Tea Party groups conducting their own review of recall petitions hope to have a searchable database online soon.
Ross Brown of We the People of the Republic, part of the Verify the Recall coalition, says the database is another tool to let the public get involved in the process of checking petitions for fraudulent or invalid signatures. Once it’s online, he says people will be able to search by name, address, and a number of other terms to see if their name or the names of people they know appear on the petitions.
Brown says the intent is to give people a chance to make sure a name was not added to a petition against a person’s wishes. He says anyone who believes that is the case will have a chance to complete an affidavit, which will then be sent to state election officials.
The database, which Brown says they hope to have up by the end of next week, will include signatures on petitions targeting Governor Scott Walker and the four GOP state senators. It will not include petitions to recall Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.
Before they make the database available to the public, the group is allowing individuals with a confidential voter status to request their name and address not be listed online. Brown says they have reached out to domestic violence and privacy groups, many of which raised concerns when copies of the petitions were posted online earlier this year.
Individuals who wish to have their information redacted should write to: Verify the Recall, care of We the People of the Republic, PO Box 46573 Madison, WI 53744. They will need to include documentation confirming their confidential voter status. Any requests must by in by March 7th.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:10)
