6.80(3)(b)
(b) If an elector refuses to leave the booth or machine after being notified by one of the inspectors that the time has expired, the elector shall be removed by the inspectors.
6.82
6.82
Assisting electors. 6.82(1)(1)
Receipt of ballot at poll entrance. 6.82(1)(a)(a) When any inspectors are informed that an elector is at the entrance to the polling place who as a result of disability is unable to enter the polling place, they shall permit the elector to be assisted in marking or punching a ballot by any individual selected by the elector, except the elector's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector. The inspectors shall issue a ballot to the individual selected by the elector and shall accompany the individual to the polling place entrance where the assistance is to be given. If the ballot is a paper ballot, the assisting individual shall fold the ballot after the ballot is marked or punched by the assisting individual. The assisting individual shall then immediately take the ballot into the polling place and give the ballot to an inspector. The inspector shall distinctly announce that he or she has "a ballot offered by .... (stating person's name), an elector who, as a result of disability, is unable to enter the polling place without assistance". The inspector shall then ask, "Does anyone object to the reception of this ballot?" If no objection is made, the inspectors shall record the elector's name under
s. 6.79 and deposit the ballot in the ballot box, and shall make a notation on the registration or poll list: "Ballot received at poll entrance".
6.82(1)(b)
(b) If objection to receiving the ballot is made by any qualified elector present, the inspectors shall receive the ballot under
s. 6.95.
6.82(2)(a)(a) If an elector declares to the presiding election official that he or she cannot read or write, or has difficulty in reading, writing or understanding English or that due to disability is unable to mark or punch a ballot or depress a button or lever on a voting machine, the elector shall be informed by the officials that he or she may have assistance. When assistance is requested, the elector may select any individual to assist in casting his or her vote. The selected individual rendering assistance may not be the elector's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector. The selected individual shall certify on the back of the ballot that it was marked or punched with his or her assistance. Where voting machines are used, certification shall be made on the registration list.
6.82(2)(b)
(b) The individual chosen shall enter the voting booth or machine with the elector and shall read the names of all candidates on the ballot for each office, and ask, "For which one do you vote?". The ballot shall be marked or punched or the lever or button depressed according to the elector's expressed preference. The individual selected to assist may not disclose to anyone how the elector voted.
6.82(2)(c)
(c) Intoxication shall not be regarded as a disability.
6.82(2)(d)
(d) The election officials shall enter upon the poll list after the name of any elector who had assistance in voting the word "assisted". The officials shall also record on the poll list the full name and address of the individual who renders assistance.
6.82(3)
(3) Use of paper ballots. Whenever, in a municipality in which voting machines are used, an elector declares to the chief inspector that, due to physical disability, the elector is unable to depress a button or lever on a voting machine, the inspectors shall permit the elector to vote using a paper ballot and voting booth.
6.82(4)
(4) Solicitation prohibited. No election official or other person assisting an elector under this section or
s. 5.79 may request, suggest or seek to persuade an elector to cast a vote for or against any candidate, party or question.
6.82 Annotation
An elector with dyslexia may qualify for voter assistance under sub. (2), [1971 stats.]. 62 Atty. Gen. 195.
VOTING ABSENTEE
6.84(1)(1)
Legislative policy. The legislature finds that voting is a constitutional right, the vigorous exercise of which should be strongly encouraged. In contrast, voting by absentee ballot is a privilege exercised wholly outside the traditional safeguards of the polling place. The legislature finds that the privilege of voting by absentee ballot must be carefully regulated to prevent the potential for fraud or abuse; to prevent overzealous solicitation of absent electors who may prefer not to participate in an election; to prevent undue influence on an absent elector to vote for or against a candidate or to cast a particular vote in a referendum; or other similar abuses.
6.84(2)
(2) Interpretation. Notwithstanding
s. 5.01 (1), with respect to matters relating to the absentee ballot process,
ss. 6.86,
6.87 (3) to
(7) and
9.01 (1) (b) 2. and
4. shall be construed as mandatory. Ballots cast in contravention of the procedures specified in those provisions may not be counted. Ballots counted in contravention of the procedures specified in those provisions may not be included in the certified result of any election.
6.84 History
History: 1985 a. 304;
1987 a. 391.
6.85
6.85
Absent elector; definition. An absent elector is any otherwise qualified elector who is or expects to be absent from the municipality in which the absent elector is a qualified elector on election day whether by reason of active service in the U.S. armed forces or for any other reason, or who because of age, sickness, handicap, physical disability, jury duty, service as an election official or religious reasons cannot appear at the polling place in his or her ward. No person under the age of 70 qualifies as an absent elector solely because of age. Any otherwise qualified elector who changes residence within this state by moving to a different ward or municipality later than 10 days prior to an election may vote an absentee ballot in the ward or municipality where he or she was qualified to vote before moving. An elector qualifying under this section may vote by absentee ballot under
ss. 6.86 to
6.89.
6.85 Annotation
Voter residency and absentee voting discussed. 60 Atty. Gen. 214.
6.86
6.86
Application for absentee ballot. 6.86(1)(a)(a) Any elector, qualifying under
ss. 6.20 and
6.85 as an absent elector, may make written application to the municipal clerk for an official ballot by one of the following methods:
6.86(1)(a)2.
2. In person at the office of the municipal clerk.
6.86(1)(ag)
(ag) An elector who is unable to write his or her name due to physical disability may authorize an application to be made by another elector on his or her behalf. In such case, the application shall state that it is made on request and by authorization of a named elector who is unable to sign the application due to physical disability.
6.86(1)(ar)
(ar) Except as authorized in
s. 6.875 (6), the municipal clerk shall not issue an absentee ballot unless the clerk receives a written application therefor from a qualified elector of the municipality. The clerk shall retain each absentee ballot application until destruction is authorized under
s. 7.23 (1).
6.86(1)(b)
(b) Except as provided in this section, if application is made in writing, the application, signed by the elector, shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election. If application is made in person, the application shall be made no later than 5 p.m. on the day preceding the election. If the elector is making written application and the reason for requesting an absentee ballot is that the elector is a sequestered juror, the application shall be received no later than 5 p.m. on election day. If the application is received after 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election, the municipal clerk or the clerk's agent shall immediately take the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror and deposit it with the judge. The judge shall recess court, as soon as convenient, and give the elector the ballot. The judge shall then notarize the affidavit as provided in
s. 6.87 and shall deliver the ballot to the clerk or agent of the clerk who shall deliver it to the polling place as required in
s. 6.88. If application is made under
sub. (2), the application may be received no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election.
6.86(2)(a)(a) An elector who is indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness or infirmity or is disabled for an indefinite period may by signing a statement to that effect require that an absentee ballot be sent to the elector automatically for every election. The application form and instructions shall be prescribed by the board, and furnished upon request to any elector by each municipality. The envelope containing the absentee ballot shall be clearly marked as not forwardable. If any elector is no longer indefinitely confined, the elector shall so notify the municipal clerk.
6.86(2)(b)
(b) The mailing list established under this subsection shall be kept current through all possible means. If an elector fails to cast and return an absentee ballot received under this subsection, the clerk shall notify the elector by 1st class letter or postcard that his or her name will be removed from the mailing list unless the clerk receives a renewal of the application within 30 days of the notification. The clerk shall remove from the list the name of each elector who does not apply for renewal within the 30-day period. The clerk shall remove the name of any other elector from the list upon request of the elector or upon receipt of reliable information that an elector no longer qualifies for the service. The clerk shall notify the elector of such action not taken at the elector's request within 5 days, if possible.
6.86(3)(a)(a) Any elector who is registered, or otherwise qualified where registration is not required, and who qualifies under
ss. 6.20 and
6.85 as an absent elector because the elector is hospitalized, may apply for and obtain an official ballot by agent. The agent may apply for and obtain a ballot for the hospitalized absent elector by presenting a form prescribed by the board and containing the required information supplied by the hospitalized elector and signed by that elector and any other elector residing in the same municipality as the hospitalized elector, corroborating the information contained therein. The corroborating elector shall state on the form his or her full name and address.
6.86(3)(b)
(b) When such properly executed form is presented to the municipal clerk, if the elector who proposes to vote is qualified, an absentee ballot shall be issued and the name of such hospitalized elector shall be recorded by the clerk. An agent who is issued an absentee ballot under this section shall present identification, provide his or her name and address, and attest to a statement that the ballot is received solely for the benefit of a named elector who is hospitalized, and the agent will promptly transmit the ballot to such person.
6.86(3)(c)
(c) An application under this subsection by agent may be made in person at the office of the municipal clerk not earlier than 7 days before an election and not later than 5 p.m. on the day of the election. A list of hospitalized electors applying for ballots under this subsection shall be made by the municipal clerk and used to check that the electors vote only once, and by absentee ballot. The ballot shall be sealed by the elector and returned to the municipal clerk either by mail or by personal delivery of the agent; but if the ballot is returned on the day of the election, the agent shall make personal delivery at the polling place serving the hospitalized elector's residence before the closing hour for the ballot to be counted.
6.86(4)
(4) If a municipality employs an electronic voting system which utilizes a ballot that is inserted into automatic tabulating equipment, the municipality may distribute ballots for utilization with the electronic voting system as absentee ballots or it may distribute paper ballots as absentee ballots.
6.86(5)
(5) Whenever an elector returns a spoiled or damaged absentee ballot to the municipal clerk, or an elector's agent under
sub. (3) returns a spoiled or damaged ballot to the clerk on behalf of an elector, and the clerk believes that the ballot was issued to or on behalf of the elector who is returning it, the clerk shall issue a new ballot to the elector or elector's agent, and shall destroy the spoiled or damaged ballot. Any request for a replacement ballot under this subsection must be made within the applicable time limits under
subs. (1) and
(3) (c).
6.86 History
History: 1975 c. 85 ss.
37,
38,
65;
1975 c. 90,
199,
200,
275,
422;
1977 c. 394 ss.
14,
40,
41;
1979 c. 232,
311;
1981 c. 391;
1983 a. 183,
484;
1985 a. 304 ss.
69,
156;
1987 a. 391;
1995 a. 313.
6.865
6.865
Federal postcard request form. A federal postcard registration and absentee ballot request form may be used to apply for an absentee ballot under
s. 6.86 (1) if the form is completed in such manner that the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners with whom it is filed is able to determine all of the following:
6.865(1)
(1) That the applicant is an elector of this state and of the ward or election district where the elector seeks to vote.
6.865(2)
(2) That the applicant qualifies for an absentee ballot under
s. 6.85.
6.865 History
History: 1989 a. 192.
6.87
6.87
Absent voting procedure. 6.87(1)
(1) Upon proper request made within the period prescribed in
s. 6.86, the municipal clerk or a deputy clerk authorized by the municipal clerk shall write on the official ballot, in the space for official endorsement, the clerk's initials and official title.
6.87(2)
(2) The municipal clerk shall place the ballot in an unsealed envelope furnished by the clerk. The envelope shall have the name, official title and post-office address of the clerk upon its face. The other side of the envelope shall have a printed certificate-affidavit in substantially the following form:
[STATE OF ....
County of ....]
or
[(name of foreign country and city or other jurisdictional unit)]
I, ...., (certify) (do solemnly swear) subject to the penalties of
s. 12.60 (1) (b), Wis. Stats. for false statements that I am a resident of the [.... ward of the] (town) (village) of ...., or of the .... aldermanic district in the city of ...., residing at .... in said city, the county of ...., state of Wisconsin, and am entitled to vote in the (ward) (election district) at the election to be held on ....; that I am not voting at any other location in this election; that I cannot appear at the polling place in the (ward) (election district) on election day because I expect to be absent from the municipality or because of age, sickness, handicap, physical disability, religious reasons, jury duty, service as an election official, or because I have changed my residence within the state from one ward or election district to another within 10 days before the election. I (certify) (swear) that I exhibited the enclosed ballot unmarked to the (2 witnesses) (person administering the oath), that I then in (their) (his) (her) presence and in the presence of no other person marked the ballot and enclosed and sealed the same in this envelope in such a manner that no one but myself and any person rendering assistance under
s. 6.87 (5), Wis. Stats., if I requested assistance, could know how I voted.
Signed ....
The (2 witnesses) (person administering the oath) shall execute either of the following as appropriate:
We, the undersigned witnesses, subject to the penalties of
s. 12.60 (1) (b), Wis. Stats., for false statements, certify that the above statements are true and the voting procedure was executed as there stated. Neither of us is a candidate for any office on the enclosed ballot (except in the case of an incumbent municipal clerk). The elector was not solicited or advised by us to vote for or against any candidate or measure.
....(Name)
....(Address)
....(Name)
....(Address)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this .... day of ...., A.D., ...., and I hereby certify that I am not a candidate on the ballot upon which the affiant voted (unless I am an incumbent municipal clerk), that the voting procedure above was executed as therein stated, and that the affiant was not solicited or advised by me to vote for or against any candidate or measure.
....(Name)
....(Title)
....(State or nation)
6.87(3)(a)(a) Except as otherwise provided in
s. 6.875, the municipal clerk shall mail the absentee ballot postage prepaid for return to the elector's residence unless otherwise directed, or shall deliver it to the elector personally at the clerk's office.
6.87(3)(b)
(b) No elector may direct that a ballot be sent to the address of a candidate, political party or other registrant under
s. 11.05 unless the elector permanently or temporarily resides at that address. Upon receipt of reliable information that an address given by an elector is not eligible to receive ballots under this paragraph, the municipal clerk shall refrain from sending ballots to that address. Whenever possible, the municipal clerk shall notify an elector if his or her ballot cannot be mailed to the address directed by the elector.
6.87(3)(c)
(c) If an elector's ballot is mailed to a location other than the elector's residence, it shall be prepaid for return when mailed within the United States. If the ballot is delivered to the elector at the clerk's office, the ballot shall be voted at the office and may not be removed therefrom.
6.87(4)
(4) Except as otherwise provided in
s. 6.875, the elector voting absentee shall either make and subscribe to the affidavit before a person authorized to administer oaths or make and subscribe to the certification before 2 witnesses. The absent elector, in the presence of the administrator of the oath or witnesses, shall mark or punch the ballot in a manner that will not disclose how the elector's vote is cast. The elector shall then, still in the presence of the administrator of the oath or the 2 witnesses, fold the ballots if they are paper ballots so each is separate and conceals the markings or punches thereon and deposit them in the proper envelope, but may receive assistance under
sub. (5). The return envelope shall then be sealed. The witnesses or the official oath administrator may not be a candidate. The envelope shall be mailed by the elector, postage prepaid, or delivered in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot. Failure to return an unused ballot in a primary does not invalidate the ballot on which the elector's votes are cast. Return of more than one marked or punched ballot in a primary or return of a ballot used with an electronic voting system in a primary which is marked or punched for candidates of more than one party invalidates all votes cast by the elector for candidates in the primary.
6.87(5)
(5) If the absent elector declares that he or she is unable to read, has difficulty in reading, writing or understanding English or due to disability is unable to mark or punch his or her ballot, the elector may select any individual, except the elector's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector, to assist in marking or punching the ballot, and the assistant shall then sign his or her name to a certification on the back of the ballot, as provided under
s. 5.55.
6.87(6)
(6) The ballot shall be returned so it is received by the municipal clerk in time for delivery to the polls before the closing hour. Any ballot not mailed or delivered as provided in this subsection may not be counted.
6.87(7)
(7) No individual who is a candidate at the election in which absentee ballots are cast may administer the oath or serve as a witness. Any candidate who administers the oath or serves as a witness shall be penalized by the discounting of a number of votes for his or her candidacy equal to the number of certificate-affidavit envelopes bearing his or her signature.
6.87(8)
(8) The provisions of this section which prohibit candidates from assisting or administering the oath to absentee electors shall not apply to the municipal clerk in the performance of the clerk's official duties.
6.87(9)
(9) If a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an improperly completed certificate-affidavit or with no certificate-affidavit, the clerk may return the ballot to the elector, inside the sealed envelope when an envelope is received, together with a new envelope if necessary, whenever time permits the elector to correct the defect and return the ballot within the period prescribed in
sub. (6).
6.87 Annotation
In consonance with the statutory rule of construction applicable to the election laws, and the general rule as to whether an election statute should be construed as being either mandatory or directory, the direction in (3) for mailing or personal delivery of an absentee ballot and the provision in (6) that a ballot not mailed or delivered as provided in the section should not be counted, are directory and not mandatory. Lanser v. Koconis, 62 W (2d) 86, 214 NW (2d) 425.
6.87 Annotation
Sub. (4), which prescribes that the absentee voter shall either make and subscribe to the affidavit or to the certification, is directory and not mandatory, and printing their names constituted substantial, albeit nontechnical compliance with the statute's requirements. Lanser v. Koconis, 62 W (2d) 86, 214 NW (2d) 425.
6.87 Annotation
See note to 9.01, citing Appeal From Recount in Election Contest, 105 W (2d) 468, 313 NW (2d) 869 (Ct. App. 1981).
6.875
6.875
Absentee voting in nursing and retirement homes and certain community-based residential facilities. 6.875(1)(a)
(a) "Community-based residential facility" has the meaning given in
s. 50.01 (1g), except that the term does not include a place where fewer than 10 unrelated adults reside.
6.875(1)(am)
(am) "Nursing home" means a facility occupied by 10 or more unrelated individuals for the primary purpose of obtaining full-time personal or nursing care which is necessitated by their physical or mental conditions, but does not include a hospital.
6.875(1)(as)
(as) "Qualified community-based residential facility" means a community-based residential facility that qualifies under
sub. (2) (b) to utilize the procedures under this section.
6.875(1)(at)
(at) "Qualified retirement home" means a retirement home that qualifies under
sub. (2) (b) to utilize the procedures under this section.
6.875(1)(b)
(b) "Relative" means a spouse or individual related within the 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree of kinship under
s. 852.03 (2).
6.875(1)(c)
(c) "Retirement home" means a facility occupied as a primary place of abode by 10 or more unrelated individuals.
