2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 6 - The electors. › 6.50 - Revision of registration list.

6.50
Revision of registration list.
(1)
No later than June 15 following each general election, the commission shall examine the registration records for each municipality and identify each elector who has not voted within the previous 4 years if qualified to do so during that entire period and shall mail a notice to the elector in substantially the following form:
“NOTICE OF SUSPENSION OF
REGISTRATION
You are hereby notified that your voter registration will be suspended, according to state law, for failure to vote within the previous 4-year period, unless you apply for continuation of your registration within 30 days. You may continue your registration by signing the statement below and returning it to the office of the municipal clerk .... (mailing address and telephone number of office of municipal clerk or board of election commissioners) by mail or in person.
APPLICATION FOR CONTINUATION
OF REGISTRATION
I hereby certify that I still reside at the address at which I am registered and apply for continuation of registration.
Signed ....
Present Address ....
If you have changed your residence within this municipality or changed your name, please contact the office of the municipal clerk .... (mailing address and telephone number of office of municipal clerk or board of election commissioners) to complete a change of name or address form.
[Office of clerk or board of election commissioners
Address
Telephone]".
(2)
If an elector to whom a notice of suspension was mailed under sub. (1) has not applied for continuation of registration within 30 days of the date of mailing, the commission shall change the registration status of that elector from eligible to ineligible on the day that falls 30 days after the date of mailing.
(2g)
The commission may delegate to a municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of a municipality the responsibility to change the registration status of electors when required under sub. (2).
(2r)
As soon as practicable, but no later than August 1 following the completion of the process under subs. (1) and (2), the commission shall publish on its Internet site the following information obtained through that process:
(a)
The number of notices mailed under sub. (1).
(b)
The number of notices described under par. (a) that were returned to the commission as undeliverable.
(c)
The number of notices described under par. (a) that were returned requesting continuation of registration.
(d)
The number of notices described under par. (a) that were returned requesting cancellation of registration.
(e)
The number of notices described under par. (a) that were returned with an indication that the named elector is deceased.
(f)
The number of notices described under par. (a) that were not returned.
(g)
The number of electors who received notices under sub. (1) and whose status changed from eligible to ineligible.
(h)
Any other information requested by the legislature or that the commission considers relevant.
(3)
Upon receipt of reliable information that a registered elector has changed his or her residence to a location outside of the municipality, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall notify the elector by mailing a notice by 1st class mail to the elector's registration address stating the source of the information. All municipal departments and agencies receiving information that a registered elector has changed his or her residence shall notify the clerk or board of election commissioners. If the elector no longer resides in the municipality or fails to apply for continuation of registration within 30 days of the date the notice is mailed, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the elector's registration from eligible to ineligible status. Upon receipt of reliable information that a registered elector has changed his or her residence within the municipality, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the elector's registration and mail the elector a notice of the change. This subsection does not restrict the right of an elector to challenge any registration under s. 6.325, 6.48, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5).
(4)
The municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the registration of deceased electors from eligible to ineligible status by means of checking vital statistics reports. No notice need be sent of registration changes made under this subsection.
(5)
The registration of any elector whose address is listed at a building which has been condemned for human habitation by the municipality under s. 66.0413 (1) (j) shall be investigated by the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners. If the clerk or board of election commissioners can find no reason why the registration of such an elector should not be changed from eligible to ineligible status, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the elector's registration status. If the elector has left a forwarding address with the U.S. postal service, a notice of change in status shall be mailed by the clerk or board of election commissioners to the forwarding address.
(6)
The municipal clerk, upon authorization by an elector, shall change the elector's registration from eligible to ineligible status.
(7)
When an elector's registration is changed from eligible to ineligible status, the commission, municipal clerk, or board of election commissioners shall make an entry on the registration list, giving the date of and reason for the change.
(8)
Any municipal governing body may direct the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners to arrange with the U.S. postal service pursuant to applicable federal regulations, to receive change of address information with respect to individuals residing within the municipality for revision of the elector registration list. If required by the U.S. postal service, the governing body may create a registration commission consisting of the municipal clerk or executive director of the board of election commissioners and 2 other electors of the municipality appointed by the clerk or executive director for the purpose of making application for address changes and processing the information received. The municipal clerk or executive director shall act as chairperson of the commission. Any authorization under this subsection shall be for a definite period or until the municipal governing body otherwise determines. The procedure shall apply uniformly to the entire municipality whenever used. The procedure shall provide for receipt of complete change of address information on an automatic basis, or not less often than once every 2 years during the 60 days preceding the close of registration for the partisan primary. If a municipality adopts the procedure for obtaining address corrections under this subsection, it need not comply with the procedure for mailing address verification cards under subs. (1) and (2).
(10)
Any qualified elector whose registration is changed from eligible to ineligible status under this section may reregister as provided under s. 6.28 (1), 6.29 (2), or 6.55 (2), or, if the elector has a current and valid operator's license issued to the elector under ch. 343 or a current and valid identification card issued under s. 343.50, may reregister under s. 6.30 (5).
History:  1971 c. 242; 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (2); 1971 c. 336 s. 37; 1973 c. 164; 1975 c. 85, 199, 200; 1977 c. 394 ss. 27, 53; 1979 c. 260; 1983 a. 484; 1985 a. 304; 1987 a. 391; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2003 a. 265, 326; 2005 a. 451; 2011 a. 75; 2013 a. 149; 2015 a. 118 ss. 76, 77, 266 (10); 2015 a. 261.
The phrase “municipal clerk or board of election commissioners" appears in tandem all over the election statutes because that describes the duties of local election officials. While sub. (3) requires that the registration status be changed for those who move out of their municipality, it gives that responsibility to municipal election officials, not to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is not a “board of election commissioners" under sub. (3). State ex rel. Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2021 WI 32, 396 Wis. 2d 391, 957 N.W.2d 208, 19-2397.