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2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 2,
TO SENATE BILL 205
June 7, 2021 - Offered by Senator Stroebel.
SB205-SSA2,1,5 1An Act to renumber and amend 6.875 (4) (b); to amend 6.875 (4) (am), 6.875
2(6) (a), 6.875 (6) (c) 2., 6.875 (7), 7.315 (1) (a) and 12.60 (1) (a); and to create
36.875 (4) (b) 2., 6.875 (6) (f), 6.875 (8) and 12.13 (3m) of the statutes; relating
4to:
absentee voting in certain residential care facilities and retirement homes
5and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a municipal clerk is required, under certain circumstances,
to dispatch special voting deputies to a residential care facility or qualified
retirement home so that the occupants of the facility or home may cast an absentee
ballot in person with the special voting deputies rather than vote in person at the
appropriate polling place or request and complete an absentee ballot by mail. Under
current law, a retirement home is a facility occupied as a primary residence by 10 or
more unrelated individuals. A qualified retirement home is a retirement home that
has a significant number of occupants who lack adequate transportation to the
polling place, need assistance in voting, are aged 60 or over, or are indefinitely
confined.
Current law requires a municipality that appoints special voting deputies to
appoint at least two special voting deputies for the municipality and the deputies

must be eligible voters of the county where the municipality is located. In addition,
the two deputies designated to visit each qualified retirement home and residential
care facility must be affiliated with different political parties whenever deputies
representing different parties are available. Current law prohibits individuals
employed at a residential care facility or qualified retirement home in the
municipality, or any member of the individual's immediate family, from serving as
a special voting deputy.
Under this bill, the municipal clerk may appoint any individual who is
employed at a qualified retirement home or residential care facility in the
municipality to serve as an absentee voting assistant to assist in the procedures for
voting at the home or facility in the event that special voting deputies are denied
entry into the home or facility. An absentee voting assistant may carry out the same
duties as a special voting deputy and must be an eligible voter of the county where
the home or facility is located. An absentee voting assistant must complete a
two-hour online training prescribed by the Elections Commission and take the same
oath of office as a special voting deputy appointed under current law. In addition,
the absentee voting assistants appointed to each facility or home must be affiliated
with different political parties whenever assistants representing different parties
are available. Under the bill, the administer of each facility or home must provide
at least two employees to serve as absentee voting assistants. The bill also modifies
current law so that no current or former employee of a qualified retirement home or
residential care facility may serve as a special voting deputy.
Under current law, the municipal clerk need not dispatch special voting
deputies to a residential care facility unless there are at least five registered voters
who are occupants of the facility. The bill requires the clerk to dispatch special voting
deputies to any residential care facility where there is at least one registered voter
who is an occupant of the facility.
Under current law, the special voting deputies must, not later than 5 p.m. on
the sixth working day preceding an election, arrange with the administrator of the
qualified retirement home or residential care facility one or more convenient times
to visit the home or facility. The administrator of the home or facility may, upon the
request of a relative of an occupant of the home or facility notify the relative of the
time or times at which special voting deputies will conduct absentee voting at the
home or facility. Current law also requires that the visits may be no earlier than the
fourth Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday
preceding the election
Under the bill, the special voting deputies must make arrangements to visit the
qualified retirement homes or residential care facilities no later than 5 p.m. on the
11th working day preceding the election and the visits may be no earlier than the
fourth Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. on the sixth working
day preceding the election. This bill also requires the administrator to provide notice
of the dates and times when the deputies or absentee voting assistants will be
assisting voters at the home or facility to the relatives for whom the home or facility
has contact information. In addition, under the bill, no administrator of a qualified
retirement home or residential care facility may deny a special voting deputy from

entering the home or facility unless the governor declares a public health emergency
within 60 days preceding the election for which the deputies are appointed or the
Department of Health Services or the federal Centers for Medicare or Medicaid
Services recommends that the family members of the occupants of a home or facility
be denied access to the home or facility.
The bill also provides that an employee of a qualified retirement home or
residential care facility who coerces an occupant of the home or facility to apply for
or not apply for an absentee ballot or cast or refrain from casting a ballot or who
coerces an occupant to cast a ballot for or against a particular candidate or ballot
question is guilty of a Class I felony.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB205-SSA2,1 1Section 1. 6.875 (4) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,3,52 6.875 (4) (am) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of a
3municipality need not shall dispatch special voting deputies to visit any residential
4care facility unless where there are is at least 5 one registered electors elector of the
5municipality who are occupants is an occupant of the facility.
SB205-SSA2,2 6Section 2. 6.875 (4) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 6.875 (4) (b) 1. and
7amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,3,178 6.875 (4) (b) 1. Nominations for the special voting deputy positions described
9in par. (a) may be submitted by the 2 recognized political parties whose candidates
10for governor or president received the greatest numbers of votes in the municipality
11at the most recent general election. The deputies shall be specially appointed to
12carry out the duties under par. (a) for the period specified in s. 7.30 (6) (a). The clerk
13or board of election commissioners may revoke an appointment at any time. No
14individual who is employed or retained, or within the 2 years preceding appointment
15has been employed or retained,
at a qualified retirement home or residential care
16facility in the municipality, or any member of the individual's immediate family, as
17defined in s. 19.42 (7), may be appointed to serve as a deputy.
SB205-SSA2,3
1Section 3. 6.875 (4) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
SB205-SSA2,4,62 6.875 (4) (b) 2. No individual who is employed or retained at a qualified
3retirement home or residential care facility in the municipality who is not an
4absentee voting assistant appointed under sub. (8) may assist an occupant of the
5home or facility in requesting, completing, or returning the occupant's absentee
6ballot.
SB205-SSA2,4 7Section 4. 6.875 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,4,248 6.875 (6) (a) Special voting deputies in each municipality shall, not later than
95 p.m. on the 6th 11th working day preceding an election, arrange one or more
10convenient times with the administrator of each qualified retirement home and
11residential care facility in the municipality that the deputies are scheduled to visit.
12The time may be no earlier than the 4th Monday preceding the election and no later
13than 5 p.m. on the Monday 6th working day preceding the election. The municipal
14clerk shall give notice of each visit by special voting deputies to a qualified retirement
15home or residential care facility in the same manner that notices of public meetings
16are provided by presiding officers under s. 19.84 (1) (b) at least 5 working days in
17advance of each visit, indicating the date and time of the visit. The municipal clerk
18also shall post a notice at the home or facility and on the Internet indicating the date
19and time that absentee voting will take place at that home or facility. The notice shall
20be posted as soon as practicable after arranging the visit but in no case less than 5
21working days before the visit. A municipal clerk whose municipality does not
22maintain an Internet site need not comply with the Internet posting requirement.
23At the designated time, 2 deputies appointed under sub. (4) shall visit the home or
24facility.
SB205-SSA2,5 25Section 5. 6.875 (6) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,5,9
16.875 (6) (c) 2. Upon the request of a relative of an occupant of a qualified
2retirement home or residential care facility, the administrator of the home or facility
3may notify the relative of the time or times at which special voting deputies will
4conduct absentee voting at the home or facility and permit the
The administrator of
5a qualified retirement home or residential care facility shall provide notice of the
6dates and times when the deputies or absentee voting assistants appointed under
7sub. (8) will be facilitating absentee voting at the home or facility to each relative of
8an occupant for whom the home or facility has contact information. The
relative to
9may be present in the room where the voting is conducted.
SB205-SSA2,6 10Section 6. 6.875 (6) (f) of the statutes is created to read:
SB205-SSA2,5,1711 6.875 (6) (f) No administrator of a qualified retirement home or residential care
12facility may deny special voting deputies from entering the home or facility unless
13the governor declares a public health emergency under s. 323.10 within 60 days
14preceding the election for which the deputies are appointed or guidance issued by the
15department of health services or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
16Services recommends that the family members of the occupants of a home or facility
17be denied entry to the home or facility.
SB205-SSA2,7 18Section 7. 6.875 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,6,319 6.875 (7) One observer from each of the 2 recognized political parties whose
20candidate for governor or president received the greatest number of votes in the
21municipality at the most recent general election may accompany the deputies to each
22home or facility where absentee voting will take place under this section. In addition,
23one relative, or the legal guardian, of each occupant of the home or facility may
24accompany the deputies to observe the absentee voting.
The observers may observe
25the process of absentee ballot distribution in the common areas of the home or facility.

1Each party or occupant wishing to have an observer present shall submit the name
2of the observer to the clerk or board of election commissioners no later than the close
3of business on the last business day prior to the visit.
SB205-SSA2,8 4Section 8 . 6.875 (8) of the statutes is created to read:
SB205-SSA2,6,135 6.875 (8) (a) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of each
6municipality in which one or more qualified retirement homes or residential care
7facilities are located may appoint any individual who is employed or retained at a
8qualified retirement home or residential care facility in the municipality to serve as
9an absentee voting assistant to assist in the procedures for voting at the home or
10facility in the event that special voting deputies appointed under sub. (4) (a) are
11denied entry into the home or facility, as provided under sub. (6) (f). The
12administrator of each such home or facility shall provide at least 2 employees to serve
13as absentee voting assistants.
SB205-SSA2,6,1814 (b) Absentee voting assistants appointed under par. (a) shall comply with the
15duties for special voting deputies under this section and complete a 2-hour online
16training, as prescribed by the commission under s. 7.315 (1) (a). An absentee voting
17assistant appointed under par. (a) shall be a qualified elector of the county where the
18municipality is located.
SB205-SSA2,7,619 (c) Prior to entering upon his or her duties, each individual appointed to serve
20as an absentee voting assistant under par. (a) shall file the oath required by s. 7.30
21(5). In the oath, the individual shall swear that he or she is qualified to act as an
22absentee voting assistant under this subsection, that he or she has read the statutes
23governing absentee voting, that he or she understands the proper absentee voting
24procedure, that he or she understands the penalties for noncompliance with the
25procedure under s. 12.13, and that his or her sacred obligation will be to fully and

1fairly implement the absentee voting law and seek to have the intent of the electors
2ascertained. In addition, the oath shall state that the individual realizes that any
3error in conducting the voting procedure may result in invalidation of an elector's
4vote under s. 7.51 (2) (e) and that the individual realizes that absentee voting is a
5privilege and not a constitutional right. The form of the oath shall be prescribed by
6the commission.
SB205-SSA2,7,127 (d) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall appoint at
8least 2 individuals employed or retained by the qualified retirement home or
9residential care facility to serve as absentee voting assistants under par. (a). The
10absentee voting assistants for each home or facility shall be affiliated with different
11political parties whenever absentee voting assistants representing different parties
12are available.
SB205-SSA2,9 13Section 9 . 7.315 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,7,1714 7.315 (1) (a) The commission shall, by rule, prescribe the contents of the
15training that municipal clerks must provide to inspectors, other than chief
16inspectors, and to special voting deputies appointed under s. 6.875 (4), and to
17absentee voting assistants appointed under s. 6.875 (8)
.
SB205-SSA2,10 18Section 10. 12.13 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB205-SSA2,7,2419 12.13 (3m) Absentee voting in certain residential care facilities and
20retirement homes
. No employee of a qualified retirement home, as defined in s.
216.875 (1) (at), or residential care facility, as defined in s. 6.875 (1) (bm), may coerce
22an occupant of the home or facility to apply for or not apply for an absentee ballot or
23cast or refrain from casting a ballot or coerce an occupant to cast a ballot for or against
24a particular candidate or ballot question.
SB205-SSA2,11 25Section 11. 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB205-SSA2,8,2
112.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11 or 12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7. or, (3)
2(a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or (z), or (3m) is guilty of a Class I felony.
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