FollowUp 5: Wisconsin Republican Dirty Tricks

Wisconsin is really not happy with Governor Scott Walker.  Channel 3000 reports.

The group that is spearheading an effort to gather signatures to recall Gov. Scott Walker said on Thursday that it has collected more than 500,000 signatures so far.

The United Wisconsin coalition said Thursday that more than 507,533 signatures were collected in just 30 days. They need about 33,000 more to trigger a recall election sometime in 2012. Petitions are due Jan. 17.

The group announced it has set a new collection goal of 720,277 signatures. That's nearly 200,000 more signatures that would be needed to force a recall election, officials said.

This is big news because folks were originally uncertain if enough signatures could be gathered in just sixty days.  In half the time allotted, they are almost done.  The extra 200,000 signatures make sense because some signatures will likely be thrown as as fake or as duplicates.

Speaking of which, Governor Walker has filed a suit against the Government Accountability Board to force them to throw out those duplicate signatures.  Again from Channel 3000.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Waukesha County Circuit Court asks a judge to order that the Government Accountability Board look for and eliminate duplicative signatures, clearly fake names like Mickey Mouse and signatures with clearly illegible signatures.

The lawsuit said allowing multiple signatures is a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution because it harms the rights of those not signing.

But the GAB said state law places the burden of challenging those signatures on the office holder being targeted for recall.

Board director Kevin Kennedy defended the review process, saying it has been used since the 1980s in every state and local recall effort against incumbents from both political parties.

To make doubly sure that duplicate signatures are eliminated, the Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly wants to make signing a petition twice a felony.  WISN reports.

Republican state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald wants to make it a felony for anyone to sign the same recall petition multiple times.

Fitzgerald on Thursday introduced the Recall Petition Fraud Prevention Act that would make that a crime. State law already outlaws signing a fake name to a petition or someone else's name.

Under current law, the burden for finding fraudulent signatures rests with those challenging them and not the state elections board, which reviews the petitions once submitted.

The word desperate comes to mind.  It seems that the Governor and his party are not appreciated by a lot of people in Wisconsin.  The Governor and his Republican legislature are now doing everything that they can to hold on to power.  Desperate.

If a Wisconsin citizen signs a petition in late November and then, after the holiday parties, isn't sure if he already signed and does so again in early January, that would be a felony.  Well, not this time because the law cannot be passed until the legislature is back in session, after the petitions are due.  Still, making a mistake and signing a second time would be a felony??!?

16 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.
30 November 2011, FollowUp 1.
4 December 2011, FollowUp 2.
11 December 2011, FollowUp 3.
14 December 2011, FollowUp 4.

30 December 2011, FollowUp 6.
13 January 2012, FollowUp 7.
17 January 2012, FollowUp 8.
25 January 2012, FollowUp 9.
2 February 2012, FollowUp 10.
9 February 2012, FollowUp 11.
12 February 2012, FollowUp 12.
18 February 2012, FollowUp 13.
22 February 2012, FollowUp 14.
6 March 2012, FollowUp 15.
12 March 2012, FollowUp 16.
16 March 2012, FollowUp 17.
30 March 2012, FollowUp 18.
31 March 2012, FollowUp 19.
3 April 2012, FollowUp 20.
4 April 2012, FollowUp 21.
11 April 2012, FollowUp 22.
14 April 2012, FollowUp 23.
17 April 2012, FollowUp 24.
21 April 2012, FollowUp 25.
29 April 2012, FollowUp 26.
2 May 2012, FollowUp 27.
6 May 2012, FollowUp 28.
10 May 2012, FollowUp 29.
13 May 2012, FollowUp 30.
23 May 2012, FollowUp 31.
24 May 2012, FollowUp 32.
30 May 2012, FollowUp 33.
2 June 2012, FollowUp 34.
4 June 2012, FollowUp 35.
5 June 2012, FollowUp 36.