The deadline for voters in Wisconsin to turn in signatures collected in their effort to recall Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker is Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The recall organizers, lead by a group called United Wisconsin, reportedly will turn in close to 720,000 signatures collected in their effort to force a recall election for Mr. Walker this year. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board is requiring a total of 540,208 valid signatures to force the recall effort.
The recall effort for Mr. Walker first began last year after he passed a Budget Repair bill that greatly reduced the collective bargaining rights for public employee unions in Wisconsin. Governor Walker had intended for the legislation to help balance the state budget. However at that time, according to the “Recall Scott Walker” Facebook page, many voters in Wisconsin believe the current state fiscal year would end with a surplus.
Mr. Walker was definitely aware of the public outcry regarding the bill too. When he first introduced the legislation, his website released several press releases showing how much money the bill would save the state and individual public employees on union fees.
Ultimately that public outcry spiraled into a huge recall collection effort.
“One of the worst things that’s happened in this state is how divided it’s become over this, even inside some families,” said Marlene Ott a recall collector, in an interview with The New York Times.
United Wisconsin and other groups though likely gathered more than the required amount in light of Mr. Walker’s lawsuit against the Wisconsin GAB last month calling for stricter requirements in validating the signatures.
“Friends of Scott Walker,” Mr. Walker’s Wisconsin state campaign committee and Wisconsin Republican Party Director Stephan Thompson filed a lawsuit and won against the Wisconsin GAB regarding the validation of multiple signatures in December.
The Wisconsin GAB is now waiting to hear from a Wisconsin judge on whether they will get an extension on the allotted time to review the signatures and determine whether a recall election is warranted for Mr. Walker. Wisconsin state law allows 31 days to review petitions and determine whether a recall election is necessary, but last week GAB officials said they would need at least 60 days to review the signatures in the recall effort for Mr. Walker and several other public officials in Wisconsin that will be turned in Tuesday.
Despite the overwhelming support that the recall petitioners are claiming to have, Mr. Walker himself believes he will ultimately keep his job, even if there is a recall election.
“I look at it optimistically and say that means there’s still a majority of voters in the state who opted not to sign a recall petition and hopefully a majority of whom want us to still keep moving the state forward,” said Mr. Walker in an interview with The New York Times.
