Date of enactment:
2023 Assembly Bill 570 Date of publication*:
2023 WISCONSIN ACT
AN ACT to renumber 6.875 (4) (b) and 6.875 (6) (e); to renumber and amend 6.87 (6d), 6.87 (9) and 7.51 (1); to
amend 6.87 (2) (intro.), 6.875 (4) (a), 6.875 (6) (a), 7.03 (1) (d), 7.30 (3) (a), 7.315 (1) (a), 7.53 (2) (cm) and 12.60
(1) (a); and to create 5.51 (9), 6.87 (6d) (a) to (L), 6.87 (9) (b), 6.875 (4) (b) 2., 6.875 (6) (e) 2., 6.875 (8), 7.30 (7),
7.51 (1) (b), 12.13 (2) (b) 9., 12.13 (2) (b) 10., 12.13 (2) (b) 11., 12.13 (3) (zp) and 12.13 (3m) of the statutes; relating
to: certain kinds of election fraud, defects on absentee ballot certificates, returning absentee ballots to the office of
the municipal clerk, appointment of election officials, allowing an employee of a residential care facility or qualified
retirement home to serve as a personal care voting assistant during a public health emergency or an incident of infec-
tious disease, and providing a penalty.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1b. 5.51 (9) of the statutes is created to read:
5.51 (9) Each absentee ballot certificate shall be
printed with blank spaces to accommodate inclusion of
the information required under s. 6.87 (6d) (a) to (L).
Each absentee ballot certificate shall also be printed with
blank spaces to accommodate the optional inclusion of
the state and zip code of the elector and the witness.
SECTION 1r. 6.87 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is
amended to read:
6.87 (2) (intro.) 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 per-
son 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 ini-
tials 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 include a distinct field for each
item required to be entered under sub. (6d) and shall be
in substantially the following form:
SECTION 2. 6.87 (6d) of the statutes is renumbered
6.87 (6d) (intro.) and amended to read:
6.87 (6d) (intro.) If a certificate is missing the address
of a witness, the ballot An absentee ballot with no certifi-
cate or with a certificate that does not include all of the
following may not be counted.:
SECTION 3. 6.87 (6d) (a) to (L) of the statutes are cre-
ated to read:
6.87 (6d) (a) The elector’s printed first name.
(b) The elector’s printed last name.
(c) The elector’s house or apartment number.
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.” − 2 −2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Assembly Bill 570
(d) The elector’s street name.
(e) The elector’s municipality.
(f) The elector’s signature.
(g) The witness’s printed first name.
(h) The witness’s printed last name.
(i) The witness’s house or apartment number.
(j) The witness’s street name.
(k) The witness’s municipality.
(L) The witness’s signature.
SECTION 4. 6.87 (9) of the statutes is renumbered
6.87 (9) (a) and amended to read:
6.87 (9) (a) 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 elec-
tor, 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), and the clerk shall post a notification of the
defect on the elector’s voter information page on the web-
site that is used by electors for original registration under
s. 6.30 (5). The clerk may also attempt to notify the elec-
tor of the defect by other means.
SECTION 5. 6.87 (9) (b) of the statutes is created to
read:
6.87 (9) (b) No person other than the elector, or the
witness with respect to the witness certificate, may cor-
rect a defect in the elector’s absentee ballot certificate.
Whoever violates this paragraph is guilty of a misde-
meanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 or
imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, or both.
SECTION 6. 6.875 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
6.875 (4) (a) For the purpose of absentee voting in
qualified retirement homes and residential care facilities,
the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners
of each municipality in which one or more qualified
retirement homes or residential care facilities are located
shall appoint at least 2 special voting deputies for the
municipality. Except as provided in par. (am), upon
application under s. 6.86 (1), (2), or (2m) by one or more
qualified electors who are occupants of a home or facility,
the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners
of the municipality in which the home or facility is
located shall dispatch 2 special voting deputies to visit the
home or facility for the purpose of supervising absentee
voting procedure by occupants of the home or facility.
The clerk or board of election commissioners shall main-
tain a list, available to the public upon request, of each
home or facility where special voting deputies are dis-
patched. The list shall include the date and time the
deputies intend to visit each home or facility. The 2
deputies designated to visit each qualified retirement
home and residential care facility shall be affiliated with
different political parties whenever deputies representing
different parties are available. No qualified retirement
home or residential care facility may deny entry to a spe-
cial voting deputy appointed under this paragraph except
if the qualified retirement home or residential care facil-
ity is closed to the public during a public health emer-
gency and except if the qualified retirement home or resi-
dential care facility is closed to the public during an
incident of infectious disease, if the administrator of the
qualified retirement home or residential care facility has
signed a verifiable statement documenting the incident
and filed the statement with the municipal clerk or board
of election commissioners. During a public health emer-
gency or an incident of infectious disease, if a qualified
retirement home or residential care facility is closed to
the public, the qualified retirement home or residential
care facility shall allow a personal care voting assistant
appointed under sub. (8) to supervise the absentee voting
procedure used by occupants of the qualified retirement
home or residential care facility.
SECTION 7. 6.875 (4) (b) of the statutes is renumbered
6.875 (4) (b) 1.
SECTION 8. 6.875 (4) (b) 2. of the statutes is created
to read:
6.875 (4) (b) 2. No individual who is employed or
retained at a qualified retirement home or residential care
facility in the municipality and who is not a personal care
voting assistant appointed under sub. (8) (a) 1. may assist
an occupant of the qualified retirement home or residen-
tial care facility in completing the occupant’s absentee
ballot, but such an individual may assist only in distribut-
ing the absentee ballots in their unopened envelopes to
the occupants who requested the ballots.
SECTION 9. 6.875 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
6.875 (6) (a) Special voting deputies in each munici-
pality shall, not later than 5 p.m. on the 6th 11th working
day preceding an election, arrange one or more conve-
nient times with the administrator of each qualified
retirement home and residential care facility in the
municipality that the deputies are scheduled to visit. The
time may be no earlier than the 4th Monday preceding the
election and no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday 6th work-
ing day preceding the election. The municipal clerk shall
give notice of each visit by special voting deputies to a
qualified retirement home or residential care facility in
the same manner that notices of public meetings are pro-
vided by presiding officers under s. 19.84 (1) (b) at least
5 working days in advance of each visit, indicating the
date and time of the visit. The municipal clerk also shall
post a notice at the home or facility and on the Internet
indicating the date and time that absentee voting will take
place at that home or facility. The notice shall be posted
as soon as practicable after arranging the visit but in no
case less than 5 working days before the visit. A munici-
pal clerk whose municipality does not maintain an Inter-
net site need not comply with the Internet posting − 3 − 2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Assembly Bill 570
requirement. At the designated time, 2 deputies
appointed under sub. (4) shall visit the home or facility.
SECTION 10. 6.875 (6) (e) of the statutes is renum-
bered 6.875 (6) (e) 1.
SECTION 11. 6.875 (6) (e) 2. of the statutes is created
to read:
6.875 (6) (e) 2. If a qualified elector is not able to cast
his or her ballot on 2 separate visits by the deputies to the
qualified retirement home or residential care facility
because access to the qualified retirement home or resi-
dential care facility is restricted due to a public health
emergency or an incident of infectious disease, the
deputies shall so inform the municipal clerk or executive
director of the board of election commissioners, who
may then send the ballot to the elector no later than 5 p.m.
on the Friday preceding the election.
SECTION 12. 6.875 (8) of the statutes is created to
read:
6.875 (8) (a) 1. For an election held during a public
health emergency or an incident of infectious disease that
results in restricting access to a qualified retirement home
or residential care facility, the municipal clerk or board
of election commissioners of each municipality in which
one or more qualified retirement homes or residential
care facilities are located may appoint any individual
who is employed or retained at a qualified retirement
home or residential care facility in the municipality to
serve as a personal care voting assistant.
2. Personal care voting assistants appointed under
subd. 1. shall comply with the duties for special voting
deputies and complete a 2−hour online training, as pre-
scribed by the commission under s. 7.315 (1) (a). A per-
sonal care voting assistant appointed under subd. 1. need
not be a qualified elector of the county where the munici-
pality is located but shall be a qualified elector in this
state. No personal care voting assistant appointed under
subd. 1. may assist with or facilitate the registration of
any resident of a qualified retirement home or residential
care facility.
3. Prior to entering upon his or her duties, each indi-
vidual appointed to serve as a personal care voting assist-
ant under subd. 1. 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 personal care voting assistant under
this subsection, that he or she has read the statutes gov-
erning absentee voting, that he or she understands the
proper absentee voting procedure, that he or she under-
stands the penalties under s. 12.13 for noncompliance
with the procedure, and 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 commission.
4. The municipal clerk or board of election commis-
sioners shall appoint at least 2 individuals employed or
retained by the qualified retirement home or residential
care facility to serve as personal care voting assistants
under subd. 1. The 2 personal care voting assistants for
each qualified retirement home or residential care facility
shall be affiliated with different political parties when-
ever personal care voting assistants representing differ-
ent parties are available.
(b) A personal care voting assistant appointed under
par. (a) 1. shall complete documentation, on a form pre-
scribed by the commission, that provides the assistant’s
name, the name of each elector in the qualified retirement
home or residential care facility for whom the personal
care voting assistant provides assistance, and the type of
assistance provided to the elector. The personal care vot-
ing assistant shall also include the information contained
on the form on the return envelope.
(c) The form prescribed under par. (b) shall be a docu-
ment separate from the absentee ballot certificate and
shall be delivered by the administrator of the qualified
retirement home or residential care facility to the munici-
pal clerk or board of election commissioners. Absentee
ballots completed with the assistance of personal care
voting assistants shall be mailed to the municipal clerk or
board of election commissioners, except that the munici-
pal clerk or board of election commissioners may make
arrangements with the administrator of the qualified
retirement home or residential care facility to have an
election official, other than a personal care voting assist-
ant, collect the ballots at the qualified retirement home or
residential care facility and return them to the clerk or
board.
SECTION 13. 7.03 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended
to read:
7.03 (1) (d) Except as otherwise provided in par. (a),
special voting deputies appointed under s. 6.875 (4), per-
sonal care voting assistants appointed under s. 6.875 (8),
and other officials and trainees who attend training ses-
sions under s. 6.875 (8) (a) 2., 7.15 (1) (e), or 7.25 (5) may
also be compensated by the municipality where they
serve at the option of the municipality.
SECTION 14. 7.30 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
7.30 (3) (a) Not less than 30 days before any election
the governing body or board of election commissioners
of any municipality, by resolution, may authorize the
municipal clerk or executive director of the board of elec-
tion commissioners to select and employ tabulators for
any election. Such authorization applies to the elections
specified in the resolution, and if not specified, applies
until the authorization is modified or revoked. Each tabu- − 4 −2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Assembly Bill 570
lator shall sign the official oath and return it to the munic-
ipal clerk before the election.
SECTION 15. 7.30 (7) of the statutes is created to read:
7.30 (7) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT. (a) In this subsec-
tion:
1. “Committee” has the meaning given in s. 11.0101
(6).
2. “Issue advocacy” means communication that pro-
vides information about political or social issues and is
made to influence the outcome of an election.
3. “Issue advocacy group” means any organization
whose sole or primary purpose is to engage in issue advo-
cacy.
(b) No person who is an employee of any of the fol-
lowing may be appointed as an election official:
1. A committee.
2. A political organization required to register with
the federal election commission.
3. An issue advocacy group.
SECTION 16. 7.315 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
7.315 (1) (a) The commission shall, by rule, prescribe
the contents of the training that municipal clerks must
provide to inspectors, other than chief inspectors, and to
special voting deputies appointed under s. 6.875 (4), and
to personal care voting assistants appointed under s.
6.875 (8).
SECTION 17. 7.51 (1) of the statutes is renumbered
7.51 (1) (a) and amended to read:
7.51 (1) (a) Immediately after the polls close the
inspectors except any inspector appointed under s. 7.30
(1) (b) shall proceed to canvass publicly all votes
received at the polling place. In any municipality where
an electronic voting system is used, the municipal gov-
erning body or board of election commissioners may pro-
vide or authorize the municipal clerk or executive direc-
tor of the board of election commissioners to provide for
the adjournment of the canvass to one or more central
counting locations for specified polling places in the
manner prescribed in subch. III of ch. 5. No central
counting location may be used to count votes at a polling
place where an electronic voting system is not employed.
The Except as provided in par. (b), the canvass, whether
conducted at the polling place or at a central counting
location, shall continue without adjournment until the
canvass of all ballots cast and received on or before elec-
tion day is completed and the return statement is made or,
in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed
under s. 7.52, until the canvass of all absentee ballots cast
and received on or before election day is completed and
the return statement for those ballots is made. The
inspectors shall not permit access to the name of any elec-
tor who has obtained a confidential listing under s. 6.47
(2) during the canvass, except as authorized in s. 6.47 (8).
SECTION 18. 7.51 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to
read:
7.51 (1) (b) The municipal board of canvassers may
recess the canvass under par. (a) as the result of a natural
disaster, if an inspector is ill or otherwise incapacitated,
or if the physical condition of the canvass location is
unsuitable for continuing the canvass. The board shall
reconvene as soon as possible to complete the canvass of
all ballots cast and received on or before election day and
make the return statement.
SECTION 19. 7.53 (2) (cm) of the statutes is amended
to read:
7.53 (2) (cm) If one or more temporary vacancies on
the municipal board of canvassers reduces the number of
members to less than 3, the municipal clerk shall appoint
a member to fill each vacancy, except in cities of more
than 500,000 population. In cities of more than 500,000
population, the executive director of the board of election
commissioners shall serve as a member of the board of
canvassers to fill a temporary vacancy on that board. If
the municipal board of canvassers recesses as provided
under s. 7.51 (1) (b) because an inspector is ill or other-
wise incapacitated, the municipal clerk or the executive
director of the board of election commissioners shall
immediately appoint an individual to temporarily serve
as a member of the municipal board of canvassers.
SECTION 20. 12.13 (2) (b) 9. of the statutes is created
to read:
12.13 (2) (b) 9. Intentionally assist or cause the cast-
ing or counting of a vote or the receipt of a registration
that is invalid for any reason in addition to those specified
in subd. 3.
SECTION 21. 12.13 (2) (b) 10. of the statutes is created
to read:
12.13 (2) (b) 10. Intentionally assist or cause the
rejection of or failure to otherwise count a valid vote or
the rejection of a valid registration.
SECTION 22. 12.13 (2) (b) 11. of the statutes is created
to read:
12.13 (2) (b) 11. Intentionally fail to promptly report
a violation under this subsection to the commission and
to the district attorney for the county in which the viola-
tion occurred.
SECTION 23. 12.13 (3) (zp) of the statutes is created
to read:
12.13 (3) (zp) Assist in counting or tabulating votes
at an election unless the person is a resident of this state,
is an election official who is trained to the extent provided
by law, and has signed the official oath and returned it to
the municipal clerk with respect to that election.
SECTION 24. 12.13 (3m) of the statutes is created to
read:
12.13 (3m) ABSENTEE VOTING IN CERTAIN RESIDEN-
TIAL CARE FACILITIES AND RETIREMENT HOMES. (a) No
employee of a qualified retirement home, as defined in s.
6.875 (1) (at), or residential care facility, as defined in s.
6.875 (1) (bm), may coerce an occupant of the qualified
retirement home or residential care facility to apply for − 5 − 2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Assembly Bill 570
or not apply for an absentee ballot or to cast or refrain
from casting a ballot or coerce an occupant to cast a ballot
for or against a particular candidate or ballot question.
(b) No employee of a qualified retirement home, as
defined in s. 6.875 (1) (at), or residential care facility, as
defined in s. 6.875 (1) (bm), may coerce an occupant of
the qualified retirement home or residential care facility
to register or not to register to vote.
SECTION 25. 12.60 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended
to read:
12.60 (1) (a) Whoever violates s. 12.09, 12.11, or
12.13 (1), (2) (b) 1. to 7. or, 9., 10., or 11., (3) (a), (e), (f),
(j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or, (z), or (zp), or (3m) is guilty of a
Class I felony.