Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB366 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	LRB-3052/1
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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 SENATE BILL 366
5	5	July 13, 2023 - Introduced by Senators TAYLOR, JACQUE, BALLWEG and TOMCZYK,
6	6	cosponsored by Representatives SORTWELL, ORTIZ-VELEZ, BALDEH, BEHNKE,
7	7	GUNDRUM, GUSTAFSON, KITCHENS, MOSES, MYERS, KRUG, STEFFEN and STUBBS.
8	8	Referred to Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer
9	9	Protection.
10	10	AN ACT to renumber and amend 5.25 (3); and to create 5.25 (3) (a) 1., 2. and
11	11	3., 5.25 (3) (b) and 5.25 (3) (c) of the statutes; relating to: polling place closures.
12	12	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
13	13	Under current law, polling places are required to be established for each
14	14	election at least 30 days before the election. Under this bill, under no circumstance
15	15	may a municipality close more than one-half of its polling places within 30 days
16	16	before an election. Additionally, the bill prohibits a municipality from closing any
17	17	polling place within 30 days before an election without both the head of the governing
18	18	body of the municipality and the municipal clerk approving the closures and without
19	19	the municipal clerk doing all of the following:
20	20	1. Posting public notice of the closures on the municipality's website or, if the
21	21	municipality does not maintain a website, posting notices in at least 3 different
22	22	locations within the municipality reasonably calculated to notify the most residents.
23	23	2. Publishing three notices in a newspaper likely to give notice in the area
24	24	notifying the public of the closures.
25	25	3. Publishing two notices or one notice in a newspaper likely to give notice in
26	26	the area if time does not permit publication of three notices.
27	27	Additionally, under the bill, if after an election and more than 30 days before
28	28	the next election, a municipality wishes to discontinue a polling place location, the
29	29	municipality's governing body may approve the discontinuation only after a public
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31	31	2 - 2 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-3052/1
32	32	MPG:skw
33	33	SENATE BILL 366
34	34	hearing at which the public has an opportunity to present testimony on the proposed
35	35	discontinuation.
36	36	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
37	37	enact as follows:
38	38	SECTION 1. 5.25 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 5.25 (3) (a) and amended to
39	39	read:
40	40	5.25 (3) (a) Polling places shall be established for each election at least 30 days
41	41	before the election. Subject to par. (b), no polling place so established in a
42	42	municipality may be closed to voters on election day without the approval of both the
43	43	head of the governing body of the municipality and the municipal clerk and without
44	44	the municipal clerk doing all of the following:
45	45	SECTION 2. 5.25 (3) (a) 1., 2. and 3. of the statutes are created to read:
46	46	5.25 (3) (a) 1. Posting public notice of the closures on the municipality's website
47	47	or, if the municipality does not maintain a website, by posting notices in at least 3
48	48	different locations within the municipality reasonably calculated to notify the most
49	49	residents.
50	50	2. Publishing a class 3 notice under ch. 985 notifying the public of the closures.
51	51	3. Publishing a class 2 or class 1 notice notifying the public of the closures if
52	52	time does not permit publication of a class 3 notice.
53	53	SECTION 3. 5.25 (3) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
54	54	5.25 (3) (b) Under no circumstance may a municipality close more than
55	55	one-half of its polling places within 30 days before an election.
56	56	SECTION 4. 5.25 (3) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
57	57	5.25 (3) (c) After an election and more than 30 days before the next election,
58	58	the location of a polling place in a municipality may not be discontinued without the
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79	79	21 - 3 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
80	80	LRB-3052/1
81	81	MPG:skw
82	82	SECTION 4
83	83	SENATE BILL 366
84	84	approval of the municipality's governing body after a public hearing at which the
85	85	public has an opportunity to present testimony on the proposed discontinuation.
86	86	(END)
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