No Labels Withdraws Ballot Access Petition, Upcoming Absentee Training, Election Threat Reporting Tool Developed for Clerks, A Busy May for Commission Meetings, Commission Profile: Marge Bostelmann
On May 16, 2024, the Commission members voted to approve the draft language of the proposed emergency and permanent rules relating to challenge procedures for nomination papers, and challenge procedures for declarations of candidacy.
The current step for both proposed permanent rules is the Economic Impact Analysis. Please take a look at the documents posted here and at these links:
The documents are the Scope Statements for both the emergency and permanent rules, the draft rule orders, which contains the full text of the permanent rule as approved by the Commission, draft Economic Impact Analysis, and a notice inviting individuals affected by the rule to comment on any economic impacts that might stem from the rule.
This round of comments is focused exclusively on economic impacts. The round of comments after this will be a public hearing and comment period, and the Commission will then accept all comments on the text of the rule. Though you may prepare comments on the text and substance of the rule using this draft, please do not submit comments on the rule text until the public hearing and comment period has been noticed by the Commission. You will receive another notice once the Commission has approved a public hearing and comment period.
Economic impact comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Monday, June 24, 2024, and can be emailed to Angela O’Brien Sharpe at @email. Please let us know if you wish to collaborate with us on the Economic Impact Analysis.
Seeking Clerk Members for the WEC's Accessibility Advisory Committee
The WEC is looking for two municipal clerks who are passionate about accessible voting to join the Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC). The AAC is made up of members from local disability advocacy organizations with interests in voting rights. Members attend monthly hour-long virtual meetings and provide vital feedback on materials and WEC initiatives to ensure we are prioritizing accessibility. If you think that you would be a good fit for this group, please follow this link to complete the application: Clerk Application to AAC. This application closes Friday June 14th at 11:59 p.m. If you have questions, please email @email.
Info About Upcoming Special Elections
In addition to the 2024 Partisan Primary and General Election, this cycle also includes special elections in the Eighth Congressional District and the Fourth District of the Wisconsin State Senate.
To assist clerks with preparations for the upcoming elections, and to provide an overview of the Commission’s recent decisions regarding the administration of those elections, WEC staff have developed a memo, available here. This memo was also emailed to clerks and campaigns in May.
Call For Submissions: Share Your Election Stories!
We want to hear from YOU! As we roll out the next volume of the WEC Newsletter we want to feature more compelling and insightful stories from clerks around Wisconsin.
📚 Do you have a success story that made a significant impact on your community?
🤔 Faced a unique challenge and found an innovative solution?
📚 Implemented a creative initiative that could be helpful to others?
Whether it's an inspiring triumph or a hard lesson learned, we invite you to submit your story ideas. Your experiences matter, and by sharing them, you contribute to the collective wisdom of election professionals across Wisconsin.
Submission Guidelines:
Stories should be related to election management, challenges, successes, and innovations.
Keep it concise and engaging – aim for a 300-500 word range.
Feel free to include relevant visuals or infographics to enhance your narrative.
Submit your ideas via email – with the subject line Election Stories – to [email protected].
Selected stories may be featured in our upcoming newsletters, providing valuable insights and inspiration to election workers statewide.
Submit now!
No Labels Withdraws Ballot Access Petition
Five parties have attained ballot status, longer ballots still anticipated
No Labels is no longer looking to be on the ballot in Wisconsin after initially submitting a Petition for Ballot Access to the Wisconsin Elections Commission March 28. No Labels Wisconsin withdrew its petition on May 8.
By that point, WEC staff had reviewed signatures submitted by No Labels. The party was seeking to achieve ballot status through Wis. Stat. § 5.62(2)(a) with valid signatures of at least 10,000 Wisconsin electors, including at least 1,000 signatures of electors residing in each of at least three different congressional districts.
Political parties that have currently attained ballot status through the more commonly used process are the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Constitution, and Green.
For parties with ballot status, the names of their President and Vice President candidates are placed on the General Election ballot when their names are certified to the WEC by the state or national party no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
The number of ballot status parties is five.
This will result in more contests on the August Partisan Primary ballot, and in some cases necessitate 17-inch ballot stock rather than the more typical 14-inch. Longer ballot stock may also require longer card stock for accessible machines.
Municipal and county clerks should remain in close communication on this matter. County clerks should work with their equipment vendors and ballot printers in order to prepare and assess needs.
Where longer ballots are required, testing them as soon as possible is recommended. Their size may necessitate extra folding; more smoothing before being tabulated, and the potential for more ballot storage bags.
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Upcoming Absentee Trainings
At your request, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has revamped the absentee training for new clerks! The updated training takes the participant through the complete life cycle of absentee ballots, from requests through canvass. We’ll cover a broad spectrum, from the MyVote-WisVote connection, to SVDs, to Election Day and beyond. A truncated version of this training was given at the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association (WMCA) meetings in Rice Lake and Rhinelander. The training is also available to other district meetings and conferences as well. To request this presentation or another one for your event, please email @email.
The virtual training series will be released in batches on ElectEd, with each batch geared toward pertinent timelines in the absentee process. There will be announcements for each launch. These will appear on your ElectEd Home pages so watch out for those!
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Election Threat Reporting Tool Developed for Clerks
Being subjected to threats should never be a part of any of the work environment for any Wisconsin election official, and furthermore, threatening an election official is a crime in Wisconsin.
That’s why WEC consulted with law enforcement officials at the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center to develop a threat reporting guidance document for all of Wisconsin’s municipal clerks. The document links to an Election Threat Reporting Form, and a flyer that helps explain what threats are.
Feel free to post these documents in your offices.
While we of course hope that it never comes to this, we want you to know that this channel exists should you feel that you have something to report.
Please also know that the bar for reporting an incident is low. Better to err on the side of reporting something that turns out to be nothing than the other way around.
Ballot access approved; No Labels Wisconsin not on ballot; SD4 and CD8 special elections set; new chair appointed
The Wisconsin Elections Commission completed a busy run of meetings over the past couple months, with the Commission working through robust agendas on May 14, May 16, and June 10.
On June 10, the Commission gave the green light for this year's slate of state-level partisan candidates to be placed on the August ballot, for independent candidates to be placed on the November ballot, and for candidates in the special elections in state Senate District 4 and Congressional District 8 to be placed on their respective ballots.
A major point of the May 14 meeting was the Commission’s 6-0 vote to acknowledge that the political party “No Labels Wisconsin” had withdrawn its request for ballot status in the 2024 Primary and General Election. Based on that unanimous vote, No Labels Wisconsin was not granted ballot status.
Ballot Access Granted
On Monday, June 10, the Commission convened for its Ballot Access Meeting, where Commissioners placed nearly 400 candidates on the ballot for the upcoming regular and special elections in July, August, and November.
Commissioners heard challenges filed against 12 candidates, and ultimately approved ballot access for 10 of the 12. Candidates Andrew Beck (CD-05) and David Heffel (AD 70) were denied ballot access due to the challenges filed against them.
Materials, including minutes, for the June 10 Ballot Access Meeting are available here.
Ann Jacobs Appointed as WEC Chairperson
At the June 10 meeting, the Commission appointed Commissioner Ann Jacobs, a Democratic member from Milwaukee, to a two-year term as WEC chairperson effective June 10. The motion to appoint her was passed unanimously. Jacobs previously served as chair from 2020-2022.
The chair of the Commission alternates between a Republican and Democrat every two years, and the chairperson cannot be a clerk member of the Commission.
During the meeting, outgoing Chair Don Millis, a Republican from Sun Prairie, was thanked for his service.
FAQ Regarding the Use of Form EL-122 (Official Absentee Ballot Certificate & Application
Also on June 10, Commissioners approved an FAQ to answer recent questions you may have regarding the use of Form EL-122, the Official Absentee Ballot Certificate and Application, after use of the form was challenged in Thomas Oldenburg v. WEC et al.
One key point in the Commission’s May 16 meeting was sorting out the details of the overlapping special and regular elections in Senate District 4 and Congressional District 8, due to vacancies in both those seats.
Gov. Tony Evers called for Special Elections to fill both those seats. The Senate District 4 Special Election will occur on July 30, and the primary will occur on July 2. The Congressional District 8 Special Election will coincide with the Partisan Primary and General Elections.
In CD8, voters will be voting for a candidate to fill the remaining term of Rep. Mike Gallagher, who resigned his seat in April, and will also be voting on the same ballot for a candidate to fill the new two-year term that will start in January 2025. The term lengths in each Congressional election in CD8 will be included on the ballot for clarity, and voters will also receive a written statement explaining that they are allowed to vote in both Congressional contests listed on the ballot.
May 16 Commission Meeting Highlights:
Approved draft scope statements for Administrative Rules on the topics of Election Officials (based on the recently approved Constitutional amendment), as well as the topics of challenges to nomination papers and declarations of candidacy.
Approved staff submitting emergency rules to the Governor for approval concerning nomination paper and declaration of candidacy challenges. These emergency rules would not take effect place before June 3 nomination paper filing deadline.
May 14 Commission Meeting Highlights:
Approved ballot design for the 2024 Primary and General Election. The ballot template was approved for statewide use, except in the 8th Congressional District, which will have its own ballot design due to the unusual circumstance of having a Special Election and a Regular Election on the same ballot (more on that below).
Approved a plan for spending the 2024 HAVA grant funds, including the reopening of the .gov subgrant program for entities desiring a .gov email domain.
Approved a Spanish language version of the Uniform Instructions for Absentee Voters.
Voted that the Commission office would be open to receive challenge filings On Saturday, June 8, and Sunday June 9.
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Cybersecurity News
LEAST PRIVILEGE
Bad guys can’t steal what you don’t have. That’s the idea behind a security principle called “Least Privilege.” When you are able to do something on a computer, from saving a file to updating a voter registration, IT refers to that as a privilege. Many privileges are needed to perform your work, but the more privileges you have, the more valuable you are as a target to cybercriminals.
There are many ways you can reduce your computer privileges and therefore your desirability as a target. In WisVote, if you, or a user on your team, will only be performing basic tasks like entering voter registrations or processing absentee ballots, it would be best to set that user up as Data Entry instead of Clerk.
Stay tuned for more cyber security tips in our upcoming newsletters.
On your computer, use a non-administrative account for most tasks.
On your phone, deny permissions to apps if you do not use the features that rely on those permissions.
We encourage all clerks to retain formal IT support, whether the specialists are contracted, or on staff. Talk with them for ideas on how the principle of “Least Privilege” could apply to your unique situation.
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Next Statewide Election:
Polls open at 7 a.m. on August 13, 2024
Make Sure Voters Can Find You!
Check your staff info on MyVote
Maintaining your contact information and staff list in WisVote is crucial for ensuring that voters can contact your office, and that only active election officials have access to this sensitive database. You can easily verify that your municipality's clerk contact information is correct by using MyVote. Click on the "Find My Clerk" link in the footer and enter a local address.
Also, as a matter of routine, please keep the WEC Helpdesk aware of any incoming staff members who need WisVote access, or outgoing staff members whose access should be removed, and the dates to change their access.
Please contact the WEC Helpdesk if you have any questions about your staff's WisVote.
Community Needs Drive Commissioner's Public Service Journey
Marge Bostelmann 'very honored' by her role with the WEC
Marge Bostelmann
Marge Bostelmann, a lifelong Republican and one of three GOP Commissioners on the six-member bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, knows the drill.
After almost 25 years as a dedicated public servant before her retirement in 2017, she knows how to prepare for elections and how to administer them. She knows what works, and she knows the pinch-points that clerks face in every election cycle.
And as a Commissioner, Bostelmann has a goal of keeping Wisconsin’s elections fair, safe, and honest by helping guide clerks through WEC resources, education, and training.
She retired seven years ago as Green Lake County’s clerk and administrative coordinator after nearly a quarter-century of public service. Known to be thoughtful and sincere, Bostelmann is respected and well-liked in her community.
Despite her dedication to public service, Bostelmann’s work on the Commission hasn’t always been free from criticism. However, the active volunteer, Rotarian, Sunday school teacher and youth group leader isn’t letting the critics get her down.
Bostelmann doesn’t personally know any of her detractors, which to her is significant.
“Generally speaking, if someone has never met me, and criticizes me, I don’t put a lot of stock in that at all,” she said. On the other hand, “If someone I know well criticizes me, it’s going to cut me to the quick, because I respect them.”
Many in Green Lake County continue to know their retired clerk well.
“I like to be involved,” she said. Bostelmann views the WEC Commissioner position as another facet of community commitment and service, a community which for her includes Wisconsin’s clerks.
“I was very, very honored to be asked to be on the Elections Commission,” she said. “I’m on it to serve, to do what I can to bring my working knowledge into a situation.”
When her integrity and commitment to these goals was questioned, “a ton of people defended me,” Bostelmann said.
Bostelmann and her husband relocated from Chicago in 1976 to raise their young and growing family in Green Lake. Bostelmann’s husband passed away of cancer 11 years ago, and their three children are now adults.
The Bostelmanns arrived in Green Lake, where his parents had already relocated, with no work. They devised a plan to turn a 20-acre weekend flea market site into a miniature golf course. They also had many side hustles.
“We kind of picked up jobs here and there to make life work,” said Bostelmann. “People thought we were crazy; we survived by a miracle.”
They would later lay a children’s train track around the putt-putt course and purchase a fast-food restaurant. It was there that a patron told Bostelmann about an administrative assistant position at the Green Lake Sanitary District, where payroll experience – which Bostelmann had from her days in Chicago – would come in handy. “They were like, ‘Would you apply for that job?’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, sure,’ ” she said.
At the sanitary district she was in close contact with many county agencies, and one day at the county courthouse someone suggested she should run for county clerk. “And I was like, ‘I have no idea what a county clerk does,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, but you would be really good at it.’”
She started attending county board meetings to learn more about the position and ended up running against the incumbent and a county board supervisor. To her surprise, she beat them both, and in 1993, “I walked in the office and had no idea what to do.”
She remembers looking at the mail and asking for some file folders. It was on-the-job training, and she excelled to the extent that the additional title of administrative coordinator was added to her position in 1997. Upon her retirement in 2017, the county hired a full-time administrator. Two were needed to do what Bostelmann had been doing.
“For all of those years, I had these wonderful people from the state who would come in and teach us; tell us what was new; tell us what to watch for in the upcoming elections; they would be our instructors, and they would be the ones who were making decisions, and tell us what was happening,” she said of WEC and the state agencies that preceded it.
“And to be asked to go from a clerk, who was receiving that information, to somebody who can contribute to making decisions, to me was a huge honor,” Bostelmann said of her WEC appointment.
In this important election year, she offers some advice to the clerk community: “Do your job. You’re all trained well. You know what to do. Just do it. Let the criticisms come, but just keep on track. Do the right thing, and you’ll be fine.”
She says when the time comes for her to leave election leadership, she hopes to have left a humble legacy.
“I would like people to believe that I was always sincere, and always wanted to be on the side of truth and use any of my experience to help others become all that they could become.”
Read the full story
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Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
Upcoming Events
June 27, 2024 – Deadline for municipal clerks to send absentee ballots to electors with valid requests on file for the Partisan Primary. (UOCAVA deadline)
June 27, 2024 – Municipal clerks send absentee ballots to electors with valid requests on file for the Partisan Primary as soon as they are available. All absentee ballots must be recorded in WisVote.
July 24, 2024 – Deadline to register online or by mail for the partisan primary
July 30, 2024 – In-person Absentee Voting for the partisan primary may begin
Upcoming Commission Meetings
June 27, 2024 – Quarterly Meeting
August 27, 2024 – Special Meeting
Upcoming Elections
July 2, 2024 – SD4 Special Primary Election
July 30, 2024 – SD4 Special Election
August 13, 2024 – Primary Election
November 5, 2024 – General Election
Questions or comments? Call 608-261-2028 or email @email
Wisconsin Elections Commission 201 West Washington Avenue 2nd Floor P.O. Box 7984 Madison WI 53707-7984
