6.29 Late registration in person.

(1) No names may be added to a registration list for any election after the close of registration, except as authorized under this section or s. 6.55 (2) or 6.86 (3) (a) 2. Any person whose name is not on the registration list but who is otherwise a qualified elector is entitled to vote at the election upon compliance with this section, if the person complies with all other requirements for voting at the polling place.

(2)

(a) Any qualified elector of a municipality who has not previously filed a registration form or whose name does not appear on the registration list of the municipality may register after the close of registration but not later than 5 p.m. or the close of business, whichever is later, on the Friday before an election at the office of the municipal clerk and at the office of the clerk's agent if the clerk delegates responsibility for electronic maintenance of the registration list to an agent under s. 6.33 (5) (b). The elector shall complete, in the manner provided under s. 6.33 (2), a registration form containing all information required under s. 6.33 (1). The registration form shall also contain the following certification: “I, ...., hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, I am a qualified elector, having resided at ... for at least 28 consecutive days immediately preceding this election, and I have not voted at this election". The elector shall also provide proof of residence under s. 6.34.

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."

(am) The commission shall provide to each municipal clerk a list prepared for use at each municipal clerk's office showing the name and address of each person whose name appears on the list provided by the department of corrections under s. 301.03 (20m) as ineligible to vote on the date of the election, whose address is located in the municipality, and whose name does not appear on the registration list for that municipality. Prior to permitting an elector to register to vote under this subsection, the municipal clerk shall review the list. If the name of an elector who wishes to register to vote appears on the list, the municipal clerk shall inform the elector that the elector is ineligible to register to vote. If the elector maintains that he or she is eligible to vote in the election, the municipal clerk shall permit the elector to register to vote but shall mark the elector's registration form as “ineligible to vote per Department of Corrections." If the elector wishes to vote, the municipal clerk shall challenge the elector's ballot in the same manner as provided for inspectors who challenge ballots under s. 6.79 (2) (dm).

(b) Upon the filing of the registration form required by this section, the municipal clerk or clerk's agent under s. 6.33 (5) (b) 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 registration 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. The municipal clerk or clerk's agent under s. 6.33 (5) (b) shall issue a certificate containing the name and address of the elector addressed to the inspectors of the proper ward or election district directing that the elector be permitted to cast his or her vote if the elector complies with all requirements for voting at the polling place. The certificate shall be numbered serially, prepared in duplicate and one copy preserved in the office of the municipal clerk.

(c) At the time he or she appears at the correct polling place, the elector shall deliver any certificate issued under par. (b) to the inspectors. If the elector applies for and obtains an absentee ballot, any certificate shall be annexed to and mailed with the absentee ballot to the office of the municipal clerk.

(d) The inspectors shall record the names of electors who present certificates in person or for whom certificates are presented with absentee ballots under this section on the list maintained under s. 6.56 (1). These names shall then be added to the registration list if the electors are qualified.

History: 1977 c. 394; 1987 a. 391; 1989 a. 192; 1999 a. 182; 2001 a. 51; 2003 a. 265; 2005 a. 451; 2007 a. 96; 2011 a. 23; 2013 a. 182; 2015 a. 118 s. 266 (10).