Recall organizers have turned in their petitions and now the long process of reviewing those signatures begins.

Shortly after they were dropped off Tuesday with the Government Accountability Board, the petitions were moved to a secure state facility. The agency is not disclosing the location for now, but insists the over 1.9 million signatures are being kept under tight security.

The agency has set up a webcam so members of the public can watch the review process.

GAB executive director Kevin Kennedy says the first step will be to scan the thousands of pages using software recently purchased by the agency. The move is intended to help staff build a database of signatures that can be used to identify duplicate or fictitious names.

The process is expected to take at least a few days, after which scans of the petitions will be given over to the campaigns of those targeted by recalls and posted online for public review. Kennedy could not provide an estimate of when a full searchable database would be publicly available.

Typically, the agency would have 30 days to review the petitions. Kennedy says they will be asking a judge for more time. However, he says they do not know right now just how much extra time will be needed because there are so many variables to consider. Those include possible signature challenges from campaigns and other legal issues that could be raised.

Volunteers deliver boxes of recall petitions to the GAB. (PHOTO: Jackie Johnson)

After the review is complete and if the GAB determines enough valid signatures were turned in, then it will call for recall elections. If all petitions are certified, Kennedy says they want to have primary and general elections for the governor, lt. governor, and four Republican state senators all held on the same dates. However, when those elections would take place remains very unclear at this time.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (:58)

Organizers of an effort to recall Governor Scott Walker say they have collected more than enough signatures to make it happen. On Tuesday afternoon, over one million recall petition signatures were delivered to the Government Accountability Board. Only 540,208 valid signatures are needed to trigger a recall election.

Also submitted Tuesday were more than 845,000 petition signatures to recall Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and what organizers say is more than enough signatures to recall Republican state Senators Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls), Pam Galloway (R-Wausau), and Van Wanggaard (R-Racine).

Julie Wells of Fort Atkinson, who filed the Walker recall in November, helped deliver the first box. Standing on the back of the moving truck carrying the petitions, Wells said the recall effort shows how “the people of Wisconsin came together to fight back” after “Governor Walker lied to the state.”

In a statement from his campaign, Governor Walker said he looks “forward to talking to the people of Wisconsin about my continued promises to control government spending, balance the budget, and hold the line on taxes. In my first year in office, we did just that by eliminating a $3.6 billion budget deficit without raising taxes; all while the state added thousands of new jobs. Instead of going back to the days of billion dollar budget deficits, double digit tax increases and record job loss, I expect Wisconsin voters will stand with me and keep moving Wisconsin forward.”

Walker opponent carries petitions to the GAB office. (PHOTO: Jackie Johnson)

The submitted petitions will now be reviewed by the GAB, which will have to scan each page and verify the validity of signatures. Agency officials expect the process to take more than two months, putting the actual date of a recall election likely into the summer.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:03)