Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 7 - Election officials; boards; selection and duties; canvassing.
7.70 - State canvass.

7.70 State canvass.
(1) Recording and preserving returns.
(a) Upon receipt of the certified statements from the county clerks, the commission shall record the election results by counties and file and carefully preserve the statements.
(b) If any county clerk fails or neglects to forward any statements, the commission may require the clerk to do so immediately and if not received by the 8th day after a primary, or by the 11th day after any other election, the commission may dispatch a special messenger to obtain them. Whenever it appears upon the face of any statement that an error has been made in reporting or computing, the commission may return it to the county clerk for correction.
(3) Canvassing.
(a) The chairperson of the commission or a designee of the chairperson appointed by the chairperson to canvass a specific election shall publicly canvass the returns and make his or her certifications and determinations on or before the 2nd Tuesday following a spring primary, the 15th day of May following a spring election, the 3rd Wednesday following a partisan primary, the first day of December following a general election, the 2nd Thursday following a special primary, or within 18 days after any special election.
(b) The commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee shall examine the certified statements of the county boards of canvassers. If it appears that any material mistake has been made in the computation of votes, or any county board of canvassers failed to canvass the votes or omitted votes from any ward or election district in the county, the commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee may dispatch a messenger to the county clerk with written instructions to certify the facts concerning the mistake or the reason why the votes were not canvassed. A clerk to whom such instructions are delivered shall immediately make a true and full answer, sign it, affix the county seal and deliver it to the messenger. The messenger shall deliver it with all possible dispatch to the commission.
(c) The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall conclude the state canvass within 10 days after its commencement.
(d) When the certified statements and returns are received, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall proceed to examine and make a statement of the total number of votes cast at any election for the offices involved in the election for president and vice president; a statement for each of the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, if a primary, and a joint statement for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, if a general election; a statement for each of the offices of secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and state superintendent; for U.S. senator; representative in congress for each congressional district; the state legislature; justice; court of appeals judge; circuit judge; district attorney; metropolitan sewerage commission, if the commissioners are elected under s. 200.09 (11) (am); and for any referenda questions submitted by the legislature.
(e) The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall make a special statement to the commission as soon as possible after the canvass of the general election certifying the name of each political party which receives at least one percent of the vote cast in such election for any statewide office.
(f) The statements shall show the persons' names receiving votes, and any referenda questions; the whole number of votes given to each; and an individual listing by the districts or counties in which they were given. The names of persons not regularly nominated who received only a comparatively small number of votes may be omitted and their votes designated as scattering votes.
(g) Following each primary election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall prepare a statement certifying the results of the primary, which shall indicate the names of the persons who have won nomination to any state or national office. Following each other election, the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall prepare a statement certifying the results of the election and shall attach to the statement a certificate of determination which shall indicate the names of persons who have been elected to any state or national office. The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall likewise prepare a statement and certificate for any statewide referendum. The chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee shall deliver each statement and determination to the commission.
(h) Whenever a referendum question submitted to a vote of the people is approved, the commission shall record it and the secretary of state shall have the record bound in the volume containing the original enrolled laws passed at the next succeeding session of the legislature and have the record published with the laws thereof. Whenever a constitutional amendment or other statewide validating or ratifying referendum question which is approved by the people does not expressly state the date of effectiveness, it shall become effective at the time the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee certifies that the amendment or referendum question is approved.
(i) The commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee shall canvass only regular returns made by the county board of canvassers and shall not count or canvass any additional or supplemental returns or statements made by the county board or any other board or person. The commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee shall not count or canvass any statement or return which has been made by the county board of canvassers at any other time than that provided in s. 7.60. This provision does not apply to any return made subsequent to a recount under s. 9.01, when the return is accepted in lieu of any prior return from the same county for the same office; or to a statement given to the commission chairperson or chairperson's designee or a messenger sent by the chairperson or designee to obtain a correction.
(5) Certificates of election.
(a) The commission shall record in its office each certified statement and determination made by the commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee. Immediately after the expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for recount, the commission shall make and transmit to each person declared elected a certificate of election under the seal of the commission, except that the commission need not wait until expiration of the time allowed to file a petition for recount if there is no aggrieved party, as defined in s. 9.01 (1) (a) 5. It shall also prepare similar certificates, attested by the commission administrator, addressed to the U.S. house of representatives, stating the names of those persons elected as representatives to the congress from this state. In the case of U.S. senators, the commission shall prepare a certificate of election for the governor's signature, and the governor shall sign and affix the great seal of the state and transmit the certificate to the president of the U.S. senate. The certificate shall be countersigned by the secretary of state. If a person elected was elected to fill a vacancy, the certificate shall so indicate. When a valid petition for recount is filed, the commission chairperson or the chairperson's designee may not certify a nomination, and the governor or commission may not issue a certificate of election until the recount has been completed and the time allowed for filing an appeal has passed, or if appealed until the appeal is decided.
(b) For presidential electors, the commission shall prepare a certificate showing the determination of the results of the canvass and the names of the persons elected, and the governor shall sign, affix the great seal of the state, and transmit the certificate by registered mail to the U.S. administrator of general services. The governor shall also prepare 6 duplicate originals of such certificate and deliver them to one of the presidential electors on or before the first Monday after the 2nd Wednesday in December.
History: 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (2); 1973 c. 334 ss. 15, 57; 1975 c. 93, 199; 1977 c. 107, 187, 427, 449; 1979 c. 221, 260, 328; 1983 a. 484; 1985 a. 89, 304; 1987 a. 391; 1989 a. 31, 192; 1995 a. 16 s. 2; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 1999 a. 182; 2005 a. 451; 2007 a. 1; 2011 a. 32, 75; 2015 a. 118 ss. 93 to 95, 266 (10); 2019 a. 182.
Unless a constitutional amendment provides otherwise, it takes effect upon the certification of a statewide canvass of the votes as provided in sub. (3) (h). The legislature has the authority under article XII, section 1, of the Wisconsin Constitution to adopt reasonable election laws to provide that state constitutional amendments are effective after canvass and certification. State v. Gonzales, 2002 WI 59, 253 Wis. 2d 134, 645 N.W.2d 264, 01-0224.
Although the GAB chairperson or his or her designee is expressly required to “publicly canvass the returns" under sub. (3) (a), those canvassing activities are not subject to the separate requirements of the open meetings law. OAG 5-14.