7.53(2)(d) (d) In municipalities with one polling place, the canvass shall be conducted under sub. (1) publicly on election night. In other municipalities, the municipal board of canvassers shall publicly canvass the returns of every election. The canvass shall begin no earlier than the time that the municipal board of canvassers receives the returns from all polling places in the municipality on election night and no later than 9 a.m. on the Monday after the election. After any canvass of the absentee ballots is completed under s. 7.52, the board of canvassers shall reconcile the poll list of the electors who vote by absentee ballot with the corresponding poll list of the electors who vote in person to ensure that no elector is allowed to cast more than one ballot. If an elector who votes in person has submitted an absentee ballot, the absentee ballot is void. At the spring election, the board of canvassers shall publicly declare the results on or before the 3rd Tuesday in April. The board of canvassers shall prepare a statement showing the results of each election for any municipal office and each municipal referendum. After each primary for municipal offices, the board of canvassers shall prepare a statement certifying the names of those persons who have won nomination to office. After each other election for a municipal office and each municipal referendum, the board of canvassers shall prepare a determination showing the names of the persons who are elected to each municipal office and the results of each municipal referendum. The board of canvassers shall file each statement and determination in the office of the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners.

7.53(2m) (2m) Board of absentee ballot canvassers.

7.53(2m)(a) (a) If a municipality elects to count absentee ballots in the manner provided for in s. 7.52, the municipality shall establish a board of absentee ballot canvassers as provided in par. (b).

7.53(2m)(b) (b) Except as provided in par. (c), the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers shall be composed of the municipal clerk, or a qualified elector of the municipality designated by the clerk, and 2 other qualified electors of the municipality appointed by the clerk. The members of the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall serve for 2-year terms commencing on January 1 of each even-numbered year, except that any member who is appointed to fill a permanent vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term of the original appointee. If the municipal clerk’s office is vacant or if the clerk and the clerk’s designee cannot perform his or her duties, the mayor, president, or board chairperson of the municipality shall designate another qualified elector of the municipality to serve in lieu of the clerk for that election. If the clerk is a candidate at an election being canvassed, the clerk or the clerk’s designee may perform the clerk’s duties on the board of absentee ballot canvassers only if the clerk does not have an opponent whose name appears on the ballot. If the clerk is a candidate at the election being canvassed by the board of absentee ballot canvassers and has an opponent whose name appears on the ballot, the mayor, president, or board chairperson of the municipality shall designate another qualified elector of the municipality to serve in lieu of the clerk and his or her designee for that election. If any other member of the board of absentee ballot canvassers is a candidate at the election being canvassed, the clerk shall appoint another qualified elector of the municipality to temporarily fill the vacancy.

7.53(2m)(c) (c) Nothing in this subsection precludes a municipal clerk from appointing individuals to the board of absentee ballot canvassers who are simultaneously serving on any other board of canvassers.

7.53(3) (3) School district elections.

7.53(3)(a) (a) In a common, union high or unified school district, the school district clerk shall appoint 2 qualified electors of the school district prior to the date of the election being canvassed who shall, with the school district clerk, constitute the school district board of canvassers. If the school district clerk is a candidate at the election being canvassed, the other 2 members of the board of canvassers shall designate a 3rd member to serve in lieu of the clerk for that election. The school district clerk shall appoint a member to fill any other temporary vacancy on the board of canvassers. The canvass shall begin no later than 9 a.m. on the Tuesday after the election, and shall continue, without adjournment, until completed. The board of canvassers may return defective returns to the municipal board of canvassers in the manner provided in s. 7.60 (3). If the board of canvassers meets before 4 p.m. on the Monday after the election and thereafter receives amended statements, tally sheets, and lists from a municipal clerk for provisional ballots that are eligible to be counted under s. 6.97 (4), the board of canvassers shall reconvene no later than 9 a.m. on the Tuesday after the election and shall adjust the returns accordingly. No later than 4 p.m. on the Tuesday after the election, the board of canvassers shall complete the canvass and shall prepare a written statement showing the numbers of votes cast for each person for each office and for and against each question and shall prepare a determination showing the names of the persons who are elected to the school board and the results of any school district referendum. Following each primary election, the board of canvassers shall prepare a statement certifying the names of the persons who have won nomination to the school board. Each statement and determination shall be attested by each of the canvassers. The board of canvassers shall file each statement and determination in the school district office. The school district clerk shall certify nominations after each primary and issue certificates of election to persons who are elected to the school board after each election in the manner provided in sub. (4).

7.53(3)(b) (b) In a 1st class city school district, the municipal board of canvassers or election commissioners shall determine the results of school district elections and referenda and shall file a written statement and determination of the results for each election and referendum in the office of the city clerk or board of election commissioners. The board of election commissioners or city clerk shall certify nominations after each primary and issue certificates of election to persons who are elected to the board of school directors after each election in the manner provided in sub. (4).

7.53(4) (4) Certificate of election. As soon as the deadline for filing a petition for a recount has passed, the municipal clerk shall issue promptly a certificate of election to each person elected to any municipal office, except that the municipal clerk need not wait until expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for a recount if there is no aggrieved party, as defined in s. 9.01 (1) (a) 5. When a valid petition for a recount is filed, the municipal clerk shall not issue the certificate of election for the office in question until the recount has been completed and the time allowed for filing an appeal has passed, or if appealed until the appeal is decided.

7.53(5) (5) Live broadcasts. If a municipality or county or the commission broadcasts canvassing proceedings live in any election, including by live stream on the Internet, the municipality, county, or commission shall record the broadcast. The municipal clerk, county clerk, or commission shall retain the recording for the period specified in s. 7.23 (1) (f), unless, in good faith, the municipal clerk, county clerk, or commission is unable to retain the recording because the recording is maintained on an Internet video streaming service that goes out of business or is otherwise removed from the Internet, if the service has been in operation for at least 10 years and has at least 1,000,000 account holders at the time the municipal clerk, county clerk, or commission posts the recording to the service.

7.53 History History: 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (2); 1977 c. 290, 427, 447; 1979 c. 260; 1981 c. 314; 1983 a. 183, 484; 1985 a. 225; 1985 a. 304 ss. 93, 155; 1987 a. 391; 1989 a. 192; 1995 a. 16 s. 2; 1999 a. 182; 2005 a. 451; 2007 a. 96; 2011 a. 115; 2015 a. 37, 229, 261; 2019 a. 182; 2023 a. 53.

7.53 Annotation The canvassing activities conducted at the municipal level pursuant to this section and by school district canvassing boards constitute meetings of governmental bodies and are subject to the requirements of the open meetings law. OAG 5-14.

7.53 Annotation While canvassing boards must provide the public a reasonable opportunity to meaningfully observe their meetings, they may impose reasonable limits on public access to the extent necessary to protect the effective and orderly conduct of the canvass. The same principles of reasonableness govern the public’s opportunity to inspect election documents and materials at canvassing board meetings. OAG 5-14.

7.54 7.54 Contested elections. In all contested election cases, the contesting parties have the right to have the ballots opened and to have all errors of the inspectors, either in counting or refusing to count any ballot, corrected by the board of canvassers or court deciding the contest. The ballots and related materials may be opened only in open session of the board of canvassers or in open court and in the presence of the official having custody of them.

7.54 History History: 1983 a. 484.

7.54 Annotation This section does not apply when an appeal of the result of a recount by the board of canvassers under s. 9.01 is before an appellate court. Sewell v. Racine Unified School District Board of Canvassers, 2022 WI 18, 401 Wis. 2d 58, 972 N.W.2d 155, 20-1271.

7.60 7.60 County canvass.

7.60(1) (1) Keep office open. On election night the county clerk shall keep the clerk’s office open to receive reports from the ward inspectors and shall post all returns. On election night the clerk shall post all returns, by ward or reporting unit, on an Internet site maintained by the county no later than 2 hours after receiving the returns.

7.60(2) (2) County board of canvassers. The county clerk and 2 qualified electors of the county appointed by the clerk constitute the county board of canvassers. The members of the board of canvassers shall serve for 2-year terms commencing on January 1 of each even-numbered year, except that any member who is appointed to fill a permanent vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term of the original appointee. One member of the board of canvassers shall belong to a political party other than the clerk’s. The county clerk shall designate a deputy clerk who shall perform the clerk’s duties as a member of the board of canvassers in the event that the county clerk’s office is vacant, or the clerk cannot perform his or her duties. If the county clerk and designated deputy clerk are both unable to perform their duties, the county executive or, if there is no county executive, the chairperson of the county board of supervisors shall designate another qualified elector of the county to perform the clerk’s duties. If a member other than the clerk cannot perform his or her duties, the clerk shall appoint another member to serve. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no person may serve on the county board of canvassers if the person is a candidate for an office to be canvassed by that board. If the clerk is a candidate at an election being canvassed, the clerk may perform his or her duties on the board only if the clerk has no opponent whose name appears on the ballot, or, in the case of a recount, if the office the clerk is seeking is not a subject of the recount. If lists of candidates for the county board of canvassers are submitted to the county clerk by political party county committees, the lists shall consist of at least 3 names and the clerk shall choose the board members from the lists. Where there is a county board of election commissioners, it shall serve as the board of canvassers. If the county board of election commissioners serves as the board of canvassers, the executive director of the county board of election commissioners shall serve as a member of the board of canvassers to fill a temporary vacancy on that board.

7.60(3) (3) Canvassing. Not later than 9 a.m. on the Tuesday after each election the county board of canvassers shall open and publicly examine the returns. If returns have not been received from any election district or ward in the county, they shall dispatch a messenger and the person having them shall deliver the returns to the messenger. If, on examination, any of the returns received are so informal or defective that the board cannot intelligently canvass them, they shall dispatch a messenger to deliver the returns back to the municipal board of canvassers with written specifications of the informalities or defects and command them to immediately complete the returns or remedy the defects in the manner required and deliver them to the messenger. Every messenger shall safely keep all returns, show them to no one but the municipal clerk and board of canvassers and deliver them to the county clerk with all possible dispatch. To acquire the necessary full returns and remedy any informalities or defects the county board of canvassers may adjourn not longer than one day at a time nor more than 2 days in all.

7.60(4) (4) Statements and determinations.

7.60(4)(a) (a) The board of canvassers shall make separate duplicate statements showing the numbers of votes cast for the offices of president and vice president; state officials; U.S. senators and representatives in congress; state legislators; justice; court of appeals judge; circuit judges; district attorneys; and metropolitan sewerage commissioners, if the commissioners are elected under s. 200.09 (11) (am). If a municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4) serves a municipality that is located partially within the county and candidates for that judgeship file nomination papers in another county, the board of canvassers shall prepare a duplicate statement showing the numbers of votes cast for that judgeship in that county for transmittal to the other county. For partisan candidates, the statements shall include the political party or principle designation, if any, next to the name of each candidate. The board of canvassers shall also prepare a statement showing the results of any county, technical college district, or statewide referendum. Each statement shall state the total number of votes cast in the county for each office; the names of all persons for whom the votes were cast, as returned; the number of votes cast for each person; and the number of votes cast for and against any question submitted at a referendum. The board of canvassers shall use one copy of each duplicate statement to report to the elections commission, technical college district board, or board of canvassers of any other county and shall file the other statement in the office of the county clerk or board of election commissioners.

7.60(4)(b) (b) The board of canvassers shall then prepare a written determination, in duplicate where necessary, giving the names of the persons elected to any county office and to any municipal judgeship if the judge is elected under s. 755.01 (4) and candidates for that judgeship file nomination papers in that county. The board of canvassers shall likewise prepare a written determination showing the results of any county referendum. Following any primary election, the board of canvassers shall prepare a statement certifying the names of all persons who have won nomination to any county office or any municipal judgeship, if the judge is elected under s. 755.01 (4) and candidates for that judgeship file nomination papers in that county. The board of canvassers shall file all statements and determinations in the office of the county clerk or board of election commissioners.

7.60(4)(c) (c) In preparing the statements and determinations, the board of canvassers shall carefully review the tally sheets and inspectors’ statement. The board of canvassers may omit the names of individuals whose names do not appear on the ballot and who receive a comparatively small number of votes. The board of canvassers shall designate votes received by such individuals as scattering votes. The board of canvassers shall append to each statement and determination a tabulation of the votes cast at each election district, ward or combination of wards authorized under s. 5.15 (6) (b) in the county for each office and each individual, whether the votes are canvassed or not, as well as the total canvassed votes cast for each individual and each office, except where scattering votes are designated. If any votes are rejected, the board of canvassers shall specify the reasons therefor.

7.60(4)(d) (d) Each statement and determination issued under pars. (a) and (b) shall be certified as correct and attested to by each canvasser’s signature.

7.60(5) (5) Reporting.

7.60(5)(a) (a) Immediately following the canvass, the county clerk shall deliver or transmit to the elections commission a certified copy of each statement of the county board of canvassers for president and vice president, state officials, senators and representatives in congress, state legislators, justice, court of appeals judge, circuit judge, district attorney, and metropolitan sewerage commissioners, if the commissioners are elected under s. 200.09 (11) (am). The statement shall record the returns for each office or referendum by ward, unless combined returns are authorized under s. 5.15 (6) (b) in which case the statement shall record the returns for each group of combined wards. Following primaries the county clerk shall enclose on forms prescribed by the elections commission the names, party or principle designation, if any, and number of votes received by each candidate recorded in the same manner. The county clerk shall deliver or transmit the certified statement to the elections commission no later than 9 days after each primary except the partisan primary, no later than 10 days after the partisan primary and any other election except the general election, and no later than 14 days after the general election. The board of canvassers shall deliver or transmit a certified copy of each statement for any technical college district referendum to the secretary of the technical college district board.

7.60(5)(b) (b) If the board of canvassers becomes aware of a material mistake in the canvass of an election for state or national office or a statewide or technical college district referendum prior to the close of business on the day the elections commission receives returns from the last county board of canvassers with respect to that canvass, the board of canvassers may petition the elections commission to reopen and correct the canvass. The elections commission shall direct the canvass to be reopened and corrected if it determines that the public interest so requires. If the elections commission directs the canvass to be reopened, the board of canvassers shall reconvene and transmit a certified corrected copy of the canvass statement to the elections commission or secretary of the technical college district board.

7.60(6) (6) Certificate of election. Immediately after expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for a recount the county clerk shall issue a certificate of election to each person who is elected to any county office, except that the county clerk need not wait until expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for a recount if there is no aggrieved party, as defined in s. 9.01 (1) (a) 5. The certificate notice shall state the amount of the required official bond, if any. When a petition for a recount is filed, the county clerk shall not issue the certificate of election for the office in question until the recount has been completed and the time allowed for filing an appeal has passed, or if appealed until the appeal is decided.