Wis. Stat. § 7.70 — WI Code / Chapter 7 / Section 7.70
State canvass.
Status: in_force

(1) Recording and preserving returns.

(a) Upon receipt of the certified statements from the county clerks, the commission shall record the election results by counties and file and carefully preserve the statements.

(b) If any county clerk fails or neglects to forward any statements, the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee may require the clerk to do so immediately, and if the statements are not received by the 8th day after a primary, by the 8th day after a presidential election, or by the 11th day after any other election, the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall immediately notify the county clerk, in writing, that failure to immediately forward the statements constitutes a violation of law that will result in an immediate enforcement action under s. 5.05 (1) (d) . If the commission does not receive the statements within one day after such written notice is delivered to the county clerk, the commission shall immediately initiate an enforcement action under s. 5.05 (1) (d) to obtain the statements in the circuit court for that county or before the circuit judge appointed under s. 9.01 (6) (b) to hear recount appeals in the presidential election. Whenever it appears upon the face of any statement that an error has been made in reporting or computing, the commission may return it to the county clerk for correction. The county clerk shall make the necessary corrections and return the statement to the commission no later than 3 days after the county clerk receives the statement from the commission for correction.

(3) Canvassing.

(a) Except for a presidential election, the chairperson of the commission or a designee of the chairperson appointed by the chairperson to canvass a specific election shall publicly canvass the returns and make his or her certifications and determinations on or before the 2nd Tuesday following a spring primary; the 15th day of May following a spring election; the 3rd Wednesday following a partisan primary; the first day of December following a general election; the 2nd Thursday following a special primary; or within 18 days after any special election.

(b) The commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall examine the certified statements of the county boards of canvassers. If it appears that any material mistake has been made in the computation of votes, or any county board of canvassers failed to canvass the votes or omitted votes from any ward or election district in the county, the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee may dispatch a messenger to the county clerk with written instructions to certify the facts concerning the mistake or the reason why the votes were not canvassed. A clerk to whom such instructions are delivered shall immediately make a true and full answer, sign it, affix the county seal and deliver it to the messenger. The messenger shall deliver it with all possible dispatch to the commission.

(c) Except for a presidential election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall conclude the state canvass within 10 days after its commencement.

(cm) For a presidential election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall conclude the state canvass and make his or her certifications and determinations no later than 21 days after the date of the presidential election.

(d) When the certified statements and returns are received, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall proceed to examine and make a statement of the total number of votes cast at any election for the offices involved in the election for president and vice president; a statement for each of the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, if a primary, and a joint statement for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, if a general election; a statement for each of the offices of secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and state superintendent; for U.S. senator; representative in congress for each congressional district; the state legislature; justice; court of appeals judge; circuit judge; district attorney; metropolitan sewerage commission, if the commissioners are elected under s. 200.09 (11) (am) ; and for any referenda questions submitted by the legislature.

(e) The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall make a special statement to the commission as soon as possible after the canvass of the general election certifying the name of each political party which receives at least one percent of the vote cast in such election for any statewide office.

(f) The statements shall show the persons’ names receiving votes, and any referenda questions; the whole number of votes given to each; and an individual listing by the districts or counties in which they were given. The names of persons not regularly nominated who received only a comparatively small number of votes may be omitted and their votes designated as scattering votes.

(g) Following each primary election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall prepare a statement certifying the results of the primary, which shall indicate the names of the persons who have won nomination to any state or national office. Following each other election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall prepare a statement certifying the results of the election and shall attach to the statement a certificate of determination which shall indicate the names of persons who have been elected to any state or national office. The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall likewise prepare a statement and certificate for any statewide referendum. The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee shall deliver each statement and determination to the commission.

(h) Whenever a referendum question submitted to a vote of the people is approved, the commission shall record it and the secretary of state shall have the record bound in the volume containing the original enrolled laws passed at the next succeeding session of the legislature and have the record published with the laws thereof. Whenever a constitutional amendment or other statewide validating or ratifying referendum question which is approved by the people does not expressly state the date of effectiveness, it shall become effective at the time the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson’s designee certifies that the amendment or referendum question is approved.

(i) The commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall canvass only regular returns made by the county board of canvassers and shall not count or canvass any additional or supplemental returns or statements made by the county board or any other board or person. The commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall not count or canvass any statement or return which has been made by the county board of canvassers at any other time than that provided in s. 7.60 . If, by the 21st day after the date of the election in a presidential election, a county board of canvassers fails to certify a statement or return under s. 7.60 (4) or a county clerk fails to deliver or transmit a statement or return to the commission under s. 7.60 (5) (a) , the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall canvass the unofficial returns for the county on the basis of all the returns canvassed by all municipalities in that county under s. 7.53 . This provision does not apply to any return made subsequent to a recount under s. 9.01 , when the return is accepted in lieu of any prior return from the same county for the same office; or to a statement given to the commission chairperson or chairperson’s designee or a messenger sent by the chairperson or designee to obtain a correction.

(5) Certificates of election; certificates of ascertainment of appointment of electors.

(a) The commission shall record in its office each certified statement and determination made by the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee. Immediately after the expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for recount, the commission shall make and transmit to each person declared elected a certificate of election under the seal of the commission, except that the commission need not wait until expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for recount if there is no aggrieved party, as defined in s. 9.01 (1) (a) 5. It shall also prepare similar certificates, attested by the commission administrator, addressed to the U.S. house of representatives, stating the names of those persons elected as representatives to the congress from this state. In the case of U.S. senators, the commission shall prepare a certificate of election for the governor’s signature, and the governor shall sign and affix the great seal of the state and transmit the certificate to the president of the U.S. senate. The certificate shall be countersigned by the secretary of state. If a person elected was elected to fill a vacancy, the certificate shall so indicate. When a valid petition for recount is filed, the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee may not certify a nomination, and the governor or commission may not issue a certificate of election until the recount has been completed and the time allowed for filing an appeal has passed, or if appealed until the appeal is decided. This paragraph does not apply to presidential elections.

(b)

1. For a presidential election, the commission shall record each certified statement and determination made by the commission chairperson or the chairperson’s designee. The commission shall prepare the certificate of ascertainment of appointment of presidential electors required under 3 USC 5 showing the determination of the results of the canvass and the names of the persons elected, and the governor shall issue the certificate by signing, affixing the great seal of the state, and transmitting the certificate as soon as possible, but no later than the 6th day before the date on which the presidential electors are to convene under s. 7.75 (1) , by the most expeditious method available, as determined by the governor, to the archivist of the United States. The certificate shall contain at least one security feature, as determined by the governor, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the certificate. The secure components of any security feature used to verify the authenticity of a certificate are confidential and not subject to disclosure under s. 19.35 . The governor shall issue and transmit the certificate no later than 2 days after the commission prepares the certificate, except as provided under subd. 2. The governor shall also prepare 6 duplicate originals of such certificate and deliver them to one of the presidential electors on or before the first Tuesday after the 2nd Wednesday in December.

2. The fact that a recount petition has been filed, or that a recount or recount appeal is pending, has no effect on the governor’s duty to issue a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors not later than the 6th day before the date on which the presidential electors are to convene under s. 7.75 (1) , as required under subd. 1. and 3 USC 5 (a) (1), and has no effect on the commission chairperson’s or the chairperson’s designee’s duty to make a determination in the presidential election and prepare a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors for the governor’s signature. However, if a valid recount petition is filed under s. 9.01 (1) , the governor may not issue the certificate required under subd. 1. until the completion and certification of the recount or until 3 p.m. on the 6th day before the date on which the presidential electors are to convene under s. 7.75 (1) , whichever occurs first. If the recount is completed and certified before 3 p.m. on the 6th day before the date on which the presidential electors are to convene under s. 7.75 (1) , and all recount appeals have been waived or exhausted, the certificate issued by the governor shall reflect the certified result of that recount or, if applicable, recount appeal. If a recount is not completed and certified before 3 p.m. on the 6th day before the date on which the presidential electors are to convene under s. 7.75 (1) , the governor shall issue the certificate subject to s. 9.01 (9m) . If a recount appeal is ongoing at the time at which the governor must issue the certificate under this subdivision, a superseding certificate may be issued only in accordance with s. 9.01 (9) (cm) .

3. A superseding certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors issued by the governor under s. 9.01 (9) (cm) or (9m) or pursuant to a state or federal court order supersedes any prior certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors issued under subd. 1. , shall be transmitted consistent with the requirements under subd. 1. for the certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors, and is conclusive with respect to the determination of this state’s presidential electors for purposes of the meeting of presidential electors under s. 7.75 .

History: 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (2) ; 1973 c. 334 ss. 15 , 57 ; 1975 c. 93 , 199 ; 1977 c. 107 , 187 , 427 , 449 ; 1979 c. 221 , 260 , 328 ; 1983 a. 484 ; 1985 a. 89 , 304 ; 1987 a. 391 ; 1989 a. 31 , 192 ; 1995 a. 16 s. 2 ; 1997 a. 27 ; 1999 a. 150 s. 672 ; 1999 a. 182 ; 2005 a. 451 ; 2007 a. 1 ; 2011 a. 32 , 75 ; 2015 a. 118 ss. 93 to 95 , 266 (10) ; 2019 a. 182 ; 2025 a. 214 .