EL 2.06 Treatment and sufficiency of declarations of candidacy. EL 2.07 Challenges to nomination papers. EL 2.08 Challenges to declarations of candidacy. EL 2.09 Treatment and sufficiency of election petitions. EL 2.11 Challenges to election petitions.
Ch. EL 2 NoteNote: Chapter ElBd 2 was renumbered chapter GAB 2 under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., and corrections made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 2. and 7., Stats., Register April 2008 No. 628. Chapter GAB 2 was renumbered Chapter EL 2 under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register June 2016 No. 726. EL 2.05EL 2.05 Treatment and validity of nomination papers. EL 2.05(1)(a)(a) “Address” means the street and number, if any, and municipality for voting purposes, all of which shall be accurate. EL 2.05(1)(b)(b) “Affidavit” means a document sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths, or a document declared pursuant to s. 887.15, Stats. EL 2.05(1)(c)(c) “Calendar day” includes every day of a given time period, including Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. EL 2.05(1)(d)(d) “Certification” means a sworn statement, or declaration pursuant to s. 887.015, Stats., under applicable Wisconsin law confirming that the qualified circulator met and complied with all requirements under s. 8.15 (4) (a), Stats. EL 2.05(1)(e)(e) “Clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence” means evidence which when weighed against that opposed to it clearly has more convincing power to a reasonable degree of certainty. A “reasonable certainty” means persuasion based upon a rational consideration of the evidence. Absolute certainty is not required, but a guess is not enough to meet this burden of proof. Clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence cannot be shown by bare assertions unsupported by a sworn affidavit or declaration. EL 2.05(1)(g)(g) “Elector” means an eligible voter of the State of Wisconsin, as determined by the qualifications of ss. 6.02 and 6.03, Stats., for the election in which the candidate is seeking ballot access. EL 2.05(1)(h)(h) “Facially sufficient” means that the information provided is substantially compliant with proper format and does not bear any indicia of facial invalidity. In this paragraph, indicia of facial invalidity means that at least one element of required information is missing, illegible, or obviously incorrect. EL 2.05(1)(i)(i) “Filing officer” means the Wisconsin elections commission for any federal or state office or referendum, the county clerk for any county office or referendum, the municipal clerk or the board of election commissioners for a municipal office or referendum, and the school district clerk for a school board office or referendum. EL 2.05(1)(j)(j) “Header” refers to the portion of the nomination paper required by ss. 8.10 (2) (b) and 8.15 (5) (a), Stats., that contains the candidate’s name; candidate’s residential address; candidate’s municipality for voting purposes; candidate’s mailing address, including state and ZIP code, if different than their residential address; type of election; election date; office sought; and name of jurisdiction or district in which candidate seeks office. EL 2.05(1)(k)(k) “Local filing officer” means a filing officer other than the Wisconsin elections commission. EL 2.05(1)(L)(L) “Nickname” has the meaning set forth in s. 5.02 (12m), Stats., and means a familiar or shortened form of a proper name by which an individual is commonly known. EL 2.05(1)(m)(m) “Nomination paper” means a petition to collect eligible signatures from persons who wish to nominate a candidate for an upcoming election. EL 2.05(1)(n)(n) “Printed name” means a handwritten name that is legible, such that the signer’s name can be discerned by the filing officer. EL 2.05(1)(o)(o) “Qualified circulator” has the meaning given by s. 5.02 (16g), Stats., and means a qualified elector of this state or any U.S. citizen age 18 or older who, if he or she were a resident of this state, would not be disqualified from voting under s. 6.03, Stats. EL 2.05(1)(p)(p) “Signature” means a tangible symbol made by a signer or their designee as authorized by sub. (6) (b), that evidences the signing of a nomination paper. EL 2.05(1)(q)(q) “Signer” means a person who chooses to place their signature and related information on a nomination paper to support a candidate seeking ballot access. EL 2.05(1)(r)(r) “Substantial compliance” means actual compliance in respect to every reasonable objective of the statute. Substantial compliance with a statute is not shown unless it demonstrates intent to fully comply with the statute and that the purpose of the statute is shown to have been served. EL 2.05(1)(s)(s) “Voting municipality” means that municipality that a signer is eligible to vote in for an election held on the date of signing as determined by the filing officer. EL 2.05(2)(2) Purpose. This section is promulgated pursuant to the direction of, and under the authority granted by, s. 8.07, Stats., and is to be used by filing officers in determining the validity of all nomination papers and the signatures and information on those papers. EL 2.05(3)(a)(a) Candidate responsibility. Each candidate for public office bears responsibility for assuring that their nomination papers are prepared, circulated, signed, and filed in compliance with applicable statutory provisions and requirements under the administrative code. EL 2.05(3)(b)(b) Physical possession. In order to be timely filed, all nomination papers shall be in the physical possession of the filing officer by the statutory deadline. Physical possession means the filing officer shall have taken possession of the original nomination papers. No other format is acceptable. EL 2.05(3)(c)(c) Numbering pages. Each of the nomination papers shall be numbered, before they are filed, and the numbers shall be assigned sequentially, beginning with the number “1”. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, neither the absence of a page number nor incorrect or non-consecutive numbering will invalidate the page or the signatures on that page. EL 2.05(4)(4) Validity of nomination papers, general. EL 2.05(4)(a)1.1. ‘Review of papers for facial sufficiency.’ The filing officer shall review all nomination papers filed with him or her, up to the maximum number permitted by the statute applicable to the relevant office, to determine the facial sufficiency of the papers filed. The filing officer shall utilize the procedure in ss. 8.10 (7) and 8.15 (9), Stats., for determining the maximum number of signatures necessary to establish whether the candidate has collected enough valid signatures. In determining facial sufficiency, the filing officer may consult maps, directories, and other extrinsic evidence to ascertain the correctness and sufficiency of information on a nomination paper, where circumstances and the time for review permit. EL 2.05(4)(a)2.2. ‘Facial review not binding.’ Nothing in subd. 1. shall constitute a defense against a challenge to the validity of nomination papers. Facial review completed by a filing officer before the filing deadline is done as a courtesy only and does not bind a filing officer to a final determination of ballot access. EL 2.05(4)(b)(b) Presumption of validity. Any facially sufficient information which appears on a nomination paper is entitled to a presumption of validity. EL 2.05(4)(c)(c) Substantial compliance. Where any required item of information on a nomination paper is incomplete, the filing officer shall accept the information as complete if there has been substantial compliance with applicable statutes and the administrative code. EL 2.05(4)(d)(d) Removing signatures. After a nomination paper has been signed, but before it has been filed, a signature may be removed by the signer or the qualified circulator. After a nomination paper has been filed, no signature may be added or removed. After a nomination paper has been filed, it may be amended, or an error or omission corrected, only through a valid correcting affidavit. EL 2.05(5)(ag)(ag) Generally. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, errors or omissions in information contained in a nomination paper, committed by either a signer or a qualified circulator, may be corrected by an affidavit of the qualified circulator, an affidavit of the candidate, or an affidavit of the signer. The person giving the correcting affidavit shall certify that they have personal knowledge of the correct information. Defects in the header of a nomination paper may not be changed or amended by affidavit after the paper has been circulated. EL 2.05(5)(ar)(ar) Deadline. Pursuant to s. 227.27 (1), Stats., it is the manifest intent of the commission that s. 990.001 (4), Stats., does not apply to the deadlines in this subsection. Any correcting affidavit shall be filed with the filing officer not later than 5 p.m. central time on the 3rd calendar day after the applicable statutory due date for when a challenge to nomination papers may be filed. Correcting affidavits may be submitted electronically. If a correcting affidavit is submitted on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it shall be submitted via facsimile transmission or electronic mail directly to the filing officer. EL 2.05(5)(b)(b) Correcting nomination papers not necessary. If a correcting affidavit is submitted, it amends the affected nomination papers on its own, and it is not necessary for the filing officer to edit or mark the nomination papers to be consistent with the changes in the affidavit. EL 2.05(5)(c)(c) Determination. The filing officer shall determine whether any correcting affidavit resolves the identified error or omission. EL 2.05(5)(d)(d) No new signatures. Correcting affidavits may not provide new or additional signatures or signature pages in addition to what was originally submitted to the filing official. EL 2.05(6)(6) Validity of nomination papers, signature lines. EL 2.05(6)(a)(a) Number of signatures. Nomination papers shall contain at least the minimum required number of signatures from the circuit, county, district or jurisdiction which the candidate seeks to represent. EL 2.05(6)(b)(b) Who may sign. A signer shall sign his or her own name unless unable to do so because of physical disability. A signer unable to sign because of physical disability shall be present when another person signs on behalf of the signer and shall specifically authorize the signing. EL 2.05(6)(c)(c) No signing for spouses. A person may not sign for his or her spouse, or for any other signer, even when they have been given a power of attorney by that signer, unless par. (b) applies. EL 2.05(6)(d)(d) Only one signature per signer. Only one signature per signer for the same office is valid, except that where a signer is entitled to vote for more than one candidate for the same office, that signer may sign the nomination papers of as many candidates for the same office as the signer is entitled to vote for at the election. EL 2.05(6)(e)(e) Accompanying information. Each signature on a nomination paper shall be accompanied by the signer’s address, printed name, and date of signature. EL 2.05(6)(f)(f) Ditto marks or “same.” A signature shall be counted when identical residential information or dates of signature for different signers are accurately indicated by ditto marks, another form of punctuation, or if an adjacent signer writes “same” or similar words to indicate that the residential information or signature dates are identical. EL 2.05(6)(g)(g) Impact of qualified circulator signature. No individual signature on a nomination paper may be counted if the signature is dated after the date that the qualified circulator completed and signed the certification contained on the nomination paper. Any signature that is dated on or before the date of the qualified circulator certification may be counted even if it appears on the same page as signatures dated after the circulator certification. The qualified circulator shall provide their residential address. No signature on the page may be counted when the residential address of the qualified circulator cannot be determined by the information given on the nomination paper. No signature may be counted if the date of qualified circulator certification is incomplete or incorrect. EL 2.05(6)(h)(h) Invalid individual signatures. An individual signature on a nomination paper may not be counted when any of the following occurs: EL 2.05(6)(h)1.1. ‘Missing date.’ The date of the signature is missing, unless the date can be determined by reference to the dates of any of the other signatures on the paper, including those dates above or below the signature. EL 2.05(6)(h)2.2. ‘Dated after qualified circulator certification.’ The signature is dated after the date on which the qualified circulator signed the certification. EL 2.05(6)(h)3.3. ‘Missing or incomplete address.’ The address of the signer is missing or incomplete, unless the address can be determined by the information provided on the nomination paper. If the signer has abbreviated the name of their municipality, the address is substantially compliant provided the municipality can be determined from other information contained on the nomination paper. Neither apartment number nor state and ZIP Code is required. EL 2.05(6)(h)4.4. ‘Unqualified elector.’ The signer has been adjudicated not to be a qualified elector on the grounds of incompetency or limited competency as provided in s. 6.03 (3), Stats., or was not, for any other reason, a qualified elector at the time of signing the nomination paper. If the signatory becomes an unqualified elector after signing the nomination paper, the signature should not be struck because the signer was a qualified elector when they signed. EL 2.05(6)(h)5.5. ‘Improper residence.’ The signer resides outside the circuit, county, district or jurisdiction that the candidate seeks to represent. EL 2.05(6)(h)6.6. ‘Legibility.’ If the filing officer cannot discern the signer’s first and last name, after reviewing both the signature and printed name, it is illegible pursuant to s. 8.10 (4) (b) or s. 8.15 (2), Stats., and shall not be counted. The filing officer is not required to consult extrinsic sources of information to attempt to discern the signer’s name but may do so in their discretion if it assists in discerning a possible name. EL 2.05(6)(h)7.7. ‘Nicknames and initials.’ If the signer has used a nickname or initials for their first or middle name, whether in their printed name or their signature, the printed name or signature is substantially compliant provided the printed name or signature complies with subd. 6. No nickname or initial is considered substantially compliant for the signer’s last name. EL 2.05(6)(h)8.8. ‘Age of signer.’ No person under the age of 18 may sign nomination papers. Age is determined on the date of signature, not based on the date of election. EL 2.05(6)(i)(i) Death of the signer. The death of a signer after a nomination paper has been signed does not invalidate the signature. EL 2.05(7)(7) Validity of nomination papers, header. EL 2.05(7)(a)(a) Office title and district designation. As to office title and district designation, the header of a nomination paper is valid as long as the filing officer finds that the signers could determine the office and district the candidate was pursuing based solely upon information provided in the header. EL 2.05(7)(b)(b) Election date. When the date of the election is entirely missing from the header of any nomination paper, the filing officer shall not count any of the signatures on the page. Incomplete or incorrect election dates can be found substantially compliant if the filing officer finds that signers could have determined the correct election date based solely upon information provided in the header. EL 2.05(7)(c)(c) Candidate name. The candidate shall provide their last name and first name. They may provide a nickname or initial for their first or middle name. In addition to their name, they may provide a former legal surname. The candidate may not provide any other abbreviations or titles. EL 2.05(7)(d)(d) Candidate address. A candidate shall provide their residential address, their mailing address, if different from their residential address, and their voting municipality in the header of each nomination paper. The residential address shall be the street address where the candidate resides; no other address is acceptable in lieu of a residential address. EL 2.05(7)(e)(e) Candidate information or advertising. The filing officer shall accept nomination papers which contain biographical data or campaign advertising. A nomination paper is substantially compliant if it does not contain the disclaimer specified in s. 11.1303 (2), Stats. EL 2.05(7)(f)(f) Political party of candidate. If the race is for partisan office, the header shall include the political party of the candidate. If the race is for a non-partisan office, the header shall not include the political party of the candidate. EL 2.05(8)(8) Validity of nomination papers, other issues. EL 2.05(8)(a)(a) Gender not required. Failure to provide an indicator of a candidate’s gender in the header does not invalidate any nomination papers. EL 2.05(8)(b)(b) Missing date of qualified circulator. If the date of qualified circulator certification is incomplete or incorrect, the nomination paper is not substantially compliant, and no signatures on that page may be counted, subject to sub. (5). EL 2.05 NoteNote: This section is shown as repealed and recreated by CR 25-064 eff. 4-1-26. Prior to 4-1-26 it reads: EL 2.05 NoteEL 2.05 Treatment and sufficiency of nomination papers. (1) Each candidate for public office has the responsibility to assure that his or her nomination papers are prepared, circulated, signed, and filed in compliance with statutory and other legal requirements.
EL 2.05 Note(2) In order to be timely filed, all nomination papers shall be in the physical possession of the filing officer by the statutory deadline. Each of the nomination papers shall be numbered, before they are filed, and the numbers shall be assigned sequentially, beginning with the number “1”. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the absence of a page number will not invalidate the signatures on that page.
EL 2.05 Note(3) The filing officer shall review all nomination papers filed with it, up to the maximum number permitted, to determine the facial sufficiency of the papers filed. Where circumstances and the time for review permit, the filing officer may consult maps, directories and other extrinsic evidence to ascertain the correctness and sufficiency of information on a nomination paper.
EL 2.05 Note(4) Any information which appears on a nomination paper is entitled to a presumption of validity. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, errors in information contained in a nomination paper, committed by either a signer or a circulator, may be corrected by an affidavit of the circulator, an affidavit of the candidate, or an affidavit of a person who signed the nomination paper. The person giving the correcting affidavit shall have personal knowledge of the correct information and the correcting affidavit shall be filed with the filing officer not later than three calendar days after the applicable statutory due date for the nomination papers.
EL 2.05 Note(5) Where any required item of information on a nomination paper is incomplete, the filing officer shall accept the information as complete if there has been substantial compliance with the law.
EL 2.05 Note(6) Nomination papers shall contain at least the minimum required number of signatures from the circuit, county, district or jurisdiction which the candidate seeks to represent.
EL 2.05 Note(7) The filing officer shall accept nomination papers which contain biographical data or campaign advertising. The disclaimer specified in s. 11.1303 (2), Stats., is not required on any nomination paper. EL 2.05 Note(8) An elector shall sign his or her own name unless unable to do so because of physical disability. An elector unable to sign because of physical disability shall be present when another person signs on behalf of the disabled elector and shall specifically authorize the signing.
EL 2.05 Note(9) A person may not sign for his or her spouse, or for any other person, even when they have been given a power of attorney by that person, unless sub. (8) applies.
EL 2.05 Note(10) The signature of a married woman shall be counted when she uses her husband’s first name instead of her own.
EL 2.05 Note(11) Only one signature per person for the same office is valid. Where an elector is entitled to vote for more than one candidate for the same office, a person may sign the nomination papers of as many candidates for the same office as the person is entitled to vote for at the election.
EL 2.05 Note(12) A complete address, including municipality of residence for voting purposes, and the street and number, if any, of the residence, (or a postal address if it is located in the jurisdiction that the candidate seeks to represent), shall be listed for each signature on a nomination paper.
EL 2.05 Note(13) A signature shall be counted when identical residential information or dates for different electors are indicated by ditto marks.
EL 2.05 Note(14) No signature on a nomination paper shall be counted unless the elector who circulated the nomination paper completes and signs the certificate of circulator and does so after, not before, the paper is circulated. No signature may be counted when the residency of the circulator cannot be determined by the information given on the nomination paper.
