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 sub. (3) for mailing or personal delivery of an absentee ballot and the provision in sub. (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
Challenge of compliance with procedures for absent voting is within board of canvasser's jurisdiction. Absent connivance, fraud or undue influence, substantial compliance with statutory voting procedures is sufficient. 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 adults who are not related to the operator or administrator 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), 1995 stats.
6.875 Note
NOTE: Section 852.03 (2), 1995 stats., is printed in a note following s. 852.03.
6.875(1)(c)
(c) "Retirement home" means a facility occupied as a primary place of abode by 10 or more unrelated individuals.
6.875(2)(a)(a) The procedures prescribed in this section are the exclusive means of absentee voting for electors who are occupants of nursing homes or qualified community-based residential facilities.
6.875(2)(b)
(b) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of any municipality where a community-based residential facility home is located may adopt the procedures under this section for absentee voting in any community-based residential facility located in the municipality if the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners finds that a significant number of the occupants of the community-based residential facility lack adequate transportation to the appropriate polling place, a significant number of the occupants of the community-based residential facility may need assistance in voting, there are a significant number of the occupants of the community-based residential facility aged 60 or over, or there are a significant number of indefinitely confined electors who are occupants of the community-based residential facility. The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall promptly notify the individual submitting nominations for special voting deputies under
s. 7.30 (4) of any action taken under this paragraph.
6.875(2)(c)
(c) The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of any municipality where a retirement home is located may adopt the procedures under this section for absentee voting in any retirement home located in the municipality if the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners finds that a significant number of the occupants of the retirement home lack adequate transportation to the appropriate polling place, a significant number of the occupants of the retirement home may need assistance in voting, there are a significant number of the occupants of the retirement home aged 60 or over, or there are a significant number of indefinitely confined electors who are occupants of the retirement home. The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall promptly notify the individual submitting nominations for special voting deputies under
s. 7.30 (4) of any action taken under this paragraph.
6.875(3)
(3) An occupant of a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility who qualifies as an absent elector and desires to receive an absentee ballot shall make application under
s. 6.86 (1) or
(2) with the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality in which the elector is a resident. The clerk or board of election commissioners of a municipality receiving an application from an elector who is an occupant of a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility located in a different municipality shall, as soon as possible, notify and transmit an absentee ballot for the elector to the clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality in which the home or qualified community-based residential facility is located. The clerk or board of election commissioners of a municipality receiving an application from an elector who is an occupant of a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility located in the municipality but who is a resident of a different municipality shall, as soon as possible, notify and request transmission of an absentee ballot from the clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality in which the elector is a resident. The clerk or board of election commissioners shall make a record of all absentee ballots to be transmitted, delivered and voted under this section.
6.875(4)
(4) For the purpose of absentee voting in nursing homes and qualified retirement homes and qualified community-based residential facilities, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of each municipality in which one or more nursing homes or qualified retirement homes or qualified community-based residential facilities are located shall appoint at least 2 special voting deputies for the municipality in the manner prescribed in
s. 7.30 (4). Upon application under
s. 6.86 (1) or
(2) by one or more qualified electors who are occupants of such a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall dispatch 2 special voting deputies to visit the home or qualified community-based residential facility for the purpose of supervising absentee voting procedure by occupants of the home or qualified community-based residential facility. The 2 deputies designated to visit each nursing home or qualified retirement home and qualified community-based residential facility shall be affiliated with different political parties whenever deputies representing different parties are available. Nominations for deputy positions may be submitted by the 2 recognized political parties whose candidates for governor or president received the greatest numbers of votes in the municipality at the most recent general election. The deputies shall be specially appointed to carry out duties under this section for the period specified in
s. 7.30 (6) (a). The clerk or board of election commissioners may revoke an appointment at any time. No individual who is employed or retained, or within the 2 years preceding appointment has been employed or retained at a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility in the municipality, or any member of the immediate family of such an individual as defined in
s. 19.42 (7), may be appointed to serve as a deputy.
6.875(5)
(5) Prior to entering upon his or her duties, each individual appointed to serve as a deputy under this section shall file the oath required by
s. 7.30 (5). In the oath, the individual shall swear that he or she is qualified to act as a deputy under this section, that he or she has read the statutes governing absentee voting, that he or she understands the proper absentee voting procedure, that he or she understands the penalties for noncompliance with the procedure under
s. 12.13, that his or her sacred obligation will be to fully and fairly implement the absentee voting law and seek to have the intent of the electors ascertained. In addition, the oath shall state that the individual realizes that any error in conducting the voting procedure may result in invalidation of an elector's vote under
s. 7.51 (2) (e) and that the individual realizes that absentee voting is a privilege and not a constitutional right. The form of the oath shall be prescribed by the board.
6.875(6)
(6) Special voting deputies in each municipality shall, not later than 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding an election, arrange one or more convenient times with the administrator of each nursing home or qualified retirement home and qualified community-based residential facility in the municipality from which one or more occupants have filed an application under
s. 6.86 to conduct absentee voting for the election. The time may be no earlier than the 4th Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday preceding the election. Upon request of a relative of an occupant of a nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility, the administrator may notify the relative of the time or times at which special voting deputies will conduct absentee voting at the home or facility, and permit the relative to be present in the room where the voting is conducted. At the designated time, 2 deputies appointed under
sub. (4) shall visit the nursing home or qualified retirement home or qualified community-based residential facility. The municipal clerk or executive director of the board of election commissioners shall issue a supply of absentee ballots to the deputies sufficient to provide for the number of valid applications received by the clerk, and a reasonable additional number of ballots. The municipal clerk or executive director shall keep a careful record of all ballots issued to the deputies and shall require the deputies to return every ballot issued to them. The deputies shall personally offer each elector who has filed a proper application the opportunity to cast his or her absentee ballot. If an elector is present who has not filed a proper application, the 2 deputies may accept an application from the elector and shall issue a ballot to the elector if the elector is qualified and the application is proper. The deputies shall administer the oath and may, upon request of the elector, assist the elector in marking or punching the elector's ballot. Upon request of the elector, a relative of the elector who is present in the room may assist the elector in marking or punching the elector's ballot. All voting shall be conducted in the presence of the deputies. No individual other than a deputy may administer the oath and no individual other than a deputy or relative of an elector may render voting assistance to the elector. Upon completion of the voting, the deputies shall promptly deliver, either personally or by 1st class mail, any absentee ballot applications and the sealed certificate-affidavit envelope containing each ballot to the clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality in which the elector casting the ballot resides, within such time as will permit delivery to the polling place serving the elector's residence on election day. Personal delivery may be made by the deputies no later than noon on election day. If a qualified elector is not able to cast his or her ballot on 2 separate visits by the deputies to the nursing home or qualified retirement home, they shall so inform the municipal clerk or executive director of the board of election commissioners, who may then mail the ballot to the elector no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election.
