The Sconi

Wisconsin Sen. Kathy Bernier (R), and chairwoman of Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics, voted on the side of Democrats, causing Senate Bill 206 to fail among the committee. 

Currently, Wisconsin law allows for an absentee vote to be sent to voters automatically without ID verification that are "indefinitely" confined due to age, disability, illness or infirmity by a signed statement as to why they are confined.

SB 206, introduced by Sen. Duey Stroebel R-(Cedarburg), would require "indefinitely confined voters" to sign a statement under oath stating their inability to physically vote in person and have the statement also be authenticated by a medical professional if said person is above the age of 65. The signed statement would be valid in the state for two years unless the voter submits a renewal application. 

"If any elector is no longer indefinitely confined, the elector shall so notify the municipal clerk. The existence of an outbreak or epidemic of a communicable disease in an elector's community does not qualify the elector as indefinitely confined for purposes of receiving absentee ballots automatically under this subsection," the bill's language states. 

SB 206 would also penalize individuals who fraudulently claim they are still confined.

"The penalty for making a false statement for the purpose of qualifying as indefinitely confined is a Class I felony, which is a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both," the bill states. 

According to a VotingRights article, there is more fraud in absentee ballots and voter registration that in any other category. 

In March 2020, ProPublica published a report asserting that increased voter fraud was a serious concern about automatic or universal mail-in ballots, saying that about a quarter of Americans vote by mail as of the date of the report. 

"Mail-in technology is also far more complex than a poll worker stuffing ballots into envelopes and opening them on return. In some cities with diverse populations, hundreds of types of ballots in multiple languages must be designed and directed to the appropriate voters in the correct precincts. Envelopes must be thick enough to protect voter privacy, and the paper thickness must be appropriate for scanners used to count ballots," ProPublica said. 

ProPublica stated while voter fraud cases are rare, having mail-in voting must still have certain precautions taken to prevent such fraud from happening. 

According to the Honest Elections Project, 66% of voters support the government increasing protection on absentee voting by including ID requirements and other precautions.