>https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/related/proposals/ar3
January 4, 2021 - Introduced by Representative Allen.
AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
1Relating to: addressing election law violations.
2 Whereas, in the United States, the power to govern is given by the people
3through the process of democratic elections. It is by this process that our government
4obtains legitimacy; and
5 Whereas, we have three branches of government, and the legislative branch,
6consisting of duly elected representatives of the people, is the branch charged with
7the power to write the laws. It is through this process that our government maintains
8legitimacy; and
9 Whereas, when the executive branch or administrative agencies charged with
10enforcing the laws instead choose to step outside of the law, or go beyond the law, or
11stretch the law to something other than what is written, the legitimacy of the
12government begins to erode; and
13 Whereas, the 2020 election and the recount of the results of the presidential
14election have brought to light a number of areas in which the letter of the law is not
1being followed. Those circumstances of departure from the letter of the law include,
2but are not limited to, the following:
3 1. Clerks provided absentee ballots to electors without applications, as
4required by Wis. Stat. § 6.86.
5 2. Clerks and deputy clerks authorized by the municipal clerk failed to write
6on the official ballot, in the space for official endorsement, the clerk's initials and
7official title, as required by Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (1).
8 3. Clerks issued absentee ballots to electors who were required to enclose a copy
9of proof of identification or an authorized substitute document, but who failed to do
10so under Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (1).
11 4. Clerks failed to enter initials on ballot envelopes indicating whether the
12elector is exempt from providing proof of identification, as required by Wis. Stat. §
136.87 (2).
14 5. Clerks in Milwaukee and Dane Counties declared electors in their counties
15to be “indefinitely confined” under Wis. Stat. § 6.86 (2), causing chaos and confusion,
16and failed to keep current the mailing list established under that subsection; more
17than 215,000 electors thus avoided identification requirements and safeguards that
18the legislature has established.
19 6. Clerks and the boards of canvassers permitted absentee ballots returned
20without the required witness address under Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (2) to be counted in
21contravention of Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (6d).
22 7. Clerks who received absentee ballots with improperly completed certificates
23or no certificates filled in missing information in contravention of Wis. Stat. § 6.87
24(9).
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The Wisconsin Elections Commission, in contravention of Wis. Stat. § 6.875,
2barred special voting deputies from entering qualified nursing homes and assisted
3living facilities, instead mailing ballots to residents directly, thereby avoiding
4safeguards the legislature put in place to protect our most vulnerable citizens and
5loved ones.
6 9. The clerk of the City of Madison ignored Wis. Stat. § 6.855 and created an
7event named “Democracy in the Park” and, of her own accord, designated alternate
8sites where absentee ballots could be collected; these ballots were counted in
9contravention of Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (6); and
10 Whereas, without legitimacy, the government of the people, by the people, and
11for the people shall not stand. Instead, our government will devolve into a system
12of coercion and bribery that seeks to use the guise of elections to hold a degree of
13credibility; and
14 Whereas, the people of Wisconsin are demanding that the legislature address
15questions of legitimacy; now, therefore, be it
16Resolved by the assembly, That: the Wisconsin State Assembly recognizes
17that the most important function for a government is to conduct fair and honest
18elections that follow the duly enacted law; and, be it further
19Resolved, That when there are significant portions of the population that
20question the integrity of the elections due to the failure of election officials to follow
21the letter of the law, it is incumbent upon the legislature to address the issues that
22are in question; and, be it further
23Resolved, That the members of the Wisconsin State Assembly place the
24redress to these and other election law violations and failed administrative
1procedures as its highest priority and shall take up legislation crafted to ensure civil
2officers follow the laws as written.
3 (end)