The News: A new report by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and the MacIver Institute finds that a longstanding Wisconsin statute conflicts with the Wisconsin Constitution’s “secret ballot” guarantee. As a result, WILL and MacIver are calling for the Wisconsin Legislature to amend the law.
The Quote: WILL Associate Counsel, Nathalie Burmeister, stated, “We have serious concerns that enforcing this statute at central count locations could violate voters’ right to a ‘secret ballot.’ We are hopeful the Legislature will amend the law, and that WEC will work with local election officials to protect the right of all voters to have the way they voted kept private.”
CEO of the MacIver Institute, Annette Olson, stated, “Voter confidence in elections is critical in securing and preserving freedom in Wisconsin and America. Protecting the secret ballot should be everyone’s priority.”
The Issue: Under Wis. Stat. § 7.52(3), election officials in municipalities that use central count must put the poll list number of each voter who casts an absentee ballot on the back of the ballot. The “poll list” is a list maintained by election officials in which each voter is given a unique number, and the voter’s name is recorded on the list when their vote is cast. The poll list is a public record. As a result, someone could easily find out that John Doe was voter #452 on the poll list in the last election.
If “John Doe” voted by absentee ballot in a municipality that uses Central Count, then under Wis. Stat. § 7.52(3), the election official would write “#452” on the back of John Doe’s ballot. The ballot is also a public record. It is possible, therefore, for someone to examine the poll list to get a voter’s poll list number and then look for that particular number on the back of an absentee ballot—enabling them to know precisely how “John Doe” voted.
There is no good reason for this law. In fact, there is no reason to have election officials place any marks on or write on any voted ballot, given the possibility that the extra writing could spoil the ballot. The law adds nothing to election integrity efforts. There are other more effective—and lawful—ways to address such concerns without jeopardizing voters’ right to secret ballots and risking the spoliation of ballots.
The Next Steps: WILL and MacIver are calling on the Legislature to amend Wis. Stat. § 7.52(3) and eliminate the requirement that a poll list number be placed on the back of absentee ballots at Central Count. WILL and MacIver are also asking the Legislature to direct the Wisconsin Elections Commission and municipal clerks to ensure that no voter identifying information is transferred to counted ballots during Central Count processing. There have been several bills introduced over the last two legislative sessions that would accomplish this, but they failed to gain the necessary traction.
Nathalie Burmeister
Associate Counsel