector who has requested that to all other electors requesting a ballot no later than
6the
47th 21st day before the
presidential preference primary
or election if the request
7is made before that day, or, if the request is not made before that day, within one
8business day of the time the request is received. For purposes of this paragraph,
9“business day" means any day from Monday to Friday, not including a legal holiday
10under s. 995.20.
SB214-SSA1,11
11Section 11
. 7.52 (1) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 7.52 (1) (a) 1. and
12amended to read:
SB214-SSA1,12,413
7.52
(1) (a) 1. The governing body of any municipality may provide by ordinance
14that, in lieu of canvassing absentee ballots at polling places under s. 6.88, the
15municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers designated under s. 7.53 (2m) shall,
16at each election held in the municipality, canvass all absentee ballots received by the
17municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day. Prior to enacting an ordinance under this
18subsection subdivision, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the
19municipality shall notify the
elections commission in writing of the proposed
20enactment and shall consult with the
elections commission concerning
21administration of this section. At every election held in the municipality following
22enactment of an ordinance under this
subsection
subdivision, the board of absentee
23ballot canvassers shall
, any time after the opening of the polls and before 10 p.m. on
24election day, publicly convene
at 7 a.m. on the day before the election to
count the 25begin the canvass of absentee ballots for the municipality
and may not recess until
110 p.m. on that day, or at such time when there are no further absentee ballots to be
2processed on that day, whichever is earlier, at which time the meeting shall recess;
3the meeting shall reconvene at 7 a.m. on election day and continue until all absentee
4ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day have been canvassed.
SB214-SSA1,12,11
53. The municipal clerk shall give at least 48 hours' notice of
any the meeting
6under this subsection. Any member of the public has the same right of access to a
7meeting of the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers under this subsection
8that the individual would have under s. 7.41 to observe the proceedings at a polling
9place. The board of absentee ballot canvassers may order the removal of any
10individual exercising the right to observe the proceedings if the individual disrupts
11the meeting.
SB214-SSA1,12
12Section 12
. 7.52 (1) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
SB214-SSA1,12,1513
7.52
(1) (a) 2. No municipality may utilize a central counting location under s.
147.51 (1) unless the governing body of the municipality has adopted an ordinance
15under subd. 1.