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6.87(9) (9) If a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an improperly completed certificate or with no certificate, 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 authorized under sub. (6).

6.87 History History: 1971 c. 242; 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (1), (2); 1975 c. 85; 1975 c. 93 s. 119 (2); 1975 c. 199; 1977 c. 394; 1979 c. 232, 260, 311, 355; 1983 a. 36, 484, 538; 1985 a. 304; 1991 a. 316; 1999 a. 49, 182; 2001 a. 16, 38, 109; 2003 a. 265; 2005 a. 451; 2011 a. 23, 75, 227; 2013 a. 159, 165; 2015 a. 117; 2015 a. 118 s. 266 (10); 2015 a. 261; 2017 a. 365 s. 111; 2017 a. 366, 369.

6.87 Annotation The directions in sub. (3) for mailing or personal delivery of an absentee ballot and 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 Wis. 2d 86, 214 N.W.2d 425 (1974).

6.87 Annotation Sub. (4) is directory and not mandatory, and voters printing their names constituted substantial, albeit nontechnical, compliance with the statute’s requirements. Lanser v. Koconis, 62 Wis. 2d 86, 214 N.W.2d 425 (1974).

6.87 Annotation A challenge of compliance with procedures for absent voting is within the board of canvassers’ jurisdiction. Absent connivance, fraud, or undue influence, substantial compliance with statutory voting procedures is sufficient. Johnson v. Hayden, 105 Wis. 2d 468, 313 N.W.2d 869 (Ct. App. 1981).

6.87 Annotation Sub. (4) (b) 1. allows the use of ballot drop boxes. Clerks may lawfully utilize secure drop boxes in an exercise of their statutorily-conferred discretion. The statute does not specify a location to which a ballot must be returned and requires only that the ballot be delivered to a location the municipal clerk, within the municipal clerk’s discretion, designates. Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2024 WI 32, 412 Wis. 2d 594, 8 N.W.3d 429, 24-0164.

6.87 Annotation The word “address” in subs. (2) and (6d) in relation to an absentee ballot witness means “a place where the witness may be communicated with.” The determination of whether the witness address requirement is satisfied should be measured from the viewpoint of the municipal clerk, acting reasonably in the discharge of the clerk’s duties. Nothing in the record suggests that a street number, street name, and municipality are necessary components of a witness’s address, so long as the address information provided by the witness is sufficient to identify a place where the witness may be communicated with. Rise, Inc. v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2024 WI App 48, 413 Wis. 2d 366, 11 N.W.3d 241, 24-0165.

6.87 Annotation 2011 Wis. Act 23, which created requirements that voters present photo identification in order to vote at a polling place or obtain an absentee ballot, does not violate either section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, 52 USC 10301, or the U.S. Constitution. Frank v. Walker, 768 F.3d 744 (2014).

6.87 Annotation Sub. (3), which prohibits election officials from sending absentee ballots via email or fax to all but a few categories of voters, does not violate the U.S. Constitution. Some travelers’ potential inconvenience does not permit a court to override the state’s judgment that other interests predominate. Wisconsin wants to control errors arising from the fact that faxed or emailed ballots cannot be counted by machine and to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Luft v. Evers, 963 F.3d 665 (2020).

6.87 Annotation The federal Voting Rights Act is clear: disabled voters who need assistance in returning an absentee ballot are entitled to ask a person of their choosing for that assistance. Wisconsin state courts have construed sub. (4) (b) 1. as prohibiting voters, including disabled voters, from receiving such assistance, so that portion of sub. (4) (b) 1. is preempted by the Act. Carey v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 624 F. Supp. 3d 1020 (2022).