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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 596
October 31, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives EMERSON, MOORE OMOKUNDE,
BARE, CONSIDINE, GOYKE, STUBBS, DRAKE, JOERS, BALDEH, PALMERI, RATCLIFF,
SUBECK, JACOBSON, ORTIZ-VELEZ, MYERS, HAYWOOD and CLANCY, cosponsored
by Senators TAYLOR, SMITH, ROYS, HESSELBEIN, LARSON and SPREITZER.
Referred to Committee on Campaigns and Elections.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to repeal 6.29 (2) (am), 6.36 (1) (a) 9., 6.55 (2) (cs), 6.55 (3) (b), 6.56 (3m),
6.79 (2) (dm), 6.88 (3) (c), 301.03 (20m), 302.117 and 973.09 (4m); to renumber
6.55 (3) (a); to renumber and amend 6.03 (1) (b) and 304.078 (3); to amend
6.33 (1), 6.33 (2) (a), 7.52 (6), 301.03 (3a) (intro.), 304.078 (2) and 973.176 (2);
and to create 6.03 (1) (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes; relating to: restoring
the right to vote to certain persons barred from voting as a result of a felony
conviction, changing the information required on voter registration forms, and
changing voting procedure for certain persons who are convicted of felonies.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill changes the circumstances under which a person may be barred from
voting as the result of a disqualifying offense and requires the Department of
Corrections, the Elections Commission, and the Director of State Courts to include
in their ongoing training programs a discussion of the changes in law made by this
bill and to offer the training to judges, attorneys, election officials, employees of DOC,
and the public.
Under current law, a person convicted of treason, bribery, or a felony may not
vote unless the person's right to vote is restored through a pardon or until the person
completes his or her sentence, including extended supervision or parole, or any term
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of probation imposed. Under this bill, a person loses his or her right to vote based
on a disqualifying offense only while he or she is incarcerated for that offense. A
person released to extended supervision or parole may resume voting. In addition,
a person convicted of a disqualifying offense and on probation retains the right to
vote while on probation unless he or she is confined as a condition of probation. But
if a person who committed a disqualifying offense is incarcerated after the revocation
of extended supervision, parole, or probation, the person loses the right to vote until
he or she is released.
Currently, an applicant for voter registration must affirm 1) whether he or she
has been convicted of a felony for which he or she has not been pardoned and, if so,
whether the applicant is incarcerated or on parole, probation, or extended
supervision; and 2) whether the applicant is disqualified on any other ground from
voting. This bill deletes the requirement that an applicant provide any information
relating to a felony conviction but retains the requirement that an applicant affirm
that he or she is not disqualified on any ground from voting.
Currently, election officials must verify the eligibility of electors who vote at an
election or who register to vote at an election after the close of voter registration for
that election by checking each elector's name against a list provided by DOC that
contains the names of convicted felons who have not completed their sentences and
have not been pardoned. If a person's name appears on the list, the election officials
are directed to allow the person to vote if he or she is otherwise eligible, but to mark
and challenge the elector's ballot for possible later review. This bill deletes the
requirements for DOC to provide the list of convicted felons and for election officials
to review the names on the list.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 6.03 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 6.03 (1) (b) (intro.) and
amended to read:
6.03 (1) (b) (intro.) Any person convicted of treason, who, as a result of a felony
or bribery, unless the person's right to vote is restored through a pardon or under s.
304.078 (3). conviction, is any of the following:
SECTION 2. 6.03 (1) (b) 1., 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes are created to read:
6.03 (1) (b) 1. Incarcerated while serving a sentence that was not imposed
under s. 973.01.
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2. Serving a term of confinement, or incarcerated after revocation of extended
supervision, while serving a sentence that was imposed under s. 973.01.
3. Incarcerated following the revocation of probation.
4. Confined as a condition of probation under s. 973.09 (4) (a).
SECTION 3. 6.29 (2) (am) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 4. 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
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 for any reason from voting;
and whether the elector is currently registered to vote at any other location. 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
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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 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 5. 6.33 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
6.33 (2) (a) All information may be recorded by any person, except that the clerk
shall record the ward and aldermanic district, if any, other geographic information
under sub. (1), the indication of whether the registration is received by mail, and the
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type of identifying document submitted by the elector as proof of residence under s.
6.34. An elector is not required to provide a copy of any certificate or notice issued
to the applicant under s. 304.078. Except as provided in s. 6.30 (5), each elector shall
sign his or her own name unless the elector is unable to sign his or her name due to
physical disability. In such case, the elector may authorize another elector to sign
the form on his or her behalf. If the elector so authorizes, the elector signing the form
shall attest to a statement that the application is made upon request and by
authorization of a named elector who is unable to sign the form due to physical
disability.
SECTION 6. 6.36 (1) (a) 9. of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 7. 6.55 (2) (cs) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 8. 6.55 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 6.55 (3).
SECTION 9. 6.55 (3) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 10. 6.56 (3m) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 11. 6.79 (2) (dm) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 12. 6.88 (3) (c) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 13. 7.52 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
7.52 (6) The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall review each certificate
envelope to determine whether any absentee ballot is cast by an elector whose name
appears on the poll list as ineligible to vote at the election, including ineligibility to
vote by reason of a felony conviction. If the board of absentee ballot canvassers
receives an absentee ballot that has been cast by an elector whose name appears on
the poll list as ineligible to vote, the inspectors shall challenge the ballot in the same
manner as provided for inspectors making challenges under s. 6.92 and shall treat
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the ballot in the same manner as provided for treatment of challenged ballots by
inspectors under s. 6.95.
SECTION 14. 301.03 (3a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
301.03 (3a) (intro.) Subject to all of the following, design a form to provide
notice under ss. 302.117, 973.09 (4m), and s. 973.176 (2) of ineligibility to vote under
s. 6.03 (1) (b):
SECTION 15. 301.03 (20m) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 16. 302.117 of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 17. 304.078 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
304.078 (2) Except for the right to vote, which is restored as provided in sub.
(3), every person who is convicted of a crime obtains a restoration of his or her civil
rights by serving out his or her term of imprisonment or otherwise satisfying his or
her sentence. The certificate of the department or other responsible supervising
agency that a convicted person has served his or her sentence term of imprisonment
or otherwise satisfied the judgment sentence against him or her is evidence of that
fact and that the person is restored to his or her civil rights. The department or other
agency shall list in the person's certificate rights which have been restored and which
have not been restored. Persons who served out their terms of imprisonment or
otherwise satisfied their sentences prior to August 14, 1947, are likewise restored to
their civil rights from and after September 25, 1959.
SECTION 18. 304.078 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 304.078 (3) (a) and
amended to read:
304.078 (3) (a) If a person is disqualified from voting under s. 6.03 (1) (b) from
voting, his or her right to vote is restored when he or she completes the term of
imprisonment or probation for the crime that led to the disqualification. The the
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factor under s. 6.03 (1) (b) that disqualified him or her from voting no longer applies
to him or her.
(b) When a person is placed on parole or extended supervision or when a person
is discharged from an incarceration sentence or a confinement period that
disqualified him or her under s. 6.03 (1) (b) from voting, the department or, if the
person is sentenced to a county jail or house of correction, the jailer shall inform the
person in writing at the time his or her provide the person written notice of the right
to vote is restored under this subsection and, if the person resided in this state at the
time of conviction, a voter registration form.
SECTION 19. 973.09 (4m) of the statutes is repealed.
SECTION 20. 973.176 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
973.176 (2) VOTING. Whenever a court imposes a sentence or places a defendant
on probation for a conviction a condition of probation that disqualifies the defendant
from voting under s. 6.03 (1) (b), the court shall inform the defendant in writing that
he or she may not vote in any election until his or her civil rights are restored the
factor under s. 6.03 (1) (b) that disqualified him or her from voting no longer applies
to him or her. The court shall use the form designed by the department of corrections
under s. 301.03 (3a) to inform the defendant, and the defendant and a witness shall
sign the form.
SECTION 21.0Nonstatutory provisions.
(1) TRAINING. The department of corrections, the elections commission, and the
director of state courts shall include in their ongoing training programs a discussion
of the changes to voting rights that this act creates and shall offer the training to
judges, attorneys, election officials, employees of the department of corrections, and
the public, as appropriate. If this subsection takes effect at least 60 days before the
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first election that follows that effective date, the department, the commission, and
the director shall endeavor to provide the training before election day.
(2) NOTICE. The department of corrections shall, as soon as reasonably possible
but no later than 6 months after the effective date of this subsection, mail to each
person on parole, extended supervision, or probation, who was released to parole or
extended supervision, or placed on probation, before the effective date of this
subsection, notice that the person's right to vote is restored.
SECTION 22.0Initial applicability.
(1) The renumbering and amendment of s. 6.03 (1) (b) and the creation of s. 6.03
(1) (b) 1., 2., 3., and 4. first apply to persons who are on or released to parole or
extended supervision on the effective date of this subsection and to persons who are
on or placed on probation on the effective date of this subsection.
(END)
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