6.86(3)(a)1.1. Any elector who is registered and who 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 commission and containing the required information supplied by the hospitalized elector and signed by that elector, unless the elector is unable to sign due to physical disability. In this case, the elector may authorize another elector to sign on his or her behalf. Any elector signing an application on another elector’s behalf shall attest to a statement that the application is made on request and by authorization of the named elector, who is unable to sign the application due to physical disability. The agent shall present this statement along with all other information required under this subdivision. Except as authorized for an elector who has a confidential listing under s. 6.47 (2) or as authorized under s. 6.87 (4) (b) 4., the agent shall present any proof of identification required under sub. (1) (ar). The form shall include a space for the municipal clerk or deputy clerk to enter his or her initials indicating that the agent presented proof of identification to the clerk on behalf of the elector.

6.86(3)(a)2.2. If a hospitalized elector is not registered, the elector may register by agent under this subdivision at the same time that the elector applies for an official ballot by agent under subd. 1. To register the elector under this subdivision, the agent shall present a completed registration form that contains the required information supplied by the elector and the elector’s signature, unless the elector is unable to sign due to physical disability. In this case, the elector may authorize another elector to sign on his or her behalf. Any elector signing a form on another elector’s behalf shall attest to a statement that the application is made on request and by authorization of the named elector, who is unable to sign the form due to physical disability. The agent shall present this statement along with all other information required under this subdivision. The agent shall provide proof of the elector’s residence under s. 6.34.

6.86(3)(b)(b) When each properly executed form and statement required under par. (a) 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 documentation of his or her identity, 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 par. (a) 1. may be made and a registration form under par. (a) 2. may be filed 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 par. (a) 1. shall be made by the municipal clerk and used to check that the electors vote only once, and by absentee ballot. If the elector is registering for the election after the close of registration or if the elector registered by mail and has not voted in an election in this state, the municipal clerk shall inform the agent that proof of residence under s. 6.34 is required and the elector shall enclose proof of residence under s. 6.34 in the envelope with the ballot. The clerk shall verify that the name on any required proof of identification presented by the agent conforms to the name on the elector’s application. The clerk shall then enter his or her initials on the carrier envelope indicating that the agent presented proof of identification to the clerk. The agent is not required to enter a signature on the registration list. 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 to the polling place serving the hospitalized elector’s residence before the closing hour or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal clerk no later than 8 p.m. on election day.

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(6)(6) Except as authorized in sub. (5) and s. 6.87 (9), if an elector mails or personally delivers an absentee ballot to the municipal clerk, the municipal clerk shall not return the ballot to the elector. An elector who mails or personally delivers an absentee ballot to the municipal clerk at an election is not permitted to vote in person at the same election on election day.

6.86 AnnotationSub. (2) (a) requires that: 1) each individual elector make the elector’s own determination as to whether the elector is indefinitely confined; 2) an elector’s determination may be based only upon age, physical illness, or infirmity; and 3) an elector is indefinitely confined for the elector’s own age, physical illness, or infirmity, not those of another person. Jefferson v. Dane County, 2020 WI 90, 394 Wis. 2d 602, 951 N.W.2d 556, 20-0557. See also Trump v. Biden, 2020 WI 91, 394 Wis. 2d 629, 951 N.W.2d 568, 20-2038.

6.86 AnnotationThe time-of-day and number-of-days restrictions for in-person absentee voting under sub. (1) (b) do not violate section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act. There is no substantive problem with days-and-hours limitations. They leave all voters with equal opportunities to participate. Early voting is not a fundamental right in itself; it is but one aspect of a state’s election system. Wisconsin’s system as a whole is accommodating. So long as a state treats all voters equally, section 2 does not limit the state’s control of details such as hours for early voting. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

6.86 AnnotationThe time-of-day and number-of-days restrictions for in-person absentee voting under sub. (1) (b) do not violate the 1st amendment. Because the right to vote in any manner is not absolute and the government must play an active role in structuring elections, election laws invariably impose some burden upon individual voters. Courts weigh these burdens against the state’s interests by looking at the whole electoral system. In isolation, any rule reducing the number of hours available for any kind of voting seems like an unjustified burden. But electoral provisions cannot be assessed in isolation. Wisconsin’s many other provisions that make it easy to vote cut in its favor. One less-convenient feature does not an unconstitutional system make. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

6.865(2)(2) 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 that the applicant is an elector of this state and of the ward or election district where the elector seeks to vote.

6.865(3m)(3m) A military elector may indicate an alternate address on his or her absentee ballot application. If the elector’s ballot is returned as undeliverable prior to the deadline for receipt and return of absentee ballots under s. 6.87 (6) and the elector remains eligible to receive absentee ballots under this subsection, the municipal clerk shall immediately send or transmit an absentee ballot to the elector at the alternate address.

6.8696.869 Uniform instructions. The commission shall prescribe uniform instructions for municipalities to provide to absentee electors. The instructions shall include the specific means of electronic communication that an absentee elector may use to file an application for an absentee ballot and, if the absentee elector is required to register, to request a registration form or change his or her registration. The instructions shall include information concerning whether proof of identification is required to be presented or enclosed. The instructions shall also include information concerning the procedure for correcting errors in marking a ballot and obtaining a replacement for a spoiled ballot. The procedure shall, to the extent possible, respect the privacy of each elector and preserve the confidentiality of each elector’s vote.

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. Unless application is made in person under s. 6.86 (1) (ar), the absent elector is exempted from providing proof of identification under sub. (4) (b) 2. or 3., or the applicant is a military or overseas elector, the absent elector shall enclose a copy of his or her proof of identification or any authorized substitute document with his or her application. The municipal clerk shall verify that the name on the proof of identification conforms to the name on the application. The clerk shall not issue an absentee ballot to an elector who is required to enclose a copy of proof of identification or an authorized substitute document with his or her application unless the copy is enclosed and the proof is verified by the clerk.

6.87(2)(2) Except as authorized under sub. (3) (d), 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 which shall include a space for the municipal clerk or deputy clerk to enter his or her initials indicating that if the absentee elector voted in person under s. 6.86 (1) (ar), the elector presented proof of identification to the clerk and the clerk verified the proof presented. The certificate shall also include a space for the municipal clerk or deputy clerk to enter his or her initials indicating that the elector is exempt from providing proof of identification because the individual is a military elector or an overseas elector who does not qualify as a resident of this state under s. 6.10 or is exempted from providing proof of identification under sub. (4) (b) 2. or 3. The certificate shall be in substantially the following form: