UNDATED (WTAQ) – In Wisconsin, voters are able to change their minds and their ballots if they’re voting absentee.
According to state law, voters who choose to change their minds on Election Day while performing their civic duty inside a tiny booth are able to also. In fact, that’s precisely why the law is in place.
“We have had four voters so far that have requested to spoil their absentee ballot and receive a new ballot,” says Donna Austad, Eau Claire City Clerk. “With absentee voting, the ballot is not cast or counted until Election Day. So once that ballot is run through the machine, they’re done.”
Green Bay City Clerk Kris Teske was asked how many voters in the city have done the same thing.
“Haven’t had that yet,” replied Teske this past Friday, adding that she thought the rule may have changed. Teske remembers it happening once or twice back in 2012, but isn’t sure about the current rule regarding spoiled ballots. She reached out that day to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
“I’ve talked to four different people and I don’t get a definite answer,” Teske said.
WTAQ reached out to Wisconsin Elections Commission Public Information Officer Reid Magney on Friday, but was unable to get our questions answered.
According to Wisconsin Statute 6.869, also titled “Uniform Instructions for Wisconsin Absentee Voters”, under the heading “Correcting Ballot Errors”, it reads:
“If you make an error while marking your ballot or otherwise require a replacement ballot, contact your municipal clerk immediately. In most cases you must return your original ballot and certificate envelope before a replacement ballot will be issued. A voter may request that a replacement ballot be faxed or emailed to him or her. The ballot must be returned to the municipal clerk no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. The ballot may not be returned to the municipal clerk by fax or email.”
But it says nothing regarding how many times a voter is allowed to “spoil” their ballot, or make a mistake, or even just change their mind.
THE SPOILAGE PROCESS
When you vote absentee in Wisconsin, an official with the municipal clerk’s office will tell you to carefully read and follow the instructions for completing the ballot.
“Mistakes may spoil your ballot and prevent your votes from being counted,” the “Uniform Instructions for Absentee Voters” indicates.
Voters then must fill out their ballot, fold that ballot so it can be placed inside the certificate envelope and then seal the envelope. Those envelopes, clerks say, are held until Election Day. At that time, those ballots are run into the machine.
In the event there’s an error, or in the case of voters unconvinced of their selections, what happens next?
“They return to the clerk’s office, we retrieve the ballot which is sealed in their envelope, they make a tear in that ballot through the envelope, not tearing it in half, but make a tear so that it’s spoiled,” explains Austad. “We keep that in a separate envelope and then we issue a second ballot.”
Austad adds that the rule of 3 ballots for absentee voters only applies until November 4, which is the last day of in-person absentee voting. For those doing this by mail or fax, the request for a replacement ballot must be received no later than 5 p.m. on November 5. Military absentee voters must have a request for a replacement ballot received no later than 5 p.m. on November 5.
There’s another rule — don’t try and use one of your three ballots on Election Day if you’ve already voted absentee.
“When you cast an absentee ballot, you can’t show up on Election Day and say you want to spoil it,” Austad says. “Once you’ve voted that way, that’s it. You can spoil it ahead of time, but you can’t spoil it on Election Day.”
THE FALL CLASSIC
In baseball terms, the World Series is also known as the “Fall Classic”. Since presidential elections happen in November, it too could be considered a fall classic, except that happens once every four years as opposed to annually.
Another baseball analogy is that a batter gets 3 strikes before they’re called out. In Wisconsin, apparently, a voter also gets 3 strikes before they’re out of the ability to cast a ballot.
According to an email obtained by WTAQ, Wisconsin Elections Commission Lead Elections Specialist Diane Lowe says:
“There isn’t a statute that says expressly that once a person submits their absentee ballot (and it is put in WisVote as returned) that they can change their vote. However, 6.80(2) (c) provides that a voter can get 3 ballots. It does not exclude absentee voters from this. All voters are entitled to no more than 3 ballots. The legislative intent has never been to authorize 3 ballots for election-day voters, but not absentee voters.”
Looking up where that statute is, we learned that 6.80 is the heading “Mechanics of Voting”, with section 2 being “Method of Voting”. Specifically, Wis. statute 6.80(2) (c) reads:
“Any elector who, by accident or mistake, spoils or erroneously prepares a ballot may receive another, by returning the defective ballot, but not to exceed 3 ballots in all.”
After reaching out again Monday to Magney, we asked for clarification about the statute and whether or not municipal clerks would be confused by it.
“Information about the number of times a voter can spoil his or her ballot is in our manuals and our training webinars,” Magney said. “That said, Wisconsin has 1,854 municipal clerks, most of whom are part time. There is also regular turnover, requiring training of new clerks. If there is confusion among clerks on this issue, it stems from a law change about three years ago affecting changes to absentee ballots at the polling place.”
“Things change all the time in the election world, so I just want to get clarification,” said Teske on Friday.
Magney went on to talk about it further in the email.
“It used to be that if you had voted absentee, you could go to your polling place and spoil your ballot there and vote normally. The legislature changed that so a voter can no longer spoil his or her previously-cast ballot at the polling place, which may have caused some confusion with clerks,” Magney explains. “Voters have always been permitted up to three ballots in the event of a mistake or a defect (which includes changing your mind), and that applies to both absentee and regular voting.”
Now that the rule appears clear, voters in Wisconsin can get their turn at bat in-person either before November 4 absentee or on Election Day. Don’t be afraid to take a cut or two, but just don’t strike out.
