AB 198

Election fraud

Current law prohibits election officials from committing certain kinds of

election fraud, including permitting a person to register to vote or vote when the

election official knows the person is not qualified to do so. This bill provides further

that no election official may do any of the following:

1. Intentionally assist or cause the casting or counting of a vote or the receipt

of a registration that the election official knows is invalid.

2. Intentionally assist or cause a vote or registration to be rejected when the

election official knows the vote or registration is valid.

3. Intentionally fail to promptly report election fraud committed by another

election official.

Under current law, an election official who commits election fraud is generally

subject to a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and

six months or both. Under the bill, election officials violating the prohibitions

described above are likewise subject to that penalty.

Absentee ballot certificates

Under current law, absentee ballot envelopes include a printed certificate that

must be completed, signed by the voter and a qualified witness, and returned to the

municipal clerk with the completed ballot so that it is delivered to the polling place

no later than 8 p.m. on election day. By completing and signing the certificate, the

voter certifies that he or she is entitled to vote in the election and that the voter

completed his or her absentee ballot in the presence of the witness. The witness

certificate includes the witness's printed name and address in addition to his or her

signature. If a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an improperly

completed certificate or with no certificate, the clerk may, but is not required to,

return the ballot to the voter whenever time permits so that the voter may correct

the defect.

Under this bill, if a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an

improperly completed certificate or with no certificate, the clerk is required to return

the ballot to the voter and post a notification of the defect on the voter's voter

information page on the Internet site that is used by voters for original registration,

currently titled MyVote Wisconsin. The bill also prohibits the municipal clerk from

correcting a defect in the certificate.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report.