Some candidates for elected office in Wisconsin have run afoul of a new requirement for printed names along with signatures gathered on nominating petitions. The problem – a handful of candidates apparently printed an outdated form off of the Government Accountability Board website, one that didn’t include a space for the printed names.
The GAB’s Reid Magney said the elections agency made the changes to reflect a new requirement enacted by the legislature, which went into effect April 1st. “As soon as possible, we updated the forms on the website,” Magney said. “I know one candidate said that he printed his off in mid-March.” Or about a month before candidates were allowed to begin circulating their petitions. Magney said GAB did due diligence to make sure candidates were aware of the change.
The rejected candidates can appeal. “By Friday they would have to file something in writing with us – technically it’s a complaint. Our staff will review that and the board will get that next Tuesday . . . and they can make a decision.
Magney said he’s aware of two candidates – out of a total of some 350 – who appear to have used the outdated form, but there may be more. A number of others are reporting problems due to those printed names also being illegible.