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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 572
October 26, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives KITCHENS, ALLEN, BINSFELD,
DITTRICH, DONOVAN, EDMING, GOEBEN, GUNDRUM, KRUG, MAGNAFICI, MAXEY,
MICHALSKI, MURPHY, MURSAU, NEDWESKI, O'CONNOR, PENTERMAN and ROZAR,
cosponsored by Senators QUINN, BALLWEG, MARKLEIN and NASS. Referred to
Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to amend 6.33 (1), 6.875 (6) (c) 2., 12.60 (1) (a) and 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g.; and
to create 5.057 of the statutes; relating to: absentee voting in certain
residential care facilities and retirement homes and court determinations of
incompetency and ineligibility to vote.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Absentee voting in certain facilities
Under current law, under certain circumstances, a municipal clerk must
dispatch special voting deputies to a residential care facility or qualified retirement
home so that the occupants of the facility or home may cast an absentee ballot in
person with the special voting deputies rather than vote in person at the appropriate
polling place or request and complete an absentee ballot by mail. Under current law,
a retirement home is a facility occupied as a primary residence by 10 or more
unrelated individuals. A qualified retirement home is a retirement home that has
a significant number of occupants who lack adequate transportation to the polling
place, need assistance in voting, are aged 60 or over, or are indefinitely confined.
Under current law, the special voting deputies must arrange with the
administrator of the residential care facility or qualified retirement home one or
more convenient times to visit the facility or home. The administrator of the facility
or home may, upon the request of a relative of an occupant of the facility or home,
notify the relative of the time or times when special voting deputies will conduct
absentee voting at the facility or home.
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This bill requires the administrator, or the administrator's designee, to provide
notice by email of the dates and times when the deputies will be visiting the
residential care facility or qualified retirement home to each individual designated
as a contact by the occupant who intends to vote by absentee ballot with the special
voting deputies.
Determinations of incompetency
Under current law, no person who is incapable of understanding the objective
of the elective process or who is under a guardianship may vote unless a court has
determined that the person is competent to vote. Current law also allows any voter
in a municipality to petition a circuit court to determine whether a person residing
in the municipality is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective
process. If the court determines that the person is incapable of such understanding,
the person is not eligible to register to vote or to vote. Current law requires the clerk
of the circuit court to communicate the court's determinations, in writing, to the
election officials who are responsible for determining challenges to registration and
voting that may be brought against the person.
This bill requires the circuit court to notify the Elections Commission, by email,
of the court's determination regarding incompetency and ineligibility to vote. Under
the bill, when the commission receives a determination of incompetency and
ineligibility to vote, the commission must, within two business days, change the
status of the voter subject to the determination to inactive on the official voter
registration list, note on the list that the voter is ineligible to vote, and notify the
voter and the voter's municipal clerk of the voter's change in status. The bill also
provides that if a court reviews a determination of incompetency and ineligibility to
vote and restores the voter's right to vote, upon receipt of that determination by
email, the commission must, within two business days, notify the voter that the voter
is eligible to vote and that the voter is required to complete a new registration to vote
if the voter intends to vote. Under the bill, the clerk must examine the registration
list before issuing a ballot to any potential voter.
Finally, under current law, an individual who votes at an election but who does
not have the necessary qualifications to vote is guilty of a Class I felony. Under the
bill, the penalty does not apply to an individual who has been determined ineligible
to vote due to incompetency, but the individual's vote is excluded from the final tally
for that election.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 5.057 of the statutes is created to read:
5.057 Determination of ineligibility to vote due to incompetency. (1)
Upon receipt of a determination of ineligibility to register to vote or to vote under
s. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g., the commission shall, no later than 2 business days after receiving
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the determination, change the status of the elector subject to the determination to
inactive on the official registration list under s. 6.36, note on the list that the elector
is ineligible to vote in accordance with s. 6.03 (3), and notify the elector and the
elector's municipal clerk of the elector's change in status. If the commission does not
have a record of the elector upon receipt of a determination of ineligibility, the
commission shall create a record listing the elector as ineligible to vote in accordance
with s. 6.03 (3) and provide a copy of that record to the elector's municipal clerk. Upon
receipt of a registration to vote, the municipal clerk shall examine the registration
list to determine whether the elector is ineligible to vote in accordance with s. 6.03
(3) and shall notify the elector if the clerk determines that the elector is ineligible.
The clerk shall examine the registration list before issuing a ballot to any potential
elector.
(2) If under s. 54.64 (2) (a) a court subsequently reviews a determination of
ineligibility to vote under s. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g. and restores an elector's right to vote,
as provided under s. 54.64 (2) (c), upon receipt of the reviewing court's determination,
the commission shall, no later than 2 business days after receiving the
determination, notify the elector that the elector is eligible to vote, but is required
to complete a new voter registration if the voter intends to vote. The commission
shall submit with the notice a registration form for the elector to complete and return
to the municipal clerk, if the elector intends to vote.
SECTION 2. 6.33 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
6.33 (1) The commission shall prescribe the format, size, and shape of
registration forms. All nonelectronic forms shall be printed and each item of
information shall be of uniform font size, as prescribed by the commission. Except
as otherwise provided in this subsection, electronic forms shall contain the same
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information as nonelectronic forms. The municipal clerk shall supply sufficient
forms to meet voter registration needs. The commission shall design the form to
obtain from each elector information as to name; date; residence location; location of
previous residence immediately before moving to current residence location;
citizenship; date of birth; age; the number of a current and valid operator's license
issued to the elector under ch. 343 or the last 4 digits of the elector's social security
account number; whether the elector has resided within the ward or election district
for the number of consecutive days specified in s. 6.02 (1); whether the elector has
been convicted of a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned, and if so,
whether the elector is incarcerated, or on parole, probation, or extended supervision;
whether the elector is disqualified on any other ground from voting, including being
adjudicated incompetent to exercise the right to register to vote or to vote in an
election; and whether the elector is currently registered to vote at any other location.
The forms shall provide check boxes for the elector to indicate whether he or she is
disqualified to vote and, if disqualified to vote, the grounds for which the elector is
so disqualified. The commission shall include on the nonelectronic form a space for
the elector's signature and on the electronic form the authorization specified under
s. 6.30 (5). Below the space for the signature or authorization, respectively, the
commission shall include the following statement: “Falsification of information on
this form is punishable under Wisconsin law as a Class I felony." The commission
shall include on the form a space to enter the name of any inspector, municipal clerk,
or deputy clerk under s. 6.55 (2) who obtains the form and a space for the inspector,
clerk, or deputy clerk to sign his or her name, affirming that the inspector, clerk, or
deputy clerk has accepted the form. The commission shall include on the form a
space for entry of the ward and aldermanic district, if any, where the elector resides
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and any other information required to determine the offices and referenda for which
the elector is certified to vote. The commission shall also include on the form a space
where the clerk may record an indication of whether the form is received by mail or
by electronic application, a space where the clerk shall record an indication of the
type of identifying document submitted by the elector as proof of residence under s.
6.34 or an indication that the elector's information in lieu of proof of residence was
verified under s. 6.34 (2m), the name of the entity or institution that issued the
identifying document, and, if the identifying document includes a number that
applies only to the individual holding that document, that number. The commission
shall also include on the form a space where the clerk, for any elector who possesses
a valid voting identification card issued to the person under s. 6.47 (3), may record
the identification serial number appearing on the voting identification card. Each
county clerk shall obtain sufficient registration forms for completion by an elector
who desires to register to vote at the office of the county clerk under s. 6.28 (4).
SECTION 3. 6.875 (6) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
6.875 (6) (c) 2. Upon the request of a relative of an occupant of a qualified
retirement home or residential care facility, the administrator of the home or facility
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 The
administrator of a qualified retirement home or residential care facility, or the
administrator's designee, shall provide notice by email of the dates and times when
the special voting deputies will be visiting the home or facility to each individual
designated as a contact by the occupant who intends to vote by absentee ballot with
the deputies. The administrator, or administrator's designee, may provide the same
notice to any other individual upon the occupant's request. Any individual receiving
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a notice under this subdivision may be present in the room where the voting is
conducted.
SECTION 4. 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 (3)
(a), (e), (f), (j), (k), (L), (m), (y) or (z) is guilty of a Class I felony. This paragraph does
not apply to a violation of s. 12.13 (1) (a) by an individual who is determined ineligible
to register to vote or to vote under s. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g., but the individual's vote shall
not be included in the final tally for that election.
SECTION 5. 54.25 (2) (c) 1. g. of the statutes is amended to read:
54.25 (2) (c) 1. g. The right to register to vote or to vote in an election, if the court
finds that the individual is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective
process. Also, in accordance with s. 6.03 (3), any elector of a municipality may
petition the circuit court for a determination that an individual residing in the
municipality is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process and
thereby ineligible to register to vote or to vote in an election. This determination
shall be made by the court in accordance with the procedures specified in this
paragraph. If a petition is filed under this subd. 1. g., the finding of the court shall
be limited to a determination as to voting eligibility. The appointment of a guardian
is not required for an individual whose sole limitation is ineligibility to vote. The
court shall immediately notify the elections commission by email of the
determination of the court shall be communicated in writing by the clerk of court to
the election official or agency charged under s. 6.48, 6.92, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5) with
the responsibility for determining challenges to registration and voting that may be
directed against that elector. An email notification sent to the elections commission
under this subd. 1. g. shall remain confidential, except as otherwise provided under
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s. 19.36. The court shall also, at the time of the determination, provide the
determination in writing to the elector and the elector's guardian, if applicable. The
determination may be reviewed as provided in s. 54.64 (2), and the court shall notify
the elections commission, the elector, and the elector's guardian, if applicable, by
mail and email of any subsequent determination of the court shall be likewise
communicated by the clerk of court. All notices provided to the elections commission
under this subd. 1. g. shall include the full name; residential address, including city,
state, and zip code; mailing address, if different than the residential address; and
date of birth of the individual subject to the determination. If the court appoints a
guardian for an individual who is ineligible to vote, the guardian shall immediately
report any residential or mailing address change for the individual to the court, and
the court shall immediately notify the elections commission of that address by email.
The court shall use a standardized notice of eligibility form to communicate its
determinations to the elector and the elector's guardian, if applicable.
(END)
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