AB 897

Under current law, the administrator of the Elections Commission is required

to enter into a membership agreement with the Electronic Registration Information

Center (ERIC) to assist the commission in maintaining Wisconsin's official voter

registration list. The information ERIC provides to the commission includes

information about voters registered in Wisconsin who may have voted more than

once in the same election because the voter also voted in another state.

This bill requires the commission to obtain and examine after each general

election information provided by ERIC indicating that individuals registered to vote

in Wisconsin may have voted in another state in the same election. Under the bill,

if, after examination of such information and other relevant information and

documents, the commission determines based on criteria established by the

commission that an elector has likely voted more than once in the same election, the

commission must refer the matter to the appropriate district attorney or, in some

circumstances, the attorney general.

Also, under current law, after each election a municipal clerk is required to

perform an audit to assure that no person has been allowed to vote more than once.

If a municipal clerk has good reason to believe that a person has voted more than once

in an election, the municipal clerk is required to send the person a letter regarding

the matter and send a copy of the letter and subsequent information to the local

district attorney and the commission.

This bill applies those requirements to a municipal board of election

commissioners and requires the Elections Commission to verify receipt by district

attorneys of the required letters and information. For purposes of election

administration, municipal clerks are responsible for municipal election functions

except that, in cities having a population of more than 500,000 (the city of

Milwaukee), election functions are delegated by law to a municipal board of election

commissioners.

The bill also includes additional reporting requirements relating to all of the

commission's duties under the bill described above.

Finally, under current law, the commission may initiate an investigation of

potential violations of Wisconsin's election laws only if a sworn complaint is filed with

the commission alleging such a violation occurred. Current law prohibits members

of the commission, the commission administrator, and employees of the commission

from filing a sworn complaint.

Under the bill, any member of the commission and the commission

administrator or his or her designee may file a sworn complaint with the commission

alleging election law violations.