Gov. Evers to sign amended bill that will allow clerks to begin processing ballots a day early
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MADISON – Democratic Gov. Tony Evers plans to sign the current version of a bill to allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots early, one of several election measures with support from Democrats and clerks that passed in the Republican-controlled Assembly.
Lawmakers from both parties have been working to draft legislation in response to clerks' suggestions to improve the efficiency of running elections — including allowing them to begin processing absentee ballots a day early.
Lawmakers agreed the change would prevent voter confusion and conspiracies that result from large amounts of ballots being processed late and added to totals, sometimes changing which candidate is in the lead.
"Ninety percent of the problems we face in elections in the state of Wisconsin came from the perception of a late-night ballot dump in the city of Milwaukee," said Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, the chair of the Assembly's election committee. "It built this snowball that, unfortunately, we've gotten to the point where it's eroded confidence and trust."
The measure passed the Assembly on a voice vote Thursday, with only a few members objecting.
While the current version of the bill still needs to be heard in a Senate committee, Evers will sign the bill if it "passes in its current form as amended by the committee and without any poison-pill additions," the governor's spokeswoman, Britt Cudaback, said Thursday.
"Gov. Evers for years has proposed allowing county and municipal clerks to begin canvassing absentee ballots the day before an election and is glad to see this effort finally has bipartisan support," she said.
The bill, which includes other provisions beyond Monday processing, went through various changes in committee. Authors held conversations with the Assembly and Senate and the governor's office "to find out where the red lines are," Krug said in a hearing.
A proposed amendment that would have prohibited clerks from running the ballots through voting equipment early, which does not tally the votes, is not in the final version. Clerks said that piece would have gone against efforts to increase efficiency.
The current bill makes Monday processing a requirement for central count communities, though clerks had asked that it be option for everyone. Central count municipalities process all absentee ballots in a single location rather than at all individual polling places.
Provisions about an absentee ballot timeline, whistleblower protection for clerks and checking voters' citizenship status — which were individually or as part of other bills Thursday — were removed from the initial bill.
Still in the bill is a requirement that clerks periodically report out the total of ballots cast, processed and to be processed, beginning on election night. A bipartisan proposal to remove the requirement that clerks place a poll list number on the back of absentee ballots is also included.
The measure also requires circuit courts to quickly notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission when a voter is determined incompetent and ineligible to vote. WEC would then tell the voter and local clerk about the change.
"This is a good example of bipartisan work. We don't see them very often, but I'm very proud of this bill. It's not perfect, I don't love everything about it. But the Monday night processing part is absolutely critical," said Rep. Clinton Anderson, D-Beloit. "(Clerks) need this, they want this, we're going to give it to them today."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evers to sign bill allowing earlier processing of absentee ballots
