Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Dane County judge presiding over the lawsuit for Voter ID has set a brief schedule that puts any resolution several weeks past the June 5 recall election.
Any hope that the Voter ID issue could be resolved in time for the spring recall elections died today when Judge David Flanagan set the briefing schedule for the case. According to a story from The Associated Press, Flanagan set the schedule so final briefs are not due until two weeks after the recall elections conclude. The judge said he chose the dates because Voter ID is complicated and attorneys need time to properly draft their arguments. Flanagan issued a temporary injunction last month after the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera filed a lawsuit alleging that the Voter ID law disenfranchised too many voters. A four-day bench trial over which Flanagan presided wrapped up Thursday, but he didn't hear oral arguments…
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The leading Democratic candidates all have more than enough signatures to get their names on the ballot for the May 8 primary. "Protest" candidate Gladys Huber and Independent Hariprasad Trivedi also made the cut.
Note: Final signature tallies for each candidate are listed below as part of the last update from April 10. Update, 10:15 pm: The GAB continues to verify that potential recall candidates have enough signatures to put their names on the ballot. As of 10:02 pm, the GAB had the following updates for the gubernatorial election. Some candidates do not have any signatures registered, but Magney pointed to a disclaimer on the GAB website: "A listing of '0' signatures should not be construed as the candidate having filed insufficient signatures," the website states. Update, 9:45 pm: Some names have been removed from the lists of potential candidates because as of 7:36 pm, the GAB's candidate document shows these individuals did not return their …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Dane County Judge Richard Niess has signed off on dates proposed by the Government Accountability Board.
Well, Wisconsin, we have confirmed recall election dates. The Associated Press is reporting that Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess has signed off on the May 8 and June 5 dates proposed by the Government Accountability Board after attorneys from the GAB, recall committees and recall candidates signed off on the deal. Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Stephan Thompson issued a written statement saying the party agrees with Niess' decision. "We're pleased with today’s ruling by Judge Niess, which grants the Government Accountability Board an extension for certification of recall petitions. By aligning all recall elections on the same date, a significant burden on election officials and taxpayers has been relieved," he …
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Some fraud allegations were true, some were false, and some complaints will likely yield to an investigation. But there aren't enough to stop the recall from moving forward, state election official says.
The head of the agency that oversees elections in Wisconsin says there have been some instances of fraudulent signatures found on the petitions seeking to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker from office. And with at least three outside groups going through the signatures looking for problems, Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy said his staff expects to hear even more allegations about possible fraud. While the GAB and other agencies will investigate all such complaints, it's unlikely there will be enough of them to stop the recall from moving forward, Kennedy said in a memo released Friday. "The highly polarized political atmosphere which has engendered the current recall initiatives has also generated a constant buzz …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Racine County DA files nine felony counts against 59-year-old Racine man after he is accused of forging signatures on a petition to recall state Sen. Van Wanggaard.
A man accused of falsely writing in signatures on a petition to recall state Sen. Van Wanggaard — including one from a deceased person — faces nine felony charges. Mark Demet, 59, of Racine, has been charged by the Racine County District Attorney's Office with two felony counts of election fraud/nomination certification and seven felony counts of misappropriating identifying information for financial gain. If convicted on all charges, Demet faces up to 42 years in prison and fines up to $90,000. According to the criminal complaint, Demet admitted that he circulated the petition and signed the names of seven people on the petition. Investigators spoke to six of the people whose names appeared on the list to verify that they had not signed …
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Organized by the Racine TEA Party, a couple hundred people held up signs asking for drivers by to honk in support of the Governor and State Sen. Wanggaard.
Nancy Milholland, a coordinator for the Racine TEA Party, said her group organized a Feb. 19 rally for Governor Scott Walker and State Sen. Wanggaard because it was time. "The recall supporters were out here all the time over the holidays trying to drum up support for petitions," she said. "Now it's our turn." Through email and Facebook, the TEA Party asked supporters to come out to the corner of Highways 31 and 20 in Mount Pleasant from 1:30 to 2:30 pm on Sun., Feb. 19, 2012. About 200 supporters, many of them from counties outside Racine, held signs touting their support for Walker and Wanggaard. Scott Kaskin from Genoa City in Kenosha County said he was never involved in politics, but it was time to walk the talk. "I got tired of …
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Government Accountability Board staff, Judge David Deininger, and the Board chairperson decided to release the petitions under Wisconsin law and a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Doe V. Reed.
Update Jan. 31, 2012: Digital copies of the signed petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker have been posted online. The Government Accountability Board announced its decision Tuesday, after earlier saying it may not publish them, due to concerns raised by people who signed the petitions. Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel for the GAB, said all 153,335 pages of PDF copies of the petition will be posted online, but they won't be in a searchable database. GAB staff, Judge David Deininger, and the Board chairperson decided to release the petitions under Wisconsin law and a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Doe V. Reed after a number of people had raised safety concerns. The decision focused on releasing referendum petitions in Washington …
Friday, July 29, 2011
Critics say the national government-business organization has too much say in state politics here and elsewhere.
A little-known think tank called the American Legislative Exchange Council is getting some national attention for its involvement in Wisconsin politics. The conservative-backed organization is gaining attention for authoring legislation pushed through state Legislatures around the country, including here in Wisconsin. Rep. Robin Vos, a Republican who represents Caledonia, is an active member, and Gov. Scott Walker is a former member of the group. After conservatives recent successes in Wisconsin, liberals are working to raise ALEC's profile and make it an issue come election time. John Nichols, associate editor of The Capital Times and contributor to The Nation and In These Times, wrote "ALEC Exposed" for The Nation. The article was …
Tom Barrett
1:23 am on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2012/apr/22/tdmain01-va-investigates-voter-fraud-ar-1859666/ more ›