Wisconsin Recalls

Wis Dems Say They're Already Halfway There On Walker Recall Signatures

Eric Kleefeld | November 28, 2011, 8:46PM

Protesters inside the Wisconsin State Capitol on March 10, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Democrats have made a huge announcement in their effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker. They say that in the first 12 days of the petition effort, up through this past Saturday night, they now claim to have collected over 300,000 signatures -- more than halfway to the goal that they have 60 days total to meet.

In order to trigger a recall against Walker, the Dems must meet a high bar: Signatures of at least 25 percent of the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election must be collected in a 60-day window. That means the Dems must get over 540,000 signatures -- over 9,000 per day, statewide -- plus some significant buffer that campaigns routinely collect in order to protect against signatures being disqualified over one imperfection or another.

But even against that lofty requirement, the Dems are claiming that in the 12 days since the recall launched, they have collected over 1,000 signatures per hour. Put another way, when measured against just the 9,000-per-day requirement, they claim to have taken only 12 days to reach where they had to be at about Day 33.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Wis Dems Shopping For Recall-Walker Signatures On Black Friday

Eric Kleefeld | November 25, 2011, 2:03PM

Black Friday is a big day for the American economy, with businesses starting off the holiday shopping season with big deals. And in Wisconsin, another bargain is on offer: Signing petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker!

On Wednesday, the state Democratic Party announced that volunteers would be collecting signatures near shopping centers during Black Friday, in their effort to recall Walker.

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Wisconsin Recalls

New Walker Ad: 'I'm Not Big On Recalls'

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2011, 4:40PM

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is out with his second TV ad against the effort by state Democrats to recall him, featuring a teacher seeking to persuade the state's voters to stick with Walker and not sign recall petitions.

This follows Walker's first ad, which was released last week just as the Dems were officially kicking off the petition campaign. The key for Walker in these ads is that there is no such thing as a petition to not hold a recall election.

Thus, there is no base of his own supporters to get out at this stage -- instead, he must seek to persuade people in the middle who are unhappy with him, to not sign up for a recall.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Dems Claim Over 100,000 Signatures For Walker Recall

Eric Kleefeld | November 21, 2011, 11:03AM

Wisconsin Democrats, after last week's official launch of the campaign to recall Gov. Scott Walker, made a major show of strength over the weekend.

United Wisconsin, the group managing the recall, announced on Saturday that during the first four days of the effort -- from Tuesday through Friday -- they had brought in 105,000 signatures, nearly a fifth of the threshold they must legally meet: 540,208 signatures in a 60-day window.

There are, of course, two important caveats: First, after months of build-up to the recall campaign, it is natural that there would be an initial rush to sign in the first few days. Second, the Dems will have to gather even more than 540,208 signatures in real terms -- for a buffer that campaigns routinely collect in order to protect against signatures being disqualified over one imperfection or another.

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Wisconsin Recalls

'Uncharted Territory': How Long Could The Walker Recall Campaign Take?

Eric Kleefeld | November 18, 2011, 9:30AM

With the Wisconsin Democrats having officially kicked off their recall campaign against Republican Gov. Scott Walker, the state is set for the political battle to come next year. So the question is: How long will it take?

Late Thursday night, the recall group United Wisconsin announced that they have already collected over 50,000 signatures, in the two days since the launch on Tuesday: "Over 50,000 Wisconsin residents signing recall petitions in the first 48 hours is a clear sign that Wisconsin is not going to stand for Walker's lies and destruction of our state."

Of course, after months of build-up to the recall, we should expect an initial rush of signatures in the first few days. As such, the situation needs to be continually observed, to see whether the Dems can make the goal.

And then, if the Dems do make the threshold, there's no clear timetable for how long an election might take. In separate interviews with TPM, both the state Democratic Party spokesman Graeme Zielinski and state Government Accountability Board (which oversees elections in the state) spokesman Reid Magney used the same phrase to describe the situation: "Uncharted territory."

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Wisconsin Recalls

Walker Blames 'Big-Government Unions,' Says Recall Campaign Isn't 'Organic Movement'

Eric Kleefeld | November 16, 2011, 2:18PM

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI)

Gov. Scott Walker did a radio interview Wednesday morning on NPR's Tell Me More, responding to the recall drive that was officially launched Tuesday as a backlash against his anti-public employee union laws.

During the interview, Walker stood by his policies as an important set of fiscal reforms and changes in government flexibility for the state. Later on, host Michele Martin asked Walker what the appropriate role should be in the recall campaign for interest groups outside Wisconsin, both those who favor and oppose him.

Walker began by demurring on the matter of the appropriate role for outside groups, correctly pointing out that it will happen no matter what. And then he ripped into the unions, accusing them of artificially kicking up the recall campaign from out of state.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Recall Papers Officially Filed Against Scott Walker

Eric Kleefeld | November 15, 2011, 2:32PM

The Wisconsin recall drive (Part II), targeting Gov. Scott Walker and other Republican officials, is now in full swing.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the Dems kicked off the recall drive at midnight, as they had scheduled earlier, with a celebration of sorts:

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin hosted a petition pickup party Monday night, and more than 40 recall supporters wore party hats and blew kazoos as they counted down the final seconds before 12:01 a.m.

The first completed petition was then turned in at the Dem office, at 12:42 a.m. CT, and the recall committee itself was formally filed this morning:

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Wisconsin Recalls

Can Anti-Recall Ads During Packers Game Save Scott Walker?

Eric Kleefeld | November 14, 2011, 6:23PM

Wisconsin Dems are kicking off their efforts to recall Gov. Scott Walker, starting at midnight -- but even before that, Walker is set to run a TV ad defending his record, and urging against a recall.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Walker campaign has purchased more than $300,000 of air time between Monday and Sunday, according to sources, in the Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison and Wausau media markets.

Tonight's ad will run during tonight's football game, between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Wis Dems And Unions To Kick Off Walker Recall Effort At Midnight

Eric Kleefeld | November 14, 2011, 4:38PM

The Democratic effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in a backlash against his anti-public employee union legislation and the state budget, isn't just set to begin tomorrow -- the kickoff will now happen right after midnight!

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

"We are going to be filing online (with the state) just after midnight that will allow us to start collecting the signatures," Meagan Mahaffey, executive director of United Wisconsin, said. "There are some midnight collection events around the state. People are ready to go and want to start as soon as possible. There's a lot of excitement about it."

United Wisconsin, which is helping lead the recall efforts against Walker, will also make a paper filing with elections officials at the state Government Accountability Board in Madison Tuesday morning, Mahaffey said.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Wisconsin Dems Kicking Off Walker Recall Effort Tuesday

Eric Kleefeld | November 14, 2011, 10:42AM

Wisconsin Protests

This is a big week in Wisconsin -- with the state Democrats officially kicking off their effort to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Under the Dems' official game-plan, the effort to recall Walker will begin on Tuesday, November 15. For the last few weeks, the Dems have been holding a series of training events and kickoff rallies, with even more happening today and tomorrow. They will need all that effort and preparation they can muster.

In order to trigger a recall, the Dems must meet a strong threshold: Signatures of at least 25 percent of the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election must be collected in a 60-day window. That means the Dems must get over 540,000 signatures -- over 9,000 per day, statewide -- plus some significant buffer that campaigns routinely collect in order to protect against signatures being disqualified over one imperfection or another.

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