The Sconi

The Wisconsin Legislature this week sent Gov. Tony Evers a measure that will ban municipal clerks from filling out blank sections or correcting defects on absentee ballots, known as curing ballots.

One of the prime sponsors of the Senate Bill 212, Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), said the legislation stems from hearings in December after reports of clerks allegedly completing and correcting defects on ballots in violation of state law.

The other prime sponsor was Sen. Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin).

“The legislation makes the law clear and consistent,” Darling told The Sconi. “It gives voters notice that there is a problem with their ballot and allows them to correct it.”

In a recent article, the Wisconsin Examiner stated that one of the predominant reasons that ballots would be sent back to voters is failure to fill out required fields, such as the address of a witness.

Darling said that the legislation will also prevent third parties from having access to the ballots. She and her Republicans colleagues were disturbed by reports out of Green Bay that after the November 2020 elections, a former Democratic operative was given access to absentee ballots.

“Fixing problems on a ballot is a good thing,” Darling said. “Who fixes those mistakes is also important. Until the vote is counted, the ballot should belong to the voter, not the clerk or an outside group. For too long we have relied on guidance and not the law when it comes to curing ballots.”

In April, an elections watchdog group, the Amistad Project, filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission on behalf of five Green Bay residents who charged that city officials essentially turned the management of the election over to partisan activists.

"This is about safeguarding future elections and establishing the precedent that private corporations and tech oligarchs should not be calling the shots," said Erick Kaardal, special counsel for The Amistad Project, in a statement when the complaint was filed. "Wisconsin law puts city clerks in charge of administering elections at the local level, yet internal emails show that Green Bay's city clerk was boxed out by the mayor's office, which handed over the keys to the counting room to Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein, a representative of the left-leaning National Vote at Home Institute (NVHI) and a longtime Democratic Party operative."

SB 212 is one in a package of election reform bills sent to Evers, a Democrat, this week. The bill also would impose a fine of up to $10,000 on election officials who violate the standards it imposes and commits election fraud.