6.15 New residents; presidential voting.
(1) Qualifications. Any person who was or who is an eligible elector under ss. 6.02 and 6.03, except that he or she has been a resident of this state for less than 28 consecutive days prior to the date of the presidential election, is entitled to vote for the president and vice president but for no other offices. The fact that the person was not registered to vote in the state from which he or she moved does not prevent voting in this state if the elector is otherwise qualified.
NOTE: In One Wisconsin Institute, Inc. v. Thomsen, 15-cv-324, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (2016), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ordered that “the increase of the durational residency requirement from 10 days to 28 days is unconstitutional."
(2) Procedure at clerk's office. Any person qualifying under sub. (1) need not register to vote, but shall apply for and cast his or her ballot as follows:
(a) The elector's request for the application form may be made in person to the municipal clerk of the municipality where the person resides. Application may be made not sooner than 27 days nor later than 5 p.m. on the day before the election, or may be made at the proper polling place in the ward or election district in which the elector resides. If an elector makes application before election day, the application form shall be returned to the municipal clerk after the affidavit has been signed in the presence of the clerk or any officer authorized by law to administer oaths. The affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:
STATE OF WISCONSIN
County of ....
I, ...., do solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States; that prior to establishing Wisconsin residence, my legal residence was in the .... (town) (village) (city) of ...., state of ...., residing at .... (street address); that on the day of the next presidential election, I shall be at least 18 years of age and that I have been a legal resident of the state of Wisconsin since ...., .... (year), residing at .... (street address), in the [.... ward of the .... aldermanic district of] the (town) (village) (city) of ...., county of ....; that I have resided in the state less than 28 consecutive days, that I am qualified to vote for president and vice president at the election to be held November ...., .... (year), that I am not voting at any other place in this election and that I hereby make application for an official presidential ballot, in accordance with section 6.15 of the Wisconsin statutes.
Signed ....
P.O. Address ....
Subscribed and sworn to before me this .... day of ...., .... (year)
....(Name)
....(Title)
NOTE: In One Wisconsin Institute, Inc. v. Thomsen, 15-cv-324, 198 F. Supp. 3d 896 (2016), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ordered that “the increase of the durational residency requirement from 10 days to 28 days is unconstitutional."
(b) The clerk shall provide with the application form a card which the elector shall fill in and return with the application to the municipal clerk. The card shall state that the elector intends to vote for president and vice president in Wisconsin and that his or her voting privileges should be canceled at his or her previous residence. The card shall be in substantially the following form:
.... (Full Name - print or type)
It is my intent to vote for president and vice president in Wisconsin, under section 6.15, Wisconsin Statutes.
( ) I am not registered to vote at my previous address.
( ) I am registered to vote at my previous address and I hereby authorize the cancellation of my previous voting privileges at that address:
.... (Street), .... (Town, village, city), .... (State) .... (Zip)
Signature ....
Present Address ....
(bm) Except as authorized in s. 6.79 (7), when making application in person at the office of the municipal clerk, each applicant shall present proof of identification. If any document presented by the applicant is not proof of residence under s. 6.34, the applicant shall also present proof of residence under s. 6.34. The clerk shall verify that the name on the proof of identification presented by the elector conforms to the name on the elector's application, shall verify that any photograph appearing on that document reasonably resembles the elector, and shall enter the type of identifying document submitted by the elector as proof of residence, 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, the last 4 digits of that number on the application form. If the number on the identifying document submitted by the elector has 6 or fewer digits, the clerk shall enter only the last 2 digits of that number.
(c) The municipal clerk upon receipt of the application form and voting privileges cancellation card shall immediately forward the card to the proper official of the applicant's prior residence.
(d)
1r. Upon proper completion of the application and cancellation card, the municipal clerk shall permit the elector to cast his or her ballot for president and vice president. The elector shall then mark the ballot in the clerk's presence in a manner that will not disclose his or her vote. The elector shall then fold the ballot so as to conceal his or her vote. The clerk or elector shall then place the ballot in an envelope furnished by the clerk.
2. The clerk shall enclose the envelope containing the ballot in a carrier envelope, securely seal it, and endorse it with his or her name, title and the words, “This envelope contains the vote for president and vice president of a new resident and shall be opened only at the polls during polling hours on election day". The clerk shall keep the envelope in his or her office until the clerk delivers it to the inspectors, as provided in sub. (4).
3. The clerk shall keep open to public inspection a list of all new residents who have voted under this section. The list shall give the name, address and application date of each elector.
(3) Procedure at polling place. An eligible elector may appear at the polling place for the ward or election district where he or she resides and make application for a ballot under sub. (2). Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an elector who casts a ballot under this subsection shall follow the same procedure required for casting a ballot at the municipal clerk's office under sub. (2). The inspectors shall perform the duties of the municipal clerk, except that the inspectors shall return the cancellation card under sub. (2) (b) to the municipal clerk and the clerk shall forward the card as provided in sub. (2) (c) if required. Upon proper completion of the application and cancellation card and verification of the proof of identification and proof of residence, whenever required, as provided in sub. (2) (bm), the inspectors shall permit the elector to cast his or her ballot for president and vice president. The elector shall mark the ballot and, unless the ballot is utilized with an electronic voting system, the elector shall fold the ballot, and deposit the ballot into the ballot box or give it to the inspector. The inspector shall deposit it directly into the ballot box. Voting machines or ballots utilized with electronic voting systems may only be used by electors voting under this section if they permit voting for president and vice president only.
(4) Delivery and deposit of ballots.
(a) Clerks holding new resident ballots shall deliver them to the election inspectors in the proper ward or election district where the new residents reside or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, to the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers when it convenes under s. 7.52 (1), as provided by s. 6.88 for absentee ballots.
(b) During polling hours, the inspectors shall open each carrier envelope, announce the elector's name, check the affidavit for proper execution, and check the voting qualifications for the ward, if any. In municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, the municipal board of absentee ballot canvassers shall perform this function at a meeting of the board of absentee ballot canvassers.
(c) The inspectors or board of absentee ballot canvassers shall open the inner envelope without examination of the ballot other than is necessary to see that the issuing clerk has endorsed it.
(d) Upon satisfactory completion of the procedure under pars. (b) and (c) the inspectors or board of absentee ballot canvassers shall deposit the ballot in the ballot box. The inspectors or board of absentee ballot canvassers shall enter the name of each elector voting under this section on the poll list with an indication that the elector is voting under this section or on a separate list maintained for the purpose under s. 6.79 (2) (c).
(e) If the person is not a qualified elector in the ward or municipality, or if the envelope is open or has been opened and resealed, the inspectors shall reject the vote. Rejected ballots shall be processed the same as rejected absentee ballots, under s. 6.88 (3) (b).
(5) Challenge of vote. Any new resident's vote may be challenged for cause in the manner provided in ss. 6.92 to 6.95.
(6) Death of elector. When it appears by due proof to the inspectors or, in municipalities where absentee ballots are canvassed under s. 7.52, when it appears by due proof to the board of absentee ballot canvassers that a person voting at an election has died before the date of the election, the inspectors or board of absentee ballot canvassers shall return the ballot with defective ballots to the issuing official.
History: 1977 c. 394; 1979 c. 311; 1981 c. 391; 1983 a. 484; 1985 a. 304; 1987 a. 391; 1997 a. 250; 1999 a. 182; 2001 a. 16, 104; 2003 a. 265; 2005 a. 451; 2011 a. 23; 2013 a. 182.
2011 Wis. Act 23, which created requirements that voters present photo identification in order to vote at a polling place or obtain an absentee ballot, does not violate either section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, 52 USC 10301, or the U.S. Constitution. Frank v. Walker, 768 F.3d 744 (2014).