Wisconsin’s municipal clerks are supporting a delay in any likely recall elections against the governor, lieutenant governor, and four Republican state senators. Election officials have until March 19th to certify recall petitions and order elections. On that time table, primaries would be held on April 24th.
Diane Hermann-Brown of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association says that creates a problem because of how clerks need to store the data from the April 3rd election. Voting machines used in the majority of the state require a specific type of memory card, which needs to be held for a month before it can be erased. The machines are nearly 20-years-old and extra memory devices are not available.
Hermann-Brown says having a second election in April would likely require ballots to be counted by hand. It could also put a major strain on their already tight resources because of the time needed to set up any election.
The GAB plans to ask a judge for a delay in ordering any recall elections, possibly putting a primary in May and the general election in June. The board will meet March 12 to determine how much of an extension it plans to seek.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:06)
Audio courtesy Mike Kemmeter, WHBY