Recall record keeping

Fueled by having an extended tantrum over the changes to collective bargaining made by Scott Walker and his administration, big labor a group of concerned citizens is mounting a recall effort. They are busily circulating petitions, stopping traffic at major intersections, and, according to statements by the organizers, being secretive about exactly how many signatures they have collected thus far.

Petitions are due to the Government Accountability Board by January 17th. The GAB then has thirty days to review them. Once they do so and pass the petitions on to the politicians targeted in the recall, the politicos have ten days to challenge any signatures.

Now call me silly, but I thought the purpose of the 30 day review was for the GAB to strike obviously fraudulent signatures. Not so, according to an article in the Journal Sentinel and a statement by the board elections specialist:

The signatures of Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler will be counted on recall petitions targeting Gov. Scott Walker as long as they are properly dated and include a Wisconsin address, the board charged with reviewing the petitions was told Tuesday.

Suspicious signatures will be noted when the Government Accountability Board reviews the petitions, but reviewers will look to see that signatures are accompanied by a Wisconsin address and are dated as having been signed during the circulation period, board elections specialist David Buerger said.

"We will flag them, but we will not strike them without challenge," Buerger said after being asked whether Mickey Mouse's signature would be counted. He noted that in previous recall petitions, Adolf Hitler's name was struck because the address given was in Germany, not because of the name itself.

Both the GAB and the politicos are expected to ask for extensions of the time to review the signatures. I'm willing to bet that the first will be granted, while the second will not. The initial GAB review is paid for by the taxpayers - including the salaries of fifty or more temporary workers who will be hired - while the politicians pay for their efforts out of their own fundraising.

This whole process just plain stinks.