AB808: Bill Text

LRB-3619/2

JTK&ARG:kjf:pg

2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE

2005 Assembly BILL 808

November 3, 2005 - Introduced by Representatives Cullen, Lehman, Sheridan, Van Akkeren and Shilling, cosponsored by Senators Decker and Breske. Referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

AB808,2,3 An Act to repeal 6.56 (5) and 12.13 (3) (v); to renumber and amend 6.55 (3) and 6.87 (4); to amend 5.35 (6) (a) 2., 5.35 (6) (a) 4a., 6.15 (2) (d) 1r., 6.15 (3), 6.22 (2) (b), 6.24 (4) (d), 6.29 (1), 6.29 (2) (a), 6.33 (1), 6.33 (2) (b), 6.33 (5) (a), 6.36 (1) (a), 6.36 (2) (a), 6.55 (2) (a) 1., 6.55 (2) (b), 6.55 (2) (c) 1., 6.55 (2) (c) 2., 6.79 (2) (a) and (d), 6.79 (4), 6.79 (6), 6.82 (1) (a), 6.86 (1) (a) 5., 6.86 (1) (ar), 6.86 (1) (ar), 6.86 (3) (a) 1., 6.86 (3) (a) 2., 6.869, 6.87 (3) (d), 6.875 (title), 6.875 (2) (a), 6.875 (3) and (4), 6.875 (6), 7.08 (8) (title), 10.02 (3) (a), 12.13 (2) (b) 6m., 12.13 (4), 343.50 (3), 343.50 (4), 343.50 (5), 343.50 (6), 887.01 (1) and 887.02; and to create 5.02 (6s), 5.02 (24c), 6.15 (2) (bm), 6.15 (2) (d) 1g., 6.29 (2) (am), 6.55 (2) (cs), 6.55 (3) (b), 6.56 (3m), 6.79 (2) (dm), 6.87 (4) (a), 6.87 (4) (b) 2. to 4., 6.875 (1) (ap) and (asm), 6.875 (2) (d), 6.92 (1m), 7.15 (1) (L), 301.03 (20) and 343.50 (4g) of the statutes; relating to: requiring certain identification in order to vote at a polling place or obtain an absentee ballot, verification of the addresses of electors, absentee voting procedure in certain residential care apartment complexes and adult family homes, registration and voting procedures for certain persons who are convicted of felonies, and the fee for an identification card issued by the Department of Transportation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Identification required for voting

With certain limited exceptions, before being permitted to vote at any polling place, an elector currently must provide his or her name and address. If registration is required in order to vote and the elector is not registered, the elector must provide a specified form of proof of residence in order to register. If an elector claims to be registered but his or her name does not appear on the appropriate registration list, the elector must complete a certification of eligibility and present acceptable proof of residence in order to vote. In addition, an elector may be required to provide acceptable proof of residence even if registration is not required. (Beginning with the 2006 spring primary election, registration will be required on a statewide basis.) If an elector is not able to present any required proof of residence, as an alternative, current law permits another qualified elector who resides in the same municipality to corroborate the elector's information. In addition, an elector other than a military elector or an overseas elector, as defined by federal law, who registers by mail and who has not voted in a federal election in the municipality where the elector is voting (beginning January 1, 2006, in this state) must provide one of the forms of identification specified by federal law, or a copy thereof if voting by absentee ballot, in order to be permitted to vote. Corroboration may not be substituted for this identification requirement, but an elector who cannot provide the required identification may cast a provisional ballot. The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners must determine whether electors casting provisional ballots are qualified to vote by 4 p.m. on the day after an election.

With certain limited exceptions, this bill requires each person attempting to register or vote at the polls on election day to present an identifying document specified by law. An identifying document may take the form of a valid Wisconsin driver's license, a current, valid identification card issued by a tribal governing body or a U.S. uniformed service, or a Wisconsin identification card issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) (with or without proof of residence); one of several types of documents containing a person's name and current voting address (proof of residence); or the last four digits of a person's social security number, together with an an affidavit signed by the person containing the person's current voting residence and swearing that the name and residence are correct. The bill directs each municipal clerk and each executive director of a board of election commissioners to designate one inspector (poll worker) at each polling place who shall be authorized to administer the oaths required for these affidavits. A person whose address is confidential as a result of domestic abuse is exempted from the identification requirement. Under the bill, any person who applies for an absentee ballot, except a military or overseas elector, as defined by federal law, or a person whose address is confidential as a result of domestic abuse, must provide a copy of an identifying document, unless: 1) the person has already provided a copy of his or her identifying document in connection with an absentee ballot cast at a previous election and has not changed his or her name or address since that election; 2) the person is indefinitely confined, in which case the person may submit a statement signed by the person who witnesses his or her absentee ballot verifying his or her identity; or 3) the person is an occupant of any nursing home, or of a community-based residential facility, adult family home, or residential care apartment complex where a municipality sends special voting deputies, in which case the person may submit a statement signed by the deputies verifying his or her identity. The bill continues current requirements for certain electors to provide proof of residence in order to register or to vote, but discontinues the use of corroborating electors to verify residence. If a person who votes at a polling place fails to provide an identifying document or if a person who votes by absentee ballot and fails to provide a copy of an identifying document, unless exempted from the requirement, the person's ballot is challenged by the election officials and marked for later examination, and it may be reviewed and discounted during a canvass or recount if the appropriate board of canvassers determines that the person who cast the ballot is ineligible to vote.

The bill also permits an elector who is eligible to obtain a Wisconsin identification card to obtain the card from DOT free of charge, if the elector specifically requests not to be charged. The bill permits an applicant to receive a Wisconsin identification card without a photograph being taken, as currently required, if the applicant provides an affidavit stating that he or she has sincerely held religious beliefs against being photographed, that he or she is a member of a religious organization or identifies with the tenets of a religious organization and names that organization, and that the religious tenets of that organization prohibit such photographing.

Absentee voting at residential care apartment complexes and adult family homes

Currently, municipalities must send two special voting deputies (one designated by each major political party if the party wishes) to conduct absentee voting in nursing homes. Municipalities may also send the deputies to conduct absentee voting in community-based residential facilities and retirement homes that qualify for the service in accordance with standards prescribed by law. This bill permits municipal clerks and boards of election commissioners to send two special voting deputies to conduct absentee voting in adult family homes and residential care apartment complexes that qualify for the service in accordance with similar standards prescribed by law.

Prevention of voting by ineligible felons

Currently, any person who is convicted of a felony is not eligible to vote. However, if the person is pardoned or the person completes his or her sentence, the person's voting rights are restored. A person who is on probation, parole, or extended supervision has not completed his or her sentence. Under current law, there is no procedure that election officials must use to identify felons who are ineligible to vote and to prevent them from voting.

This bill directs the Department of Corrections (DOC) to transmit electronically to the Elections Board, on a continuous basis, a list containing the names of each person who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of this state and whose voting rights have not been restored, together with the date on which DOC expects his or her voting rights to be restored. (The voting rights of a convicted felon are restored if the felon is pardoned or if the felon is released from incarceration and is not on parole, probation or extended supervision.) The bill directs the board to enter the information received from DOC on the statewide voter registration list and to maintain the information on that list so that the information is kept current. Under the bill, the information is open to public inspection. The bill also directs the board to enter on the poll list prepared for each election a notation after the name of any elector who is ineligible to vote on that date because the person's name appears on the current list that DOC provides. In addition, the bill directs the board to provide for each polling place at each election a list of persons whose names do not appear on the registration list but whose names appear on the current list that DOC provides and whose addresses are located within the area served by the polling place. These lists are open to public inspection. The bill requires poll workers to check the lists and to inform any person whose names appear on the lists that they are ineligible to register to vote or to vote. A person whose name appears on a list and who claims to be eligible to vote may still be allowed to vote, but the person must vote by ballot. The ballot is marked for later examination and it may be reviewed and discounted during a canvass or recount if the appropriate board of canvassers determines that the person who cast the ballot is ineligible to vote.

The bill also requires every person who registers to vote, to affirm specifically that he or she has not been convicted of a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned and, if so, whether the person is incarcerated or on probation, parole, or extended supervision resulting from that conviction. Currently, the law requires a person who registers at a polling place only to affirm that he or she is not disqualified on any ground from voting, and does not require any similar affirmation from other late registrants.

In addition, the bill directs the Elections Board to conduct a postelection audit after each election to determine whether any ineligible felons have been allowed to register and vote after the close of registration. If so, the board is directed to enter a notation reflecting this ineligibility on the registration list and to provide the names of these felons to the district attorney.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.

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:

AB808, s. 1 Section 1. 5.02 (6s) of the statutes is created to read:

AB808,5,2 5.02 (6s) "Identifying document" means:

AB808,5,3 (a) In the case of an individual who votes in person at a polling place:

AB808,5,7 1. A valid operator's license issued to the individual under ch. 343, a valid, current identification card issued to the individual by a tribal governing body or a U.S. uniformed service, or a valid identification card issued to the individual under s. 343.50.

AB808,5,9 2. If the individual cannot provide any of the documents specified in subd. 1., acceptable proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7).

AB808,5,13 3. If the individual cannot provide any of the documents specified in subds. 1. and 2., the last 4 digits of the individual's social security account number, together with an affidavit signed by the individual containing the individual's name and current voting residence and swearing that the name and residence are correct.

AB808,5,15 (b) In the case of an individual who votes by absentee ballot, a copy of a document specified in par. (a) 1. to 3.

AB808, s. 2 Section 2. 5.02 (24c) of the statutes is created to read:

AB808,5,18 5.02 (24c) "Tribal governing body" means a federally recognized tribal governing body in this state.

AB808, s. 3 Section 3. 5.35 (6) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,6,3 5.35 (6) (a) 2. A copy of the election fraud laws provided in s. 12.13 (1) and (3) (intro), (d), (f), (g), (k), (L), (o), (q), (r), (u), (v) and (x), together with the applicable penalties provided in s. 12.60 (1).

AB808, s. 4 Section 4. 5.35 (6) (a) 4a. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,6,7 5.35 (6) (a) 4a. Instructions prescribed by the board for electors for whom an identifying document is required under s. 6.79 (2) or for whom identification is required under s. 6.36 (2) (c) 2.

AB808, s. 5 Section 5. 6.15 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB808,6,12 6.15 (2) (bm) When making application in person at the office of the municipal clerk, each applicant shall present an identifying document. If any document presented by the applicant is not acceptable proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7), the applicant shall also present acceptable proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7).

AB808, s. 6 Section 6. 6.15 (2) (d) 1g. of the statutes is created to read:

AB808,6,18 6.15 (2) (d) 1g. If the elector makes application in person at the office of the municipal clerk, the clerk shall verify that the name on any identifying document provided by the elector under par. (bm) is the same as the name on the elector's application and shall verify that any photograph appearing on that document reasonably resembles the elector.

AB808, s. 7 Section 7. 6.15 (2) (d) 1r. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,7,5 6.15 (2) (d) 1r. Upon proper completion of the application and cancellation card, the municipal clerk shall require the elector to provide acceptable proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7). If the elector cannot provide acceptable proof of residence, the elector may have his or her residence corroborated in a statement that is signed by another elector of the municipality and that contains the current street address of the corroborating elector. If the residence is corroborated by another elector, that elector shall then provide proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7) permit the elector to cast his or her ballot for president and vice president. The elector shall then mark the ballot in the clerk's presence in a manner that will not disclose his or her vote. The elector shall then fold the ballot so as to conceal his or her vote. The clerk or elector shall then place the ballot in an envelope furnished by the clerk.

AB808, s. 8 Section 8. 6.15 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,7,23 6.15 (3) Procedure at polling place. An eligible elector may appear at the polling place for the ward or election district where he or she resides and make application for a ballot under sub. (2). Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an elector who casts a ballot under this subsection shall follow the same procedure required for casting a ballot at the municipal clerk's office under sub. (2). The inspectors shall perform the duties of the municipal clerk, except that the inspectors shall return the cancellation card under sub. (2) (b) to the municipal clerk and the clerk shall forward the card as provided in sub. (2) (c) if required. Upon proper completion of the application and cancellation card and submittal of acceptable proof of residence under s. 6.55 (7) or providing corroboration of residence compliance with sub. (2) (d) 1g., the inspectors shall permit the elector to cast his or her ballot for president and vice president. The elector shall mark the ballot and, unless the ballot is utilized with an electronic voting system, the elector shall fold the ballot, and deposit the ballot into the ballot box or give it to the inspector. The inspector shall deposit it directly into the ballot box. Voting machines or ballots utilized with electronic voting systems may only be used by electors voting under this section if they permit voting for president and vice president only.

AB808, s. 9 Section 9. 6.22 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,8,3 6.22 (2) (b) Notwithstanding s. 6.87 (4) (b), a military elector shall make and subscribe to the certification under s. 6.87 (2) before a witness who is an adult U.S. citizen.

AB808, s. 10 Section 10. 6.24 (4) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB808,8,12 6.24 (4) (d) An overseas elector who is not registered may request both a registration form and an absentee ballot at the same time, and the municipal clerk shall send the ballot automatically if the registration form is received within the time prescribed in s. 6.28 (1). The board shall prescribe a special certificate form for the envelope in which the absentee ballot for overseas electors is contained, which shall be substantially similar to that provided under s. 6.87 (2). Notwithstanding s. 6.87 (4) (b), an overseas elector shall make and subscribe to the special certificate form before a witness who is an adult U.S. citizen.

AB808, s. 11 Section 11. 6.29 (1) of the statutes is amended to read: