The first Wisconsin Senate recall petition is being filed today. Democrats in the LaCrosse area say they have plenty of signatures to force a recall against Republican State Senator Dan Kapanke.
Organizers and supporters of the recall gathered in LaCrosse for a noon rally before hitting the road to Madison to file the signatures with the Government Accountability Board. The GAB will have a month to determine if 15,588 valid signatures are present. If so the election will be scheduled.
One recall volunteer tells WRN that gathering signatures was “empowering.” Richelle Zimmerman says, “people that didn’t agree with it were polite and said ‘no thank you’ but other people were like ‘we’ve been waiting for you to come to our neighborhood.”
Eight Senate Republicans are targeted for recall for their support of the budget repair bill and its restrictions on collective bargaining for public workers. There is also a push to recall eight Democrats in the chamber for leaving the state to delay a vote on the controversial measure.
Petition deadlines for the other recall efforts are in late April and early May.