10.02 Type B notice content.
(1) Before any election an appropriate type B notice shall be published in substantially the form prescribed by the commission at the times prescribed in s. 10.06. The type B notice shall include the following relevant sections and be within the guidelines established in this section.
(2)
(a) The headline or caption, the introductory paragraph and the voting instructions shall be printed once at the beginning of the notice followed by a facsimile of each ballot to be used at the election. The headline or caption shall be conspicuously displayed, but the caption together with the necessary spacing above and below shall not exceed 1 1/4 inches in depth. The introductory paragraph and voting instructions shall be set solid in the type of the regular reading matter of the newspaper but no smaller than 5 1/2-point nor larger than 10-point type.
(b) Following the introductory paragraph, but preceding the facsimile ballot notice, shall appear the statement of information to electors in the form prescribed in sub. (3).
(c) The facsimile ballots shall follow the voting instructions. The size and style of type and the general display of the facsimile ballots shall be prescribed by the commission and shall conform to the form prescribed by the commission under s. 7.08 (1) (a). The party columns shall not exceed 2-1/6 inches in width and the ballot size may be reduced. Voting machine facsimile ballots shall show a reduced diagram of the front of the voting machine and instructions to electors on how to vote on the machine. If the ballots in the wards or election districts within a county or municipality are identical but for the names of different candidates, districts or seats, the facsimile ballot may show the ballot for one ward or election district, accompanied by a list of candidates, districts and seats to be voted upon in the other wards or election districts.
(3) The notice shall contain the following:
FACSIMILE BALLOT NOTICE
OF .... ELECTION
Office of .... [County] [Municipal] Clerk.
To the Electors of .... [County] [Municipality]:
Notice is hereby given of a .... election to be held in the several wards in the [county] [municipality] of ...., on the .... day of ...., .... (year), at which the officers named below shall be chosen. The names of the candidates for each office to be voted for, whose nominations have been certified to or filed in this office, are given under the title of the office and under the appropriate party or other designation, each in its proper column, together with the questions submitted to a vote, in the sample ballot below.
INFORMATION TO ELECTORS
Except where a different statement is prescribed by the commission for use in whole or in part by municipalities using electronic voting systems under s. 5.95, the voting instructions shall be given substantially as follows:
(a) Upon entering the polling place and before being permitted to vote, an elector shall state his or her name and address. If an elector is not registered to vote, an elector may register to vote at the polling place serving his or her residence if the elector presents proof of identification in a form specified by law unless the elector is exempted from this requirement, and, if the document presented does not constitute proof of residence, the elector provides proof of residence. Where ballots are distributed to electors, the initials of 2 inspectors must appear on the ballot. Upon being permitted to vote, the elector shall retire alone to a voting booth or machine and cast his or her ballot, except that an elector who is a parent or guardian may be accompanied by the elector's minor child or minor ward. An election official may inform the elector of the proper manner for casting a vote, but the official may not in any manner advise or indicate a particular voting choice.
(b)
1. The elector shall make a cross (X) next to or separately depress the levers or buttons next to each candidate's name for whom he or she intends to vote, or shall insert or write in the name of a candidate.
2. At a partisan primary, the elector shall select the party ballot of his or her choice and shall make a cross (X) next to or depress the lever or button next to the candidate's name for each office for whom the elector intends to vote, or shall insert or write in the name of the elector's choice for a candidate.
3. When casting a presidential preference vote, the elector shall select the party ballot of his or her choice and make a cross (X) next to or depress the button or lever next to the candidate's name for whom he or she intends to vote or shall, in the alternative, make a cross (X) next to or depress the button or lever next to the words “Uninstructed delegation", or shall write in the name of his or her choice for a candidate.
4. At a nonpartisan primary, the elector shall make a cross (X) next to or depress the button or lever next to the candidate's name for each office for whom he or she intends to vote, or insert or write in the name of his or her choice for a candidate.
(c) In presidential elections, the elector shall make a cross (X) next to or depress the button or lever next to the set of candidates for president and vice president for whom he or she intends to vote. A vote for candidates for president and vice president is a vote for the presidential electors of those candidates.
(d) On referenda questions, the elector shall make a cross (X) next to or depress the button or lever next to the answer which he or she intends to give.
(e) The vote should not be cast in any other manner. If the elector spoils a ballot, he or she shall return it to an election official who shall issue another in its place, but not more than 3 ballots shall be issued to any one elector. If the ballot has not been initialed by 2 inspectors or is defective in any other way, the elector shall return it to the election official, who shall issue a proper ballot in its place. Not more than 5 minutes' time shall be allowed inside a voting booth or machine. Unofficial ballots or a memorandum to assist the elector in marking his or her ballot may be taken into the booth and copied. The sample ballot shall not be shown to anyone so as to reveal how the ballot is marked.
(f) After an official paper ballot is marked, it shall be folded so the inside marks do not show but so the printed endorsements and inspectors' initials on the outside do show. After casting his or her vote, the elector shall leave the voting machine or booth, and where paper ballots are distributed to the electors, deposit his or her folded ballot in the ballot box or deliver it to an inspector for deposit in the box, and shall leave the polling place promptly.
(g) An elector may select an individual to assist in casting his or her vote if the elector declares to the presiding official that he or she is unable to read, has difficulty reading, writing or understanding English or that due to disability is unable to cast his or her ballot. The selected individual rendering assistance may not be the elector's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector.
(h) The following is a facsimile of the official ballot: (insert facsimile of ballot)
...., (County Clerk)
(Municipal Clerk)
History: 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (2); 1973 c. 334 s. 57; 1975 c. 85, 199; 1977 c. 107, 427, 447; 1979 c. 311; 1981 c. 377; 1983 a. 484 ss. 119, 172 (3); 1985 a. 304; 1989 a. 31; 1997 a. 250; 1999 a. 182; 2003 a. 265; 2005 a. 451; 2011 a. 23, 32; 2015 a. 118 s. 266 (10).