STATE OF WISCONSIN
CIRCUIT COURT
OZAUKEE COUNTY
______________________________________________________________
Timothy Zignego
3824 Wood Court
Hubertus, WI 53033
David W. Opitz
5132 Country Club Beach Rd.
Port Washington, WI 53074

Case Code: 30701
Case Type: Declaratory Judgment

Frederick G. Luehrs, III
N64W21545 Mill Rd.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

Case No:

Plaintiffs
v.
Wisconsin Election Commission
212 E Washington Ave 3rd Floor
Madison, WI 53703
Marge Bostelmann, Julie Glancey, Ann Jacobs,
Dean Knudsen and Mark Thomsen
Each of the above defendants is sued in their official capacities
as members of the Wisconsin Election Commission at their
office address of 212 E Washington Ave 3rd Floor
Madison, WI 53703
Defendants.
COMPLAINT
The Plaintiffs, by their undersigned counsel, hereby allege as follows:
1.

This is an action against the Wisconsin Election Commission (“WEC”) and five

commissioners of the Wisconsin Election Commission (the “WEC Commissioners”) (collectively
“the Defendants”) based upon the Defendants’ failure and refusal to comply with state law.
2.

Wisconsin Statute § 6.50(3) requires that upon receipt of reliable information that

a registered voter has moved, WEC shall notify the voter by mail of that information. The voter

 then has the ability to inform WEC that the voter has not moved and affirm that the voter remains
at the address on their voter registration or, if the voter has moved, to register at their new address.
3.

Wisconsin Statute § 6.50(3) is very clear as to WEC’s duty if the voter does not

respond to the notice. If the elector . . . fails to apply for continuation of registration within
30 days of the date the notice is mailed, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall
change the elector's registration from eligible to ineligible status. (Emphasis added.)
4.

Despite the mandatory language in the statute, the Defendants have decided that if

voters do not respond to the notice that WEC would not change the voter’s registration from
eligible to ineligible status until somewhere between 12 months and 24 months after the notice
was mailed and not responded to, rather than in 30 days as required by the statute.
THE PARTIES
5.

Plaintiff, Timothy Zignego, is a registered Wisconsin voter and a taxpayer residing

at 3824 Wood Court, Hubertus in Washington County, Wisconsin.
6.

Plaintiff, David Opitz is a registered Wisconsin voter and a taxpayer residing at

5132 Country Club Beach Rd, Port Washington in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.
7.

Plaintiff, Frederick Luehrs, III is a registered Wisconsin voter and a taxpayer

residing at N64W21545 Mill Rd, Menomonee Falls in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
8.

Each of the Plaintiffs is harmed and aggrieved by the conduct of the Defendants as

described further herein. The Plaintiffs have standing as voters under Wis. Stat. § 5.06, as
taxpayers because the Defendants are spending taxpayer money on illegal activities which causes
pecuniary harm to the Plaintiffs, and as aggrieved parties under Wis. Stat. § 227.40 because the
Defendants’ invalid rule interferes with or impairs, or threatens to interfere with or impair, the
legal rights and privileges of the plaintiffs.

2

 9.

The Defendant, Wisconsin Election Commission, is a governmental agency created

under Wis. Stat. § 5.05 and charged with the responsibility for the administration of Chapters 5
and 6 of the Wisconsin Statutes and other laws relating to elections and election campaigns, other
than laws relating to campaign financing. The Wisconsin Election Commission has its offices and
principal place of business at 212 E. Wisconsin, 3rd Floor, Madison, WI 53703.
10.

The Defendants, Marge Bostelmann, Julie Glancey, Ann Jacobs, Dean Knudsen

and Mark Thomsen are commissioners of the Wisconsin Election Commission and were 5 of the
6 commissioners at all times relevant hereto. A sixth commissioner, Jodi Jensen, was involved in
the matters that form the basis for this case but Ms. Jensen has since resigned and, thus, is not
named as a defendant herein. Each of the WEC Commissioners is an “election official” within the
meaning of Chapters 5 and 6 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Each of the WEC Commissioners is sued
solely in their official capacities.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
11.

This court has jurisdiction pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 5.06, 806.04(1) and (2), and

227.40(1).
12. Venue is proper pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 227.40 and 801.50 (2) and (3)(a) and (b).
NATURE OF ACTION
13.

By statute, Wisconsin now participates in what is called the Electronic Registration

Information Center (“ERIC”). ERIC is a multi-state cooperative that shares information regarding
voter registration.
14.

As part of ERIC, Wisconsin receives a report regarding what are sometimes

referred to as “Movers.” This refers to Wisconsin residents who, in an official government
transaction, have reported an address different from their voter registration address.

3

 15.

After receiving the report on Movers from ERIC, WEC undertakes an independent

review of the “Movers” information to ensure its accuracy and reliability.
16.

Once WEC reviews the information from ERIC, then as required by Wisconsin law,

WEC sends a notice to those voters, at the address on their voter registration, and asks them to
affirm whether they still live at that address. If the voter affirms that he or she has not moved, then
nothing happens and the voter remains in the active status on the voter rolls at that address.
17.

The issue raised in this complaint is what happens if a voter who receives such a

notice does not respond to the notice.
18.

Wisconsin law is clear on that question. Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) states that:
Upon receipt of reliable information that a registered elector has changed
his or her residence to a location outside of the municipality, the municipal
clerk or board of election commissioners shall notify the elector by mailing
a notice by 1st class mail to the elector's registration address stating the
source of the information. All municipal departments and agencies
receiving information that a registered elector has changed his or her
residence shall notify the clerk or board of election commissioners. If the
elector no longer resides in the municipality or fails to apply for
continuation of registration within 30 days of the date the notice is
mailed, the clerk or board of election commissioners shall change the
elector's registration from eligible to ineligible status. Upon receipt of
reliable information that a registered elector has changed his or her
residence within the municipality, the municipal clerk or board of election
commissioners shall change the elector's registration and mail the elector a
notice of the change. This subsection does not restrict the right of an elector
to challenge any registration under s. 6.325, 6.48, 6.925, 6.93, or 7.52 (5).
(Emphasis added)

19.

Despite the mandatory language in the statute, the Defendants have decided that

WEC would not change the voter’s registration from eligible to ineligible status until somewhere
between 12 months and 24 months after the notice was mailed and not responded to, rather than
in 30 days as required by the statute.

4

 20.

WEC sent notices to approximately 234,000 Movers in October, 2019 (the

“October, 2019 notices”). The Defendants have stated that they will not comply with Wis. Stat. §
6.50(3) with respect to the October, 2019 notices.
21.

As set forth by WEC staff, “instead of deactivating their voter registrations within

approximately 30 days under Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3), deactivation would take place between 12
months and 24 months, giving the Movers a chance to vote in both the General and following
Spring Election.”
22.

The Defendants do not have the power to set aside the policy decision of the

Wisconsin Legislature in this regard.
23.

The decision by the Defendants was contrary to law on two different bases.

24.

First, the decision by the Defendants violated their clear duty under Wis. Stat. §

6.50(3).
25.

Second, the Defendants violated their duties under Chapter 227 of the Wisconsin

Statutes.
26.

WEC has been granted rule-making power by the Legislature under Wis. Stat. §

5.05(1)(f) to “promulgate rules under ch. 227 applicable to all jurisdictions for the purpose of
interpreting or implementing the laws regulating the conduct of elections or election campaigns,
other than laws regulating campaign financing, or ensuring their proper administration.”
27.

However, when exercising that rule-making power, the Defendants must comply

with Chapter 227 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
28.

Here, the Defendants have contravened the will of the Legislature and created new

election law policy for the State by simply voting on such a new policy in a motion at a WEC

5

 meeting (which is certainly not the procedure required for rule-making under Chapter 227), all of
which conduct is contrary to law and an abuse of discretion.
29.

On October 16, 2019, the Plaintiffs filed a formal complaint involving the same

unlawful conduct alleged in this Complaint with WEC (the “WEC Complaint”). The WEC
Complaint was filed pursuant to Wis. Stats § 5.06(1), which provides that any voter may file a
written sworn complaint with WEC requesting than any election official “be required to conform
his or her conduct to the law.”
30.

The WEC Complaint named as respondents the individual commissioners named

as Defendants herein, each of whom meets the definition of an election official under Wisconsin
law.
31.

WEC acknowledged receipt of the WEC Complaint on October 23, 2019.

32.

By letter dated October 25, 2019 WEC dismissed the WEC Complaint. WEC stated

that the ground for dismissal of the WEC Complaint was that it was “not timely” in light of the
statutory rule that such complaints “shall be filed promptly so as not to prejudice the rights of any
other party.” Wis. Stat. § 5.06(3). (Emphasis added.) This was despite the fact that the WEC
Complaint was filed the week after WEC sent the October 2019 notices. A true and correct copy
of the October 25, 2019 letter from WEC dismissing the WEC Complaint is attached hereto as
Exhibit A.
33.

WEC’s October 25th decision also stated that given the facts described in the WEC

Complaint, there are no circumstances in which the Plaintiffs could assert any additional facts
which would “cure the defect” which led WEC to dismiss their complaint. Thus, the Plaintiffs
have no practical ability to refile their complaint with WEC at any future time or on any known
basis.

6

 34.

WEC’s decision dismissing the complaint was without basis in fact or law. The

WEC Complaint was filed promptly after WEC’s final decision to implement the unlawful conduct
described in this Complaint by sending the October 2019 Notices to voters between October 7 and
October 11, 2019. In fact, the dispute presumably would not have been ripe until WEC sent the
October 2019 notices and informed municipal clerks that WEC did not intend to enforce Wis. Stat.
§ 6.50(3) with respect to the October 2019 notices, which it did in training materials published in
September 2019 and a memo dated October 4, 2019.
35.

Moreover, no voter would be prejudiced by the date on which the WEC Complaint

was filed. The Plaintiffs do not challenge the form of the notice sent to voters. Rather, the
Plaintiffs challenge the decision by WEC not to follow up on the notices that were actually sent as
required by Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3).
36.

Thus, voters received proper notices and the only issue in this case is whether WEC

must comply with § 6.50(3) with respect to voters who do not respond to the notices.
37.

And it cannot be the case that WEC’s claim of an adverse effect on WEC staff, who

have spent time and effort implementing an unlawful plan, can possibly constitute “prejudice to
the rights of a party” for purposes of the § 5.06(3).
38.

Although WEC stated that its dismissal of the WEC Complaint was without

prejudice, its decision represents the final disposition of the WEC Complaint, and no further action
before WEC is possible. WEC has thus “disposed of” the WEC Complaint and Plaintiffs are
authorized by Wis. Stat. § 5.06(2) to commence an action in this court to “test the validity’ of the
Defendants’ “decision, action or failure to act.”
39.

Thus, the Plaintiffs seek a declaration from this Court that the conduct of the

Defendants violated Wis. Stat. §6.50(3) and a temporary and permanent injunction or, in the

7

 alternative, a writ of mandamus, requiring the Defendants to comply with Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) with
respect to the October 2019 Notices.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION – VIOLATION OF WISCONSIN STATUTE § 6.50(3)
40.

The Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate all of the preceding allegations of the

complaint as if fully set forth herein.
THE ERIC MOVERS REPORT IS RELIABLE.
41.

As cited above, Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) states that “[u]pon receipt of reliable

information that a registered elector has changed his or her residence to a location outside of the
municipality, the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners shall notify the elector by
mailing a notice by first class mail to the elector's registration address stating the source of the
information.” (Emphasis added.)
42.

Whether the ERIC Movers report is reliable is a question of law but the following

facts show that the report is reliable.
43.

The statute, itself, provides that any voter who receives a notice can continue their

registration at their existing address by responding to the notice and informing WEC that the voter
has not moved. Thus, the statute, on its face, assumes that some voters who have not moved will
nevertheless receive a notice under the statute. The Legislature did not require certainty that the
voter has moved prior to sending notice to the voter, only the existence of reliable information.
44.

“Reliable” means something that is “consistently good in quality or performance or

able to be trusted.” https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/reliable
45.

It is the Wisconsin Legislature, itself, that made the decision to join ERIC. See

Wisconsin Statute § 6.36(1)(ae).

8

 46.

The very reason that the Legislature determined that Wisconsin would join ERIC

(and pay the required dues) is because ERIC is widely considered as a reliable source of
information to be used by its member states (there are currently 29 states that are members) to
update and improve the accuracy of their voter rolls.
47.

The Legislature made that decision on behalf of the State of Wisconsin because the

information to be received from ERIC was consistently good in quality such that it could be trusted.
48.

Moreover, as confirmed by ERIC’s own website, the reports that ERIC provides to

its member states include “reports that show voters who have moved within their state, voters who
have moved out of state, voters who have died, duplicate registrations in the same state and
individuals who are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered.” (Emphasis added.)
49.

That is, one of the known benefits of joining and paying dues to ERIC is to receive

a Movers Report from ERIC.
50.

Further, the information contained in ERIC’s Movers Report is information

reported by the voter (and not a third party) in an official government transaction. The source of
the information makes the information reliable.
51.

Moreover, Wisconsin’s history with ERIC shows that the ERIC Movers Report is

accurate.
52.

WEC received a Movers report from ERIC in October 2017.

53.

WEC staff reviewed and vetted that report before taking any action on the report.

See, Exhibit B, WEC Staff Report for March 11, 2019 meeting (“March 11th Staff Report”)
(“Before any action was taken regarding these voters [identified in the ERIC Movers report],
Commission staff vetted the list for changes that were not relevant to the voter’s registration, such

9

 as changes to mailing addresses or temporary changes.”) A true and correct copy of the March
11th Staff Report is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
54.

Based on the reliability of the ERIC Movers report, WEC sent notices under Wis.

Stat. § 6.50(3) to 341,855 voters in November, 2017.
55.

The notice was in the form of a postcard directing the voter to sign and return the

postcard if the voter desired to continue voting at the address on the postcard or to visit
myvote.wi.gov to update their voter registration.
56.

Of these 341,855 voters, only 6,153 responded to the notice by continuing their

registration at their existing address. (March 11th Staff Report, Ex. B.)
57.

The remainder (335,702) were deactivated from the voter registration list as

required by law. See Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3).
58.

Ultimately, 18,117 of the 335,702 voters whose registration status was deactivated

were reactivated based upon one of the following: (1) the voter contacted their municipal clerk or
WEC and stated that they still resided at the address on their voter registration, (b) WEC staff
found an error of some sort, or (c) the voter voted in an election in 2018 from the address on their
voter registration. (March 11th Staff Report, Ex. B.)
59.

The total of the voters who returned the post cards (6,153) and the voters who were

later reactivated (18,117) is 24,270. That number represents 7% of the voters who were sent
notices in 2017.
60.

This number does not represent “unreliability” in the ERIC data. The ERIC report

covers voters who submitted an address different than their voter registration address in an official
government transaction. The fact that a voter reported a different address to a government agency

10

 is a “reliable” indicator that the voter may have moved, even if it turns out that the voter did not
actually move.
61.

Because these voters had reported two different addresses for themselves, the State

of Wisconsin had a legitimate reason to ask these voters to confirm the address on their voter
registration which is what the November 2017 notice asked the voters to do.
62.

All that can be said about these 24,270 voters is that they reported an address

different from their voter registration address in an official government transaction but had not
actually moved to that second address.
63.

The remaining 93% of the voters who received the November 2017 notice: (a) took

no steps to maintain their registration at their original address and, either (b) registered to vote at
their new address, or (c) have taken no steps to reregister or vote since their registration was
deactivated.
64.

This would mean that even assuming the 7% was a measure of unreliability (which

it is not), the ERIC data from 2017 was still 93% reliable. 1
65.

As part of a subsequent staff report prepared for the June 11, 2019 WEC meeting

(the “June 11th Staff report”), WEC staff also reviewed a subset of the 2017 notices that had been
classified as “undeliverable.” A true and correct copy of the June 11th Staff Report is attached
hereto as Exhibit C.
66.

WEC staff found that 6% of those voters subsequently voted from their original

address (see, June 11th Staff report). So, even if “reliability” is measured by the percentage of

1
It is possible that some part of the voters who have taken no action actually still live at their original address but
there is no evidence that supports that possibility. In a later report the staff slightly revised the totals and reported that
an additional small number (20) of voters were reactivated as the result of participating in the 2019 Spring Primaries.
See, June 11th Staff Report, Ex. C. But this extremely minor change actually supports the reliability of the original
ERIC data.

11

 voters on the ERIC report who actually moved—rather than whether the ERIC data accurately
shows which voters have reported a different address in a government transaction—the ERIC
Movers report was still highly reliable (94%) for the subset of notices that were “undeliverable.”
67.

After reviewing the data described in Paragraphs 56 through 64 above, the March

11th Staff Report concluded that “the in-state movers data is a largely accurate indicator of someone
who has moved or who provided information to the post office or DMV which makes it appear
that they moved.” (See, Exhibit B at page 10.)
68.

WEC received a new ERIC Movers report in 2019.

69.

WEC staff again reviewed and vetted the information prior to taking any action on

the ERIC report. See, WEC Training Materials for 2019 Movers Mailing WisVote Webinar (the
“Training Materials”). A true and correct copy of the Training Materials is attached hereto as
Exhibit D.
70.

Among other things, WEC staff identified and reviewed the potential matches

between the ERIC Movers report and Wisconsin’s voter registration list, made sure no military
voters were on the list, made sure that no voters were on the list who had received a notice during
the 4 year maintenance process, checked for data quality issues, and reviewed the address
information for accuracy. (Training Materials, Ex. D)
71.

After taking those steps to confirm the accuracy of the ERIC report, WEC staff, as

a matter of fact, again relied on the report to send notices to approximately 234,039 Wisconsin
voters between October 7 and October 11, 2019. See WEC Memo to Clerks dated October 4,
2019. A true and correct copy of the WEC October 4, 2019 memo is attached hereto as Exhibit E.

12

 72.

On October 7, 2019 WEC also sent a memo to all members of the Wisconsin

Legislature explaining what WEC had done with respect to the Movers notice. A true and correct
copy of the WEC memo to Legislators is attached hereto as Exhibit F.
73.

In its October 7, 2019 memo to Legislators WEC acknowledged that WEC had sent

its first notice to Movers relying on the ERIC Movers Report in 2017 and that the October, 2019
notices were the second such mailing. WEC complied with Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) with respect to
the first Movers notice sent in 2017 but never explains to the Legislators why WEC refused to
comply with Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) for the 2019 mailing.
74.

Other states that have so-called “top down” systems, meaning that the state’s voter

registration system is maintained by the state and used by municipalities (as opposed to being
maintained by the local municipalities), rely upon the ERIC Movers report to change the
registration status of voters if the voter does not respond to a notice sent to the voter following the
state’s receipt of the ERIC Movers Report. (See, Exhibit B, March 11th Staff Report at pages 6-7
for Virginia and 7-8 for Minnesota.)
75.

Under Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3), voters who received one of the October, 2019 notices

had three options: (a) if they moved, reregister at their new address in advance of the next election
or on election day, (b) if they have not moved, return the form provided by WEC within 30 days
affirming that they still live at their voter registration address or do so online at MyVote (in which
case no action is taken to change their registration status) or (c) take no action to continue their
active registration status at their voter registration address and have their voter registration status
changed from eligible to ineligible 30 day after receipt of the notice. However if the voter’s
registration status is changed and the voter has not actually moved the voter can simply reregister
at their existing address in advance of the next election or at the polls the next time the voter votes.

13

 76.

Reregistering presents no hardship on the voter because the voter can do so at the

polls on election day. Each voter needs to bring their Voter ID to the polls to vote in any event
and given that the voter has not moved from their previous residence their Voter ID will likely
match their voter registration address but, if not, the voter can use a variety of other forms of proof
of residence.
77.

The Defendants, however, have decided not to enforce the 30 day requirement

contained in Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) with respect to the October 2019 Notices.
78.

The Defendants’ conduct clearly conflicts with state law. WEC’s duty under Wis.

Stat. § 6.50(3) to change an elector’s registration from eligible to ineligible when the statutory
conditions are met is mandatory, not discretionary, and there is no provision in the law permitting
the WEC Commissioners to cause WEC to wait up to two years before executing this task.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION – VIOLATIONS OF WIS. STAT. § 227.10
79.

The Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate all of the preceding allegations of the

complaint as if fully set forth herein.
80.

While WEC has the statutory power to promulgate rules under chapter 227, see

Wis. Stat. § 5.05(1)(f), in exercising that power WEC must comply with the requirements of
Chapter 227. The Defendants did not do so.
81.

Wis. Stat. § 227.10(1) requires that “[e]ach agency shall promulgate as a rule each

statement of general policy and each interpretation of a statute which it specifically adopts to
govern its enforcement or administration of that statute.”
82.

The Defendants were interpreting several Wisconsin Statutes when they made the

decision not to enforce Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3), including but not limited to Wisconsin Statutes §§
5.05(15), 6.361(1)(ae) and 6.50(3). (See, March 11th Staff Report, Ex. B, pages 10-11.)

14

 83.

Moreover, the Defendants then adopted a statement of general policy applicable to

the entire State of Wisconsin, which policy was to not enforce Wis. Stat. §6.50(3).
84.

As part of their statutory duties, therefore, the Defendants were obligated to

promulgate their interpretation of parts of Chapters 5 or 6 and the new statement of policy as a
rule, but they violated that statutory duty.
85.

The Defendants were aware that the new statement of policy required a statutory

change or a new rule because that subject was raised by WEC staff in the March 11th Staff Report.
(See Exhibit B, page 11 (“[S]taff believes any such long-term process should be reflected in either
the agency’s administrative rules or the Statutes.”) But the Defendants acted without promulgating
a rule.
86.

Further, the Defendants may not promulgate a rule which conflicts with state law.

See Wis. Stat. § 227.10(2) (“No agency may promulgate a rule which conflicts with state law.”)
87.

Thus, while WEC has the power to interpret Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) (and other

statutes), the Defendants violated the law and abused their discretion when they interpreted the
statutes in a way directly inconsistent with § 6.50(3). Seider v. O'Connell, 2000 WI 76, ¶ 28, 236
Wis. 2d 211, 612 N.W.2d 659 (“An administrative rule that conflicts with an unambiguous statute
exceeds the authority of the agency that promulgated it.”)
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiffs request the following relief:
A.

A declaration that the decision made by the Defendants not to enforce Wis. Stat. §

6.50(3) was unlawful.

15

 B.

A declaration that the decision made not to enforce Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) and to adopt

a new election law policy constitutes a rule; that the Defendants did not promulgate that rule as
required by state law; and, that as a result the rule is invalid and may not be enforced by WEC;
C.

A declaration that the decision not to enforce Wis. Stat. 6.50(3) constitutes a rule

and that the rule is inconsistent with Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) and as a result void.
D.

A temporary and permanent injunction requiring that the Defendants cease and

desist from ignoring and failing to enforce Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3).
E.

In the alternative, a writ of mandamus that WEC shall change the registration status

from eligible to ineligible for each voter who was sent the October 2019 notice and who did not
respond to the notice within 30 days.
F.

Such equitable or other relief as is just and appropriate.

Respectfully submitted this 13th day of November, 2019.
WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW & LIBERTY, Inc.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
S/Signed electronically by Richard M. Esenberg
Richard M. Esenberg, WI Bar No. 1005622
414-727-6367; rick@will-law.org
Brian McGrath, WI Bar No. 1016840
414-727-7412; brian@will-law.org
Anthony LoCoco, WI Bar No. 1101773;
414-727-7419; alococo@will-law.org
Lucas Vebber, WI Bar No. 1067543
414-727-7415; lucas@will-law.org
330 E. Kilbourn, Suite 725
Milwaukee, WI 53202-3141
PHONE: 414-727-9455 / FAX: 414-727-6485

16

 EXHIBIT A
Wisconsin Elections Commission
212 East Washington Avenue   Third Floor   P.O. Box 7984   Madison, WI 53707-7984
(608) 266-8005   elections@wi.gov   elections.wi.gov

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

October 25, 2019
Ms. Richard M. Esenberg
330 E. Kilbourn, Ste. 725
Milwaukee, WI 53202-3141

Attorney Brian McGrath
330 E. Kilbourn, Ste. 725
Milwaukee, WI 53202-3141

Dear Attorneys Esenberg and McGrath:
I am in receipt of the complaint filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) by your office
on October 16, 2019. I have forwarded the complaint to each of the Commissioners. I am writing to
inform you that I have determined that the complaint is not timely and as a result, I am returning the
complaint to you without prejudice pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 5.06 and EL 20.04(1) and (2), Wis. Adm.
Code.
While the Commission will not process the complaint under the answer-and-reply provisions outlined in
Wis. Stat. § 5.06, as part of its ongoing evaluation of the previously authorized Electronic Registration
Information Center (ERIC) voter registration data matching procedures, the Commission is scheduled to
receive an update at its December 2, 2019 meeting. As in previous meetings related to this topic, public
input is always welcome at Commission meetings and I invite you to provide the perspective of your
organization and clients directly to Commission members, either during the public comment portion of
that meeting and/or in writing.
I have reviewed the complaint which was filed on behalf of four individuals pursuant to Wis. Stat. §
5.06 and names the individual members of the WEC as respondents. The subject of the complaint is the
WEC’s participation in the Electronic Information Registration Center and specifically a decision of the
WEC regarding the voter registration consequences for individuals who do not respond to a WEC
mailing requesting confirmation of whether or not they have moved (the “Movers mailing”) or
individuals whose mailing has been returned as undeliverable. The complaint alleges that the
Commission’s decision and directives to agency staff regarding the Movers mailing, made at its meeting
of June 11, 2019, are contrary to Wisconsin law and an abuse of discretion.
The decision challenged in the complaint was a motion approved by the Commission which stated:
Authorize staff to flag files of voters rather than deactivating voters who do not
respond to a Movers mailing after 30 days; go forward with WisVote, poll book
and MyVote updates; assess new data before initiating future mailings;
incorporate the substance of recommendations in the staff memorandum; and
authorize staff to proceed with the next Movers letter in August 2019.

Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Dean Knudson, chair   Marge Bostelmann   Julie M. Glancey   Ann S. Jacobs   Robert Spindell   Mark L. Thomsen
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administrator
Meagan Wolfe

 Attorneys Richard Esenberg and Brian McGrath
October 25, 2019
Page 2
The complaint includes the staff memoranda to the Commission from the meetings of both March 11,
2019 and June 11, 2019. In both documents, Commission staff recommended that deactivation of voter
registrations resulting from the ERIC Movers mailing take place between 12 months and 24 months
after the mailing rather than requiring municipal clerks to deactivate registrations after 30 days without
an individualized determination as to whether there was sufficient reliable information that the elector’s
residence had changed as described in Wis. Stat. § 6.50. This recommendation was part of the
“substance of the recommendations” cited in the motion adopted on June 11, 2019 along with the
specific direction to flag files of voters rather than deactivating voter registrations of individuals who do
not respond to the Movers mailing. The motion also authorized Commission staff to proceed with the
next Movers mailing in August 2019.
As a result of the Commission’s direction, staff spent significant time, effort and resources to create,
test, print and mail communications to 341,855 individuals. The printing and mailing costs are expected
to total over $140,000. Based on the Commission’s June directive, which was more than four months
prior to the filing of the complaint, the communication created and mailed by Commission staff
informed recipients of their options to either confirm or update their voter registration record. The
mailing did not advise recipients that failure to respond within 30 days would result in the deactivation
of their voter registration. Previous mailings related to the Four-Year Maintenance process and the
ERIC Movers process included language regarding the consequences of a recipient failing to take action
to confirm or update their registration record.
Wis. Stat. § 5.06(3) requires that a complaint challenging the decision of an election official “shall be
filed promptly so as not to prejudice the rights of any other party.” The administrative rules governing
the WEC’s processing of complaints require that I review the complaint and determine within 10
business days whether the complaint is timely, is sufficient as to form and states probable cause. EL
20.04(1), Wis. Adm. Code.
For the purposes of this correspondence, I am setting aside without deciding the question of whether
Wis. Stat. § 5.06 applies to decisions of the Elections Commission itself, rather than only to local
election officials and WEC staff, who have been the subjects of Section 5.06 historically. Additionally,
you have named each Commission member individually, but the challenged decision is one made by the
Commission as a single administrative body. There are provisions of the governing statute and
administrative rules which could lead to a conclusion that the complaint process does not apply to
decisions made by the Commission itself, and that those decisions may be challenged directly in court
rather than through the process outlined in Wis. Stat. § 5.06. There are also procedural implications of
the Commission being named as a respondent in a complaint for which it is responsible for issuing a
decision.
Regardless, my basis for returning the complaint filed by your office is that it is not timely under Wis.
Stat. § 5.06(3). The Commission considered this specific issue at both its March 11, 2019 and June 11,
2019 meetings after publishing notice of the staff’s recommendations and affording the public an
opportunity to provide comments. Following the Commission’s June 11, 2019 decision, its staff
implemented the decision over a period of four months before the complaint was filed after a
considerable investment of staff time and agency resources.

 Attorneys Richard Esenberg and Brian McGrath
October 25, 2019
Page 3
If the intent of complaint is to halt or nullify the Movers mailing, it would clearly prejudice the rights
and duties of Commission staff which implemented the decision in the absence of any complaint being
filed promptly. As illustrated by the exhibits attached to the complaint, Commission staff not only
created the Movers mailing but developed training materials and conducted training for local election
officials, who have also relied on the Commission’s instructions in processing responses to the mailing.
Given that the complaint specifically requests the deactivation of voter registrations of those individuals
who do not respond to the Movers mailing within 30 days, the delayed filing of the complaint also
prejudices the rights of those recipients who are not on notice of that consequence for failing to respond
before they have another opportunity to vote.
For these reasons, I am returning your complaint as untimely without prejudice as pursuant to EL
20.04(3), Wis. Adm. Code. As required by that provision, I have specified the defect in the complaint.
As to the information which would be appropriate to cure the defect, I am unaware of any additional
information which could be deemed to be appropriate with regard to the actual mailing of the Movers
letter. As to the timeline for deactivating voter registrations as a result of the mailing, the Commission
is scheduled to hold another discussion regarding ERIC procedures as part of its ongoing evaluation of
what we can learn from the results of the mailing at its December 2, 2019 meeting. That would be
another opportunity to provide input to the Commission regarding the perspective of your office and
clients and steps going forward.
Thank you for bringing your concerns and the concerns of your clients to our attention. Please let me
know if you have any questions regarding this correspondence.
Sincerely,

Meagan Wolfe
Administrator
Wisconsin Elections Commission

 EXHIBIT B

MEMORANDUM
DATE:

For the March 11, 2019 Commission Meeting

TO:

Members, Wisconsin Elections Commission

FROM:

Meagan Wolfe
Interim Administrator
Prepared and Presented by:
Jodi Kitts
WisVote Specialist

SUBJECT:

William Wirkus
Election Administration Specialist

Assessment of Wisconsin’s Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
Participation
I. INTRODUCTION

The object of this report is to provide a brief background on the Electronic Registration Information
Center (ERIC), an overview and assessment of the implementation of Wisconsin’s participation in ERIC
from 2016 to present, and recommendations for improvement for the future. In particular, the
recommendations will focus on the portion of ERIC membership which requires Wisconsin to act
regarding residents who have purportedly moved within the state, called “in-state movers.”
II. BACKGROUND
A. What is ERIC?
2015 Wisconsin Act 261 directed Wisconsin to join ERIC, an inter-state consortium formed to improve
the accuracy of voter registration data and to assist voters to become registered at their current
addresses. ERIC uses modern “big data” matching and analytics to identify electors who may be
eligible but are not registered to vote, voters who have moved since their last registration date, and
voters who may no longer be eligible and should be removed from voter rolls. The goal of ERIC is to
encourage these electors to register or update their information ahead of an election to better manage the
volume of registration activity leading up to and on Election Day. Ultimately, long-term participation is
aimed at reducing costs, increasing accuracy, and improving efficiency in the voter registration process.
ERIC currently has 26 member-states representing all geographic regions in the United States.

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B. Requirement of Membership
ERIC requires member states to provide data every 60 days for all current driver license and state ID
card holders from the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as well as all currently registered voters from
the Wisconsin Elections Commission. ERIC then compares that data to similar files from participating
states (including neighboring states Minnesota and Illinois). Data is also compared to national sources
such as the US Postal Service’s National Change of Address (NCOA) service and the Social Security
Administration’s Death Master List.
After matching the data from these sources, ERIC provides reports back to participating states to help
states maintain their voter rolls. ERIC provides two types of reports to participating states:
1. Lists of electors who may be eligible to register but are not currently registered to vote.
2. List maintenance reports for currently registered voters who no longer may be eligible at their
registered address because they may have moved or have become deceased.
The ERIC Membership Agreement requires that participating states reach out to voters who may be
eligible but are unregistered once every two years, ahead of the fall General Election, no later than
October 1st. ERIC requires that states contact voters appearing on the list maintenance reports at least
once a year.
III. 2017-2018 WISCONSIN LIST MAINTENANCE FOR MOVERS
When originally determining how to proceed with the list maintenance provisions of ERIC, Commission
staff reviewed list maintenance options in the Statutes. Wisconsin Statutes provide for two types of list
maintenance – a process for voters who have not voted in the last four years, and a process for voters for
whom there is reliable information that the voter no longer resides at the address on their voter
registration. There is no specific process designated in the Statutes for the treatment of movers as
identified by ERIC (hereinafter “movers”). Wis. Stat. §6.36 simply requires Wisconsin’s membership
and compliance with the ERIC Membership Agreement. The Membership Agreement provides only
that the State “initiate contact with [such voters] in order to correct the inaccuracy or obtain information
sufficient to inactivate or update the voter’s record.” It does not specifically mandate the removal of
such individuals as active registered voters or a timeframe for determining their status.
At the March 14, 2017 meeting, the Commission approved staff’s recommendation to follow the
statutory process related to voters for whom there is reliable information that they no longer reside at
their registration address (Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3)). This process involves sending the voter a notice in the
mail asking the voter if they would like to continue their registration at their current address. If so, the
voter signs and returns a continuation form. If the voter does not respond requesting continuation within
30 days or does not complete a new registration at a different address, the voter’s registration record is
marked as inactive and the voter must register again before voting.
ERIC provided data to the Commission in October 2017 indicating that 341,855 registered voters
appeared to have moved based on information the voter provided to the Wisconsin DMV, the USPS

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National Change of Address service, or government agencies in other states. Before any action was
taken regarding these voters, Commission staff vetted the list for changes that were not relevant to the
voter’s registration, such as changes to mailing addresses or temporary changes. After this internal
vetting, the WEC mailed a postcard to flagged voters directing them to reregister if they had moved or to
sign and return the card to keep their registration current. The postcard was forwardable, so if the voter
had provided a new address to the US Post Office, the card would be forwarded to their new address.
These voters had 30 days in which to respond to keep their registrations active. The postcards were
mailed beginning on November 6, 2017.
The following chart shows the counts of In-State and Out of State Mover postcards mailed in 2017:
Type of Mailer
In-State
Out of State
Total:

Count
282,448
59,407
341,855

Some voters who received the postcard contacted the Elections Commission questioning why they
received the card. Staff identified several data discrepancies that caused voters to appear on the Movers
list who may have not moved, such as differences in spelling between the street name on their voter
registration record versus their DMV record, or cases where the new address was a PO Box. Staff
identified any voters impacted by these situations and proactively marked those voter records for
continuation of their registration at their current address so they would not be deactivated.
In January 2018, the voter registrations of those voters who did not return the postcard or update their
registration were deactivated. Voters whose postcards were returned to the clerk as undeliverable were
also deactivated.
The following chart provides the number of voters who requested continuation, cards returned as
undeliverable, and voters who did not respond to the mailing:
Total Postcards Sent
Requested Continuation
Undeliverable
No Response
Total Sent:

Count
6,153
83,743
251,959
341,855

The deactivation of these movers caused some problems for the 2018 Spring Primary, as some voters
who had not moved, but had not returned the postcard, were left off the poll book. In other words, while
available data from the DMV implied many had moved, some of the voters, in fact, had not moved.
Some reasons for this include voters who registered a vehicle or obtained a driver’s license at an address
other than the address they considered to be their voting residence. This included persons who
registered a vehicle at a business address, vacation home, or their child’s college address, and college
students who obtained a driver’s license when they are temporarily living away from home. In these
situations, the voters may have provided an address in their transaction with the DMV that was different

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from their voting address, even though DMV asked for their residential address on their forms. These
voters were likely unaware that the information provided to the DMV would affect their voter
registration status.
After talking to affected voters, WEC staff identified several additional situations where voters appeared
to have moved but did not. This included cases where the voter registration address in WisVote
contained a unit number but their DMV record did not, or vice versa, as well as voters listed as movers
by NCOA but no new address was provided. These voters were proactively reactivated by Commission
staff because data provided by NCOA in these cases did not constitute reliable information that the voter
had moved. Overall, 12,133 were proactively reactivated by staff or were stopped from being
deactivated due to these data discrepancies between January and March of 2018.
Deactivation of voters who were believed to have moved, based on this data, led to many calls of
concern from clerks, media, and concerned citizens. These concerns led to the creation and approval of
a “Supplemental Movers Poll List.” Deactivated voters flagged as in-state movers were included on the
Supplemental Movers Poll List instead of the regular poll book, beginning with the 2018 Spring
Election. By signing the Supplemental Movers Poll List, voters were affirming their continued presence
at the address on the list and their registrations were re-activated without requiring a new registration
application. Clerks were also permitted to contact these voters ahead of the election, or to investigate
these voters’ addresses against other reliable government records available to the clerk to confirm their
residency status before Election Day. The Supplemental Movers Poll List process was continued for all
succeeding 2018 elections. Commission staff carried out the reactivation of voter records on behalf of
clerks, by reviewing and processing copies of the Supplemental Movers Poll Lists submitted by clerks
after each election.
The following chart shows the number of voters who used the Supplemental Movers Poll List process to
continue their registration during elections in 2018, as reported by municipal clerks:
Supplemental Movers List Usage by Election
04/03/2018 - Spring Election
06/12/2018 - Special Election
08/14/2018 - Partisan Primary
11/06/2018 - General Election
Total for 2018 Elections:

Count
1,333
16
1,077
3,558
5,984

The municipalities of City of Milwaukee, City of Green Bay, and Village of Hobart requested wholesale
reactivation of all movers, based on their authority under Wis. Stat. §6.50 to determine what constitutes
“reliable information” with respect to a change in an elector’s residence. These municipalities
determined that the voters flagged by ERIC, by comparing voter registration data to data provided by the
DMV and other government agencies, was not reliable enough to remove them from the poll list.

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The following chart shows the number of voters reactivated by these municipalities prior to the 2018
General Election:
Municipality-Wide Reactivations
City of Milwaukee
City of Green Bay
Village of Hobart
Total:

Count
34,293
4,137
322
38,430

Movers identified in 2017 have now had four statewide elections to either reaffirm their presence at their
registration address or to complete a new registration. Because of high voter turnout, the 2018 General
Election provided a good test of the data in ERIC reports. 3,558 voters used the Supplemental Movers
List to continue their registration, which is 1.04% percent of the total movers. 773 of Wisconsin’s 1,850
municipalities reported having at least one voter who signed the Supplemental Movers List in the 2018
General Election, while 983 reported no voters using the Supplemental Movers List. 91 municipalities
did not report back to Commission staff on the use of the Supplemental Movers List. Some
municipalities reported incorrect use of the Supplemental Movers Lists where voters signed the list but
crossed off their address and wrote in a new address. This appeared to be due to election worker
confusion on how to correctly use the Supplemental Movers List. These voters should have in fact
registered at their new voting address and provided proof of residence.
For the three municipalities that chose to reactivate all movers, only a small percentage of voters voted
at the old address where the movers card was mailed, with higher numbers of voters registering at a new
address or not voting at all.
The following chart shows the election participation for reactivated movers in the three municipalities
that chose to reactivate all movers:
Reactivation Requests
Reactivated but did not Vote in November
Registered at new address on or before
Election Day and voted
Voted at old address
Total Reactivated by Request:

Milwaukee
22,914

%
67%

Green
Bay
2891

% Hobart %
70%
224
70%

9,022

26%

1025

25%

87

27%

2,357
34,293

7%

221
4,137

5%

11
322

3%

At the December 3, 2018 Commission Meeting, the Commission approved staff’s recommendation to
cease use of the Supplemental Movers Poll Lists for the 2019 Spring Primary and Spring Election.
Instead, staff implemented a call-in process where if voters reported that they should be on the poll
list and were not, election workers would contact the municipal clerk to determine if the voter was an
ERIC Mover. Commission staff received no calls during the Spring Primary related to movers.
Based on the prior Commission approval, staff plans to continue this process for the April Spring
Election.

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Following the 2019 Spring Primary, staff pulled final statistics on the 2017 Movers. The following
chart shows the final statewide disposition of the voter records involved in the 2017 Movers mailing:
Overall Disposition of Voters Identified as Movers
Updated voter registrations
Deactivated registrations which remain inactive
Remain active at original address
Total

Count
160,863
134,517
46,475
341,855

Percent
47%
39%
14%

Currently, the system of using in-state mover data, sending postcards to these flagged voters, and
deactivating unresponsive voters has highlighted several areas requiring improvement. First, ERIC pulls
in-state mover information from agencies such as the Division of Motor Vehicles. Voters provide
alternative addresses to governmental agencies for a variety of reasons that may not correspond to an
actual physical move or may not reflect an individual’s intent regarding their voting residence. Second,
the postcard itself, at first blush, may be overlooked by the recipient—many people only think about
voting close to an election, and election mail outside of that cycle is easy to overlook. Third, the
deactivation of voters who were removed from the poll book even though they had not moved can
diminish voter confidence in the voting process. Rather than removing voters based on data that does not
always indicate a change in voting residence, one of ERIC’s stated goals is to make “voter registration
lists and processes more accurate, more complete, and fully compliant with federal, state, and local
laws.” 1
IV. LIST MAINTENANCE FOR MOVERS IN OTHER ERIC STATES
Wisconsin elections are built on a partnership between the WEC and the state’s 1,850 municipal clerks
and 72 county clerks. WEC provides a statewide computer system used by those clerks to manage voter
registrations and election data, provide high-level election administration, support local election
officials, and provide voter information to the public. Other ERIC member states have a mix of staterun voter registration systems and “bottom-up” systems that rely on counties to provide voter
maintenance and provide varying degrees of support and administration to local clerks. WEC staff
surveyed other ERIC states to obtain insight into their processes regarding in-state movers. The states of
Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, and Minnesota responded and provided useful information about their processes.
A. Virginia
Virginia, like Wisconsin, is considered a “top-down” state as the Department of Elections provides a
single application and central storage of registration and election data used by the localities. Each
municipality, by law, is responsible for maintaining the data so only that municipality’s staff can alter
information on the voter rolls. At the state level, the Department of Elections completes the list
maintenance activity by identifying voters and sending matched voters to the municipality.

1

Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc., Membership Agreement, Exhibit A, Pg. 13. < https://ericstates.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/01/ERIC_Bylaws_2018-11-30.pdf>

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The Department of Elections processes the files comparing the ERIC data to the current state of the
voter rolls to avoid contacting voters who have reregistered at a new address. The State sends voters
flagged by ERIC as in-state movers a letter with a postage-paid tear-away portion to allow them to sign
and affirm their address or make a change. Responses are routed to the local municipalities.
Registrations of voters who do not respond or otherwise reregister are made inactive. An inactive voter
arriving at the polls will appear in the poll book, but the voter must sign an affidavit to receive a
standard ballot. The voter’s participation will change their status back to Active. If the individual
ceases voting, their registration will eventually be inactivated through the NVRA cancellation process.
Virginia law dictates that a voter with an inactive status who has not voted in two consecutive Federal
elections can be removed from the voter roster. The Virginia code dictates most of the process, and
internal agency managers and legal counsel manage the details.
B. Ohio
Ohio has a “bottom-up” voter registration system which is connected to each county using a dedicated
network of fiber lines to process transactions such as duplicate registration resolution, motor vehicle
transactions, and Online Voter Registration transactions among others. The State sends postcards to
voters ERIC flagged as in-state movers. The primary purpose of the postcard is to encourage the voter
to update their registration, but the voter’s registration remains active and there is no deactivation
process associated with the postcard. Ohio’s ERIC process is governed by administrative rules rather
than by statutes.
C. Illinois
Like Ohio, Illinois has a “bottom-up” voter registration system, with each jurisdiction having their own
domain. The Illinois State Board of Elections is the independent state agency handling high-level
oversight of elections, providing support and training to counties. Records of voters flagged by ERIC as
in-state movers are vetted by the state, and the vetted list is provided to the counties. The counties then
send out a postcard, using either the State’s template or a design of the counties’ choosing. Illinois
statutes require that voters who appear on NCOA and ERIC in-state movers lists are automatically
registered at their new address. If the postcard is returned as undeliverable, the new address is rejected,
and the registration reverts to the previous address. Voters are not removed from the poll book due to
ERIC mailings.
Illinois’ NVRA process is separate from its ERIC processes. If a voter has not voted in two election
cycles, a postcard is sent. If the voter does not respond, the card is undeliverable, or they have not
reregistered, the voter record is inactivated. Inactive voters are not listed in the poll book but can vote a
provisional ballot. Illinois uses both statutory processes and administrative rules to manage ERIC
voters.
D. Minnesota
Minnesota employs a “top-down” voter registration system that all counties use to input and manage
voter information. Minnesota is exempt from most NVRA requirements. Under Minnesota law, for
those registered voters who move, counties update their registration and then send them a postcard

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confirming their updated registration at a new address. For those voters that ERIC indicates move in
state, Minnesota queues their records in the state voter registration system, so that the counties can then
update their registration. When a voter’s record is automatically updated due to information received
through ERIC, Minnesota sends that voter a postcard notifying them that their record has been updated
and provides them with instructions on how to contact their county auditor if that update was in error. If
a voter moves outside of Minnesota, their record changes to “inactive” and a postcard is sent to confirm
that their registration should be deactivated. If a record has been “removed” (inactivated because they
moved to another state, are deceased, etc.), Minnesota does not keep them on the poll list/polling place
roster. Minnesota does not have provisional balloting, so the remedy for a voter to fix this if it was done
in error is to use election day registration to reregister. State statute governs the list maintenance process
as it relates to ERIC reports.
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
A. In-State Movers
The object of these recommendations is to outline procedures which, as confidently and accurately as
possible, identify when an “in-state mover” has in fact moved such that it is appropriate for his or her
voter registration to be deactivated. After researching how other ERIC states handle their in-state
movers and evaluating Wisconsin’s implementation in 2017 and 2018, Commission staff has prepared a
recommended plan for modifying the process used in 2017-2018 for in-state movers, including
replacement of the Supplemental Movers List.
As an overview, staff recommends the plan include continuing to send postcards to voters identified by
ERIC as in-state movers each year. However, instead of deactivating their voter registrations within
approximately 30 days under Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3), deactivation would take place between 12 months and
24 months after the postcard was sent, in the summer after each General Election. In the intervening
period the voter would have a significant amount of time in which to either return the postcard affirming
their address, complete a new registration via online or paper form, or affirm or complete a new
registration at the polling place during any election. This means the voter would have the opportunity to
affirm or register in as few as four and as many as six regularly-scheduled elections.
For example, voters who receive the movers postcard in the summer of 2019 would be able to affirm
their registration until the summer of 2021, giving them 6 elections to take action (Feb, April, August
and November 2020 and Feb and April of 2021).
Voters who receive the movers postcard in the summer of 2020 would also be able to affirm their
registration until the summer of 2021, giving them 4 elections to take action (August and November
2020 and Feb and April 2021).
The polling place process would entail a voter signing their name in the regular poll book next to their
address and a statement affirming that they have not moved. After these multiple fail-safe opportunities,
anyone who had not affirmed or completed a new registration would have their registration with the old,
presumably inaccurate address deactivated.

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This recommended plan includes multiple elements which require both further study and development.
The following is a more detailed breakdown of recommendations and changes envisioned in
implementing these recommendations:
•

Improve In-State Mover’s List: Continue to refine and narrow the list provided by ERIC to
ensure that it identifies those voters who most likely did have a change in residence based on
information they provided to the USPS and the Wisconsin DMV. WEC will continue to work
with DMV, NCOA, and ERIC to identify the potential for distinguishing address change types
that may be used to refine the data used in the comparison.

•

Postcards: Continue sending out yearly postcards (likely during the summer) to voters
identified as having moved, giving them opportunity to affirm their address, complete a new
registration (to update their address) or participate in an election using their old address. The
postcard would include language providing the extended deadline in which the voter has to
affirm or complete a new registration, before deactivation of their voter registration record.
Postcards returned as undeliverable could be noted by Clerks in WisVote as undeliverable for
data gathering purposes, but the voter would otherwise continue to follow the same procedure
as any other voter identified as an in-state mover and their registration would remain active
until the deadline for in-state mover deactivation 12-24 months later.

•

WisVote Changes: In the previous process in-state movers who were sent a card were
designated as “Active Suspended” in WisVote concurrently with the sending of the postcard
card followed by a change to “Inactive – Moved” after deactivation. Staff proposes that any
person who is identified as an in-state mover and sent a postcard be designated in WisVote as
“Active” but with a “Mover” or similar designation until deactivation of their registration.

•

Poll List: Under these proposed changes, voters identified as a Mover and sent a postcard
would be identified as such on the poll list for the next General and Spring Elections and their
respective primaries. If these voters appear to vote at an election, by signing the poll list, they
would be signing an affirmation statement that they have not moved from the address listed.

•

Absentee Voters: Likewise, any person who votes absentee, either by mail or in-person, from
an address appearing on the movers report, would automatically have their status changed from
“Mover” to the regular “Active” status when they return the ballot with a properly completed
certificate envelope. Their “old” address would be affirmed by virtue of the fact that they are
certifying on the envelope that “…I am a resident of the ward of the municipality in the county
of the state of Wisconsin indicated heron, and am entitled to vote in the ward at the election
indicated hereon; that I am not voting at any other location in this election…”

•

MyVote Changes: For those in-state movers receiving a postcard, staff proposes an expedited
method by which they can either affirm their address or update their registration. Staff proposes
exploring whether use of a QR code and/or hand-keyed code on the postcard could assist in
expediting this process of both retrieving the record and providing the necessary proof of
residence for purposes of a MyVote registration update. There may also be the option of
providing the voter with a more specific reason for why they received the postcard (i.e. USPS

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National Change of Address notification, transaction at the DMV, etc.) to help answer questions
why the voter received the postcard.
•

Amended In-State Mover’s Deactivation Timeline: Registrations for in-state movers would
only be deactivated every two years after at least a general election and a spring election (and
their primaries) had passed since receipt of the postcard in which a voter had not voted at their
address listed in WisVote. Previously the process was statutorily designed so that registrations
were inactivated within 30 days of the postcard being sent out. Movers who received the
November 2017 postcard were deactivated in January 2018, in the year of a Spring Primary,
Spring Election, Partisan Primary, and General Election. The new recommended process would
allow the opportunity to participate in at least 4 to 6 elections (and thus the ability to affirm or
decline to affirm the address on the poll list) before deactivation. Given that the in-state movers
data is a largely accurate indicator of someone who has moved or who provided information to
the post office or DMV which make it appear that they moved, staff believes this approach is a
reasonable method of ensuring proper maintenance of the voter registration list under Wis. Stat.
§5.05(15). Regular ERIC-associated list maintenance based on in-state mover data will still
take place, but only after the identified in-state movers have had between 12 and 24 months,
and between 4 and 6 regularly scheduled elections to affirm their address or complete a new
registration.

•

Legal Authority Related to Recommended Process: Voter list maintenance procedures have
attracted increased attention from policymakers and the public, both in Wisconsin and
nationwide. Wis. Stat. § 6.361(1)(ae) requires Wisconsin’s participation in ERIC and
compliance with its membership agreement “for the purposes of maintaining the official
registration list…” Among other requirements, ERIC’s membership agreement compels the
state to act on all credible ERIC data identifying individual voters and to “…at a minimum,
initiate contact with that voter in order to correct the inaccuracy or obtain information sufficient
to inactivate or update the voter’s record.” Neither the ERIC enabling statute, nor the ERIC
Membership Agreement establish specific procedures or timelines for inactivating a registration
of a voter who appears on the movers list.
As noted above, the Commission has relied on the language and framework of Wis. Stat. §
6.50(3) to treat the movers list as reliable information that the individuals listed have changed
their voting residence. The Commission also has general statutory to ensure “proper
maintenance of the [registration] list. Specifically, the Statutes provide:
The commission is responsible for the design and maintenance of the official
registration list under s. 6.36. The commission shall require all municipalities
to use the list in every election and may require any municipality to adhere to
procedures established by the commission for proper maintenance of the list.
See Wis. Stat. § 5.05(15).
Wis. Stat. § 5.05(15) provides a broader source of statutory authority to the Commission for
ensuring the integrity and maintenance of the statewide voter registration list, which supports
the process recommended by staff.

81

 Assessment of Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the March 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 11

Wis. Stat. § 5.05(1)(f) also provides the Commission with rulemaking authority “for the purpose
of interpreting or implementing the laws regulating the conduct of elections…or ensuring their
proper administration.” At this time staff is seeking the Commission’s feedback regarding the
recommended process and a decision as to whether it should be adopted as the Commission’s
policy. However, staff also believes any such long-term process should be reflected in either
the agency’s administrative rules or the Statutes. Given that no deactivation of voter records
would occur under the proposed process until after the 2021 Spring Election, there is some time
for the Commission to adopt a policy and obtain feedback from the Legislature as to whether
the procedures should be enacted through legislation or administrative rules. The Legislature
certainly may also establish a different approach with more specific procedures if it does not
agree with a process adopted by the Commission.
B. Out-of-State Movers
We recommend dividing voters identified by ERIC as out-of-state movers into two separate processes
depending on whether they are placed on the out-of-state list on account of 1) NCOA or motor vehicle
data; or 2) Completion of voter registration in another state.
1. Out-of-State NCOA or Motor Vehicle Data
Out-of-state data stems from a transaction a voter took in another state at a motor vehicle department, by
completing a change of address with the Postal Service, or by completing a new voter registration.
WEC staff received few contacts regarding out-of-state movers. However, because motor vehicle data
and NCOA data is subject to the same nuances as in-state movers, staff recommends adopting the same
procedures for those two sub-categories as outlined for in-state movers. For example, apparent
occasional voter behaviors such as registering a family car at another address for a college student,
keeping a car at a second home or business, or due to varying wheel taxes and emissions testing
standards, which may result in their names appearing on the out-of-state movers list (even though they
maintain voter residency in Wisconsin). Staff recommends these voters be given the same window of 46 elections and 12-24 months to affirm or complete a new registration before deactivation of their voter
registration.
2. Completion of Out-of-State Voter Registration
Since the advent of the statewide voter registration system, the Commission and its predecessor agencies
have treated voter registration in another state as an affirmative act by the voter to sever one’s voter
residency in Wisconsin, and thus appropriate to trigger deactivation of voter registration. Wisconsin
regularly receives lists from other states of voters who were previously registered in Wisconsin and who
have registered in another state. Staff reviews these lists and manually deactivates these individual
registrations upon receipt. Wis. Stat. § 6.36(1)(d) specifically authorizes this process:
Upon receipt of official notification by the appropriate election administrative
authority of another state, territory, or possession that an elector whose name appears
on the list has registered to vote in that state, territory, or possession, the commission

82

 Assessment of Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the March 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 12

or the municipal clerk of the municipality where the elector formerly resided shall
change the elector’s registration from eligible to ineligible status.
Similarly, the voter residency statute, Wis. Stat. § 6.10(10) points out that “If a person moves to another
state with an intent to make a permanent residence there, or, if while there the person exercises the right
to vote as a citizen of that state by voting, the person loses Wisconsin residence.”
Staff recommends that voters identified through the list maintenance reports provided by ERIC as
having registered in another state be deactivated under the authority of Wis. Stat. § 6.36(1)(d). The
source of the data regarding voter registrations is the individual states which received and processed
those voter registrations. ERIC acts as a conduit to other members states by analyzing and condensing
the data and then sending the data on to only those states where the identified individual had a previous
registration. During the 2017-2018 ERIC Implementation, out-of-state registrations accounted for
between 35% and 40% of the voters identified as out-of-state movers.
C. Expanded ERIC Data Set
Beginning in April 2018 additional voter participation data is available to states to use as part of their list
maintenance processes. The data compares voter participation records both in-state and across member
states. The data can be used to investigate errors in the recording of participation and in identifying and
investigating potential duplicates. The WEC will be receiving these additional reports and incorporating
them into the currently existing list maintenance and referral processes.
Recommended Motion:
Commission staff proposes these recommendations after reviewing the Commission’s initial
implementation of ERIC relating to movers and examining opportunities for improvement. Staff
believes this proposal provides an appropriate and balanced opportunity for movers to affirm their
voting address or complete a new registration and for making use of the list maintenance reports
provided by ERIC. As staff explores and implements the technical changes in the system to
accommodate these processes, feedback of local election officials regarding the workflow will be
solicited and reviewed to identify any changes or improvements. If the Commission directs staff to
explore these options, staff will bring specific proposals to the Commission for approval at its June 2019
meeting. Staff recommends the following motion:
The Wisconsin Elections Commission directs staff to research and begin the implementation of
the proposed ERIC list maintenance process in accordance with the staff recommendations stated
herein. WEC staff will report back to the Commission at its June 2019 meeting on the status of
implementation, technical feasibility of the new process, feedback from local election officials,
and drafting of an administrative rule/proposed statutory change for the Commission’s
consideration.

83

 EXHIBIT C

Wisconsin Elections Commission
212 East Washington Avenue   Third Floor   P.O. Box 7984   Madison, WI 53707-7984
(608) 266-8005   elections@wi.gov   elections.wi.gov

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM
DATE:

For the June 11, 2019 Commission Meeting

TO:

Members, Wisconsin Elections Commission

FROM:

Meagan Wolfe, Administrator
Prepared and Presented by:
Connie Shehan
WisVote Specialist

SUBJECT:

Jeffrey Harrison
WisVote Specialist

Wisconsin’s Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) Movers Analysis

This memo provides updates on the 2017 Movers List maintenance outcomes and outlines future
initiatives. At the March 2019 Commission meeting, staff presented an overview and assessment of the
overall ERIC process to date. Recommendations were made for improvement of Movers List data
quality, mailing enhancements, and research concerning the feasibility of technical changes to the
WisVote system. This report contains specific process improvements for the Movers List, changes
regarding the mailing format and processes, as well as WisVote changes that are being implemented,
including the addition of an ERIC Movers-related watermark to the poll book.
I.

PAST DATA ANALYSIS

As expected, the number of reactivations to voter records has decreased over time. The 2019 spring
election cycle call-in process resulted in 20 reactivations which amounts to less than a tenth of a percent
of total voters who participated in each election.
Supplemental List Reactivation Data by Election

Number of
Reactivations

04-03-2018 - Spring Election
06-12-2018 - Special Election
08-14-2018 - Partisan Primary
11-06-2018 - General Election
02-19-2019 - Spring Primary
04-02-2019 - Spring Election
Total 2018/2019 Elections:

1,333
16
1,077
3,558
7
13
6,004

Percentage of
Election
Participation
0.131%
0.041%
0.103%
0.132%
0.008%
0.001%

Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Dean Knudson, chair   Julie M. Glancey   Ann S. Jacobs   Jodi Jensen   Mark L. Thomsen
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administrator
Meagan Wolfe

10

 Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the June 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 2

Commissioners requested additional examination of the undeliverable Movers mailing. Our findings
show that 73% these voters remain inactive or re-registered at a new address. Those who re-registered
at a new address make up 25% of the undeliverable count and voters who remain inactive total 48%,
which indicates they are no longer at the address in their voter record.
Postcard was Returned Undeliverable

Count

Percent

Voted at original address
(excluding voters Green Bay, Hobart and Milwaukee)
Undeliverable in Green Bay, Hobart and Milwaukee Bulk Reactivation
Re-registered
Remain Inactive
Merged
Total Undeliverable

4,917
8,170
20,637
40,480
9,539
83,743

6%
10%
25%
48%
11%

100%

WEC staff analyzed a random sample set of 1,849 voter records from the 6,004 voters who have been
reactivated through the ERIC Supplemental List process or by clerk call-ins. This data confirms that
78% of voter records have remained unchanged since the reactivation and 20% subsequently changed
their voter registration address. Staff research indicated that there may have been data included in the
initial file provided by DMV that included National Change of Address (NCOA) activity dates.
Approximately 86,000 of the approximately 384,000 records included in the DMV In-State file
correlated with these NCOA activity dates rather than individual DMV customer-initiated transactions.
The ERIC Membership Agreement requires DMV and NCOA to individually submit customer-initiated
transaction data as part of the match process. We have requested NCOA address run dates from DMV
and going forward staff will use this information to filter data.
DMV has been supportive in its willingness to investigate our inquiries. Its audit logs have confirmed
that customers who used the ERIC Supplemental List process also updated their address at DMV
branches or on its website. Some customers listed the new address on a vehicle registration form,
initiated changes at the DMV Service Center, or listed it at a dealership when they were purchasing a
vehicle. Vehicles can be registered at a workplace or other location where the vehicle is kept, which did
not correspond with a primary residence as the voter record does. These circumstances could present
variations in matching records.

Sample Set Findings
No Change to Voter Record
Registered at New Address
Address adjusted after re-activation
Inactive - Moved, Felon or 4 Year Maintenance
Typo
Total Records in Sample Set:

Count from
Sample Set
1,442
370
22
8
7
1,849

Percent
78.0%
20.0%
1.2%
0.4%
0.4%
100.0%

11

 Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the June 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 3

Of the sample set studied 20% registered at a new address and staff verified that 70% of those currently
have the same address as their DMV file. This list was generated a year and a half ago, therefore, we
recognize that voters may have had additional changes since then.

New Registration Matches DMV Address
Yes
No
Grand Total

Count from
Sample Set
212
90
302

Percent
70%
30%
100.0%

Recommendations for Future Data Analysis
Based on the data presented above, staff has been looking for ways to further improve the match process
to ensure the most accurate information. Communication with ERIC regarding data anomalies and the
ability of WEC staff to proactively verify data prior to reaching out to voters with a focus on addresses
that include PO Boxes or matches such as 1st vs. First has made an impact on data quality. Due to a
recently completed transaction date analysis of the DMV file, staff recommends the omission of the
NCOA activity dates from the DMV file to comply with the ERIC Membership Agreement and to
further improve data quality for future mailings. The ERIC Agreement requires DMV to submit a list of
all customer addresses. It further requires WEC to use only “customer-initiated” transactions.
Therefore, DMV will continue to submit its full list of changes to ERIC and they will provide a list of
NCOA batch validation dates to WEC staff so they can be filtered once ERIC provides WEC with the
final data.
Going forward, WEC staff proposes to flag voter records involved in the Movers process, rather than
perform a deactivation, as explained in the Future Plans section below. This change will allow WEC
and clerks to validate information and establish contact with voters, as needed, before any deactivation
occurs. The mailing and a watermark in the poll book would be the most effective methods to determine
if voters have changed their residential address.
II. FUTURE ERIC PLANS
The ERIC Membership Agreement requires that participating states reach out to voters appearing on the
list maintenance reports at least once a year. As an overview, staff recommends continuing to send
postcards to voters identified by ERIC as in-state Movers each year. However, instead of deactivating
their voter registrations within approximately 30 days under Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3), deactivation would
take place between 12 months and 24 months, giving the Movers a chance to vote in both the General
and following Spring Election. To reiterate the process provided in the March ERIC memo, this means
voters who receive the Movers postcard in the summer of 2019 would be able to affirm their
registration, either by responding to the postcard or in-person at a polling place, until the summer of
2021, giving them an extended deadline of six elections to take action (Feb, April, August and
November of 2020 and February and April of 2021).
Staff will begin compiling the Movers data in the beginning of July, with an eye towards sending the
postcards in mid to late August 2019. This mailing is authorized to be forwarded by the Post Office.

12

 Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the June 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 4

This timeline allows flagged voters time to affirm their registration at their current address, or reregister
at a new address, well in advance of the 2020 election cycle. Voters who receive the Movers postcard in
the summer of 2020 would also be able to affirm their registration until the summer of 2021, giving
them four elections to take action (August and November of 2020 and February and April of 2021).
Postcards returned as undeliverable would be noted by clerks in WisVote as undeliverable for data
gathering purposes, but the voter would otherwise continue to follow the same procedure as any other
voter identified as an in-state mover and their registration would remain active until the deadline for instate mover deactivation 12-24 months later.
The Movers postcard itself will be the subject of a comprehensive review, both in design and content.
The goal of the redesign is to make a more substantive and useful mailing, while reducing voter
confusion. Updates will include artwork/layout changes to attract attention as well as more concise
information on reregistering and directing recipients to MyVote to complete an online affirmation to
continue their registration. A voter flagged as a mover, will have the opportunity to go to MyVote,
verify their name and date of birth for security purposes, then enter their unique affirmation code
included with their mailing. This process will provide a method by which the voter can affirm their
address online and will direct Movers to a secure place to update their registration information.
In addition to the Movers postcard improvements, staff proposes changes to the printed poll book and
WisVote as well. Voters identified as Movers, but who have not taken any action in response to the
postcard mailing, will have the status of “Active-Movers List” in WisVote. Voters with the status of
“Active-Movers List” continue to appear in the poll book until the summer after a General Election.
This means the voter would have the opportunity to affirm or register in as few as four and as many as
six regularly scheduled elections. A watermark would appear in the signature block of the poll book
with a “Movers List” designation. This watermark triggers the election inspector to ask the voter if they
have moved. If the voter has indeed moved, they have the option to register at their new address. If the
voter has not moved, they would sign the poll book and continue with the voting process. Poll worker
instructions with a sample poll book watermark and a flow chart of the Movers List process are included
with this memorandum.
Executing an affirmation or change of address will update a voter’s status from Active-Movers List to
Active-Registered automatically in the WisVote system when voter participation is entered. This will
save extra steps for the clerk and help maintain accurate voter records. An identifying address field will
also be added to the database to help track and analyze address history. Undeliverable postcards can be
marked by clerks in WisVote as undeliverable for data gathering purposes.
Staff recommends that voters identified through the list provided by ERIC as having registered in
another state be deactivated under the authority of Wis. Stat. § 6.36(1)(d). The source of the data
regarding voter registrations is the individual states which received and processed those voter
registrations. ERIC acts as a conduit to other members states by analyzing and condensing the data and
then sending the data on to only those states where the identified individual had a previous registration.
For the purposes of this process, staff is relying on Wis. Stat § 6.361(1)(ae) compelling adherence to the
ERIC membership agreement, Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) which authorizes changes to voter registration status
based on reliable information, and Wis. Stat. § 5.05(15) which makes WEC responsible for voter list
maintenance. Neither the ERIC enabling statute, nor the ERIC Membership Agreement establish

13

 Wisconsin’s ERIC Participation
For the June 11, 2019 Commission Meeting
Page 5

specific procedures or timelines for inactivating a registration of a voter who appears on the Movers
List. The Legislature certainly may also establish a different approach with more specific procedures.
Prior to implementation, staff will conduct usability testing encompassing both clerk committees and
public sampling. Through this process, best practices will be determined, and a comprehensive training
plan will be developed. Posted clerk communications will continue throughout the year to keep clerks
informed regarding mailings, deadlines, and checklists. In addition, staff will host a webinar in
January 2020 ahead of the election cycle, as well as make materials available in the WisVote Learning
Center.
Final Summary
The 2017 Movers mailing brought about many opportunities to align processes and review the entire
active voter list. For the next Movers mailing, WEC staff now has a more refined process to review data
and conduct voter outreach which is informed by lessons learned from experience and a deep dive into
data analysis. Mailing and technical enhancements will be aimed at improving voter interactions and
ease of use. Options available in MyVote will allow voters the opportunity to go online to affirm or
update their voter registration information, which will create a much more efficient process for voters
and clerks. Clerks’ processes will be made easier through the implementation of automatic voter status
updates at the time that election participation is entered. The poll book watermark allows a means of
flagging voters without taking additional poll book space or requiring a supplemental section. New
discoveries in data review will provide a better understanding of the data going forward and the ability
to take a proactive approach to screen data before mailings are initiated. While there has been a
learning curve due to the nature of the ERIC processes and the unique structure of election
administration in Wisconsin, WEC staff looks forward to facilitating improved voter data quality while
assisting clerks with efficient processes in keeping records current and serving voters with a balanced
approach.
Recommended Motion:

Authorize staff to flag files of voters rather than deactivating voters who do not respond to a Movers
mailing after 30 days; go forward with WisVote, poll book and MyVote updates; and assess new data
before initiating future mailings.
Attachments: A. Poll Worker Instructions for Movers at the Polling Place
B. Movers Mailing Flow Chart

14

 WEC Movers Mailing Process
No Action Taken

Mailing Sent to
Potential Mover
August 2019

“MOVERS LIST” Watermark placed in
poll book. If voter does not participate,
they are deactivated in April 2021

Action Taken

Voter Has Not
Moved

Voter Moved

Go to MyVote

Sign & Send

Vote

Go to MyVote

enter name,
birthdate &
attestation code

mail tear-away
postcard to clerk

attest when
checking in & sign
poll book

update
registration online

Voter remains registered at
the address where the
mailing was sent

Register by Mail
or at Clerks Office

Register at
Polling Place

complete form &
submit to clerk

complete an EDR

Voter now registered a
new address

15

 EXHIBIT D

09/16/19

2019 MOVERS MAILING
A WisVote learning series webinar

1

2019 MOVERS MAILING
Participants
Patrick Brennan

Training Officer

Jodi Kitts

ERIC Team Lead/ Sr. WisVote Specialist

Connie Shehan

WisVote Specialist

2

1

 09/16/19

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?
Voters who provided an address other than their voter registration address
Must have been provided for an official government transaction

Vehicle/Boat Registration
Changing an Amazon shipping address
Voter registration in another (ERIC) state
Disconnecting utilities
USPS address changes

3

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?
GENERATING THE LIST

Wisconsin Voter Registration list is compared with:
ERIC states voter registration lists

Wisconsin DMV transactions

ERIC state DMV transactions

US Postal Service address change requests

4

2

 09/16/19

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?
GENERATING THE LIST

Potential matches are identified and reviewed

Voted or registered after 07/01/19

No military voters
or
voters who received 4-year maintenance card

5

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?
GENERATING THE LIST

Checked for data quality issues

Address information is reviewed
for standards/accuracy
Is the match the same person?

6

3

 09/16/19

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?

IMPROVEMENTS FROM 2017 MOVERS MAILING

Response deadline no longer 30 days

Wisconsin DMV NCOA transaction data
excluded from matching process

7

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?

IMPROVEMENTS FROM 2017 MOVERS MAILING

Mailer and response options usability-tested

Contact letter instead of postcard

MyVote response option

8

4

 09/16/19

WHAT IS THE MOVERS MAILING?

WILL IT LOOK LIKE OTHER WEC MAILINGS
Front

NOT A POSTCARD THIS TIME!

Back

Lists all options for responding:
MyVote
By Mail
Voting
Brief explanation why it was received
Bottom detaches to return by mail

9

2019 MOVERS PROCESS

POSTCARD RESPONSE OPTION

10

5

 09/16/19

2019 MOVERS PROCESS

POSTCARD RESPONSE OPTION

Returned cards can be scanned or recorded manually

No return deadline or postmarked-by requirement
Store returned cards with voter’s registration file

11

2019 MOVERS PROCESS

POSTCARD RESPONSE OPTION
Can be tracked using Mailing tile in WisVote
Choosing Continuation Requested will update voter record
Choosing undeliverable will only update postcard record, voter remains active*

12

6

 09/16/19

2019 MOVERS PROCESS
MYVOTE RESPONSE OPTION

Voters are on the Movers list can now respond online!

Confirmation box will appear for voters with the status Active/Movers
Confirmation box will not appear for any other voters!
13

2019 MOVERS PROCESS
MYVOTE RESPONSE OPTION

Voter can certify their current address or be redirected to OVR

If voter closes pop-up or chooses “I have moved”,
no change is made to their registration status
14

7

 09/16/19

2019 MOVERS PROCESS
MYVOTE RESPONSE OPTION

Certifying their address updates the voter record to Active/Registered

WisVote mailing record is updated to Request Continuation
No action required on the clerk’s end!
15

2019 MOVERS PROCESS
VOTING RESPONSE OPTION

16

8

 09/16/19

2019 MOVERS PROCESS
VOTING RESPONSE OPTION

No additional verification steps

Process is invisible to voters

When participation is recorded,
voter record changes to Active/Registered automatically

No more scanning and emailing pollbook pages!

17

DEACTIVATION OF 2019 MOVERS

18

9

 09/16/19

DEACTIVATION OF 2019 MOVERS
Deactivation will not take place until after Spring 2021 elections

And only if all the following conditions are met:
Did not reregister at another address
Did not confirm their address through MyVote

Did not return signed postcard (by mail or in-person)
Did not vote in any election after October 2019

19

DEACTIVATION OF 2019 MOVERS
Deactivation will not take place until after Spring 2021 elections

Deactivated voter records will be
Inactive – Movers List
For tracking and to easily differentiate from non-mailing deactivations

20

10

 09/16/19

QUESTIONS

21

NEXT WISVOTE WEBINAR
WisVote Voter Registration

October 15, 2019, 10:00 a.m.

22

11

 EXHIBIT E

Wisconsin Elections Commission
212 East Washington Avenue   Third Floor   P.O. Box 7984   Madison, WI 53707-7984
(608) 266-8005   elections@wi.gov   elections.wi.gov

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DATE:

October 4, 2019

TO:

Wisconsin County Clerks
Wisconsin Municipal Clerks
City of Milwaukee Election Commission
Milwaukee County Election Commission

FROM:

Meagan Wolfe, Elections Commission Administrator

SUBJECT:

2019 Movers Mailing Update and WisVote Instructions

The 2019 Movers letter will be hitting the mail stream the week of October 7-11; there are a total of 234,039
letters being mailed. The voter records identified for this mailing will remain active but will have an
updated status reason of “Movers” and will appear as Active/Movers in WisVote.
Recipients who act by either confirming through MyVote, voting, or returning the postcard attached to the
letter will have their status reason updated to “Registered.” For those that choose to vote to update their
record, the update will automatically take place, when the clerk or staff enter participation, by changing the
voter status reason from “Movers” to “Registered” while keeping their status as “Active.”
If the letter is returned to the clerk’s office as undeliverable, update the status reason for the mailing record
in WisVote (under Mailings tile), as “Undeliverable” and Save & Close the mailing record. There is no
requirement to send any follow-up 30-day letters. However, if a 30-day letter is sent for another reason and
it comes back as undeliverable then it would be handled normally, and you can inactivate the voter record.
Anyone receiving the mailing who registered on MyVote after the data cutoff date of July 1, 2019, will have
a newer record already created with a status of Active/Registered. The older record associated with the
mailing will be updated as you merge those records. It is important for clerks to remain diligent with their
duplicate Reg List Alerts at this time so voters who registered at their new address will see their most
current record, should they check on MyVote.
Records where a voter-initiated registration transaction took place in another state have been inactivated on
Friday, October 4, 2019. WisVote will show these 25,198 records as Inactive/Movers List.
On the subsequent pages of this communication you will find a sample of the mailing (two-sided letter),
step-by-step WisVote instructions, and how voters confirm their addresses in MyVote. Clerks can view the
complete list of voters receiving the 2019 Movers mailing by selecting the “2019 ERIC All” view, in the
“Mailings” tile, and from there it can also be exported as a complete list by using the “Export to Excel”
button.

Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Dean Knudson, chair   Marge Bostelmann   Julie M. Glancey   Ann S. Jacobs   Mark L. Thomsen
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administrator
Meagan Wolfe

 There will not be a supplemental poll books for Movers. However, there is still ongoing discussion about
how a watermark will appear in the regular poll book and what instructions are needed for poll workers.
Further communication and instructions will be provided in another communication in early December
2019.
For further information, please watch the 2019 Movers webinar or contact the Help Desk at
608-261-2028 or elections@wi.gov.

 Track ERIC List Maintenance from the Mailings List View in WisVote
Select records from the list
1. Click the Mailings tile on the Easy Navigate page in WisVote
2. Select one or more mailing records to track the response

3. Select response type by selecting either of these buttons at the top of the page

4. Complete the fields in the pop-up Mailing Response Date window

a. Both types of responses (Undeliverable or Request Continuation) require the Response Date by
clicking the date from the calendar. The calendar will automatically open.

b. Click Submit

 Track records by scanning the barcodes
1. Click the Mailings tile on the Easy Navigate page in WisVote
2. Select Scan Response from the buttons at the top of the Mailings List view page

3. Enter the response information
a. Select the Response Type

b. Enter the Response Date

c. Scan or enter the Mailing ID (to scan, be sure the cursor is in the Mailing ID field before
scanning)

d.

If you are manually entering the mailing ID (not scanning), click Record

4. All scanned records will appear in the list below, but only those entered for the current session. Once
the window is closed, this list will not reappear

 5. Close the window – click the X at the top right corner

Track ERIC List Maintenance from the Mailings Record in WisVote
Tracking from the Mailing Record
1. Click the Mailings tile on the Easy Navigate tile
2. Open the mailing record by clicking the voter’s name

3. On the Mailing Record, click one of the response buttons at the top of the page

4. Enter the Mailing Response information

a. Enter or select the Response Date

b. Click Record

 Changing a Response Type for a Previously Tracked Postcard
Unlike previous WEC mailings, no voter records will be deactivated at the time an Undeliverable
response is recorded. Response type should still be corrected to prevent erroneous deactivations at a
later date.
1. For updating the response using the Mailings Views, choose either the ALL view or the appropriate
response view (2019 ERIC Undeliverable or 2019 ERIC Continuation) to find the mailing record.

2. Select the mailing record to correct

3. Select the correct response type by clicking the button at the top of the page
4. Enter the Response Date; click Submit

a. When changing the response from Undeliverable to Request Continuation, the voter record
will update to Active-Registered; no further action is required

b. If the response is changing from Request Continuation to Undeliverable, the voter status must
be changed back to Active – Movers. This can be done through the Voter Record or by
contacting WEC staff.

 SAMPLE LETTER (FRONT)

 SAMPLE LETTER (BACK)

 Movers – MyVote Response Option
Voter information screen for voters marked Active: Movers

Response pop-up w/ certification text and redirect to OVR option

Confirmation pop-up after choosing certification option

 EXHIBIT F

Wisconsin Elections Commission
212 East Washington Avenue   Third Floor   P.O. Box 7984   Madison, WI 53707-7984

DATE:

October 7, 2019

TO:

Members, Wisconsin State Senate
Members, Wisconsin Assembly

FROM:

Wisconsin Elections Commission

SUBJECT:

Answering Common Questions about Wisconsin’s Membership in ERIC

This month, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) is mailing letters to more than 234,000 Wisconsin
voters who may have moved and need to reregister. The mailing is required under the membership
agreement for the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which the Legislature required
Wisconsin to join in 2016. This fact sheet is designed to help legislators and their staffs answer common
questions about ERIC and the required mailings to voters.
What is ERIC? ERIC is a nonprofit group of 29 states that securely share information about their voters.
ERIC uses that shared information to help member states improve the accuracy and efficiency of their voter
registration systems. Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief election official, is Secretary of ERIC’s Board of
Directors.
What specifically does ERIC do? ERIC helps its members identify voters who have moved or died, as
well as people who are eligible to vote but are not registered. ERIC does this by comparing information
about registered voters and people with motor vehicle licenses from each member state with U.S. Postal
Service address changes and Social Security death records. The membership agreement requires
participating states to contact Wisconsin residents ERIC has identified as eligible to vote but who are
currently unregistered and provide them the opportunity to register to vote. Member states are also required
use data provided by ERIC concerning voters who may have moved or have died in another state to improve
the accuracy of voter rolls.
Is Wisconsin’s data safe with ERIC? Yes. WEC and DMV encrypt their data before sending it to ERIC.
ERIC secures the data, and undergoes regular security audits.
What information does Wisconsin get back from ERIC? Wisconsin gets reports that show voters who
have moved in-state, voters who have moved out of state, voters who have died, duplicate registrations and
persons who are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered.
What gaps does ERIC fill? ERIC gives Wisconsin elections officials access to death records nationally,
which is particularly helpful if a voter dies while out of state. ERIC also provides information about voters
with current registrations in Wisconsin who may also be registered in another ERIC member state.

Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Dean Knudson, chair   Marge Bostelmann   Julie M. Glancey   Ann S. Jacobs   Jodi Jensen   Mark L. Thomsen
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administrator
Meagan Wolfe

 Memo to Legislature about ERIC Membership
October 8, 2019
Page 2

What does Wisconsin do with ERIC reports? We use this data to contact voters who may have changed
their address, connect with people who are eligible to vote but unregistered, and assess voter participation.
This allows us an opportunity to identify questionable, duplicate or inaccurate voter records and reach out to
voters to correct these problems. The results of these list maintenance processes are voter rolls in Wisconsin
that are both more accurate and updated at a more rapid pace than when only the statutorily-required 4-Year
Maintenance process is used.
What is the Movers Mailing? Every two years, Wisconsin sends a mailing to voters identified as having
potentially moved from their current registration address. Wisconsin’s first mailing took place in 2017 and
the second is scheduled for October 2019. The recipients of this mailing will remain active and can confirm
their residential address is valid on MyVote.wi.gov or by participating in an election through Spring 2021.
If they have moved, they can register at their new address through MyVote.wi.gov, submit a new registration
to their municipal clerk, or complete an election day registration at their new polling place. If no action has
been taken through the Spring 2021 elections, the voter’s record will be inactivated.
If a legislator’s office gets questions from voters who receive the movers letter, you can assure them that it is
official and that it is designed to help eligible voters stay actively registered while also keeping he voter rolls
accurate and up-to-date. If they have questions you are not able to answer immediately, please let us know
or refer them to the WEC and we will be happy to answer them.
What is the Eligible but Unregistered Mailing? By comparing Wisconsin voter records and Wisconsin
DMV records, ERIC identifies unregistered citizens who are potentially eligible to vote. Wisconsin is
required to send a mailing to these potential voters which provides them with information to register. We
can only contact a person once, so the initial postcard mailing in September of 2016 was to 1.28 million
people while the second, in June of 2018, was to 384,000 newly-identified people who were eligible but
unregistered to vote.
What are Voter Participation checks? ERIC matches voter participation records across state lines and
generates reports of individuals who may have voted in the same election in multiple states. ERIC sends
reports of possible matches to each state for investigation. When WEC staff and clerks are able to verify
possible matches, we make referrals to District Attorneys for further investigation and possible prosecution.
ERIC began sending these voter participation reports to member states after the 2018 General Election.
Is ERIC similar to Four-Year Voter Record Maintenance? Both are designed to improve the accuracy of
Wisconsin’s voter registration list, but Four-Year Maintenance statutes set specific procedures and exact
timelines for deactivating voters who have not voted in four years and who do not respond to a mailing. The
data provided by ERIC gives the WEC and local election officials additional tools to clean up voter rolls, but
the membership agreement does not outline specific procedures in regard to the inactivation of voter records.
ERIC serves as a supplement to the 4-Year Maintenance process as it gives Wisconsin access to data from
the 28 other member states that is essential to timely updates to the voter rolls.
ERIC Resources
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ERIC Website: https://ericstates.org.
WEC Memo to Clerks about 2019 Movers Mailing: https://elections.wi.gov/node/6581
WEC Memo to Clerks about 2018 Eligible But Unregistered Mailing: 
https://elections.wi.gov/node/5877
Wisconsin ACT 261 – https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/lcactmemo/act261
State Statute 6.36(1)(a)(e) – https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/6/II/36/1/ae