The Government Accountability Board says it will cost more than $652,000 for extra staff, equipment and a workspace to handle the anticipated recall petition review. That is assuming petitions get filed, targeting the governor, lieutenant governor and six state senators.
If the petitions are filed by the January deadline the board has 31 days to complete the review process but GAB officials say they will likely need 60 days. GAB spokesman Reid Magney said they will go to court to ask for more time, like the extensions that occurred during the state Senate recalls last summer.
The GAB provided the cost estimate Thursday to the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee in anticipation of a later request for supplemental funding.
On Saturday Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Stephan Thompson issued a statement saying, “The bill Wisconsin families will receive for the Democrats’ baseless recall effort is without precedent.”
That same day organizers targeting Governor Walker announced they have gathered 100,000 of the approximately 540,000 signatures needed to force a recall election.
