The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has filed complaints alleging that thousands of people were tricked into signing petitions, and asking the Government Accountability Board to throw out signatures for recall elections against Democratic Senators Jim Holperin, Dave Hansen, and Bob Wirch. Party attorney Jeremy Levinson said he had 200 written statements from people who were told the petitions were in support of the Democrats or to recall Governor Scott Walker, and that tribal members on Wisconsin reservations were told that the petitions were for tribal rights. Party spokesman Phil Walzak said thousands of signatures may be fraudulent – and that those gathered by petition circulators from outside Wisconsin ought to be thrown out.
The state Republican Party called the Democrats’ challenges an expensive waste of time and suggested that even if individual signatures are thrown out, there will still be sufficient valid signatures to force the recall elections on July 12th as scheduled. Up to 10 senators of both parties are being targeted for their actions involving the bill to limit public employee union bargaining. Meanwhile, the GOP has challenged the petitions against the six Republican senators who face recall. They said the organizers did not properly register with the state. Democrats are countering those claims.