The state Government Accountability Board plans to ask for more time to review recall petitions against Governor Walker. The agency has until March 19th to determine if enough valid signatures were turned in to order an election, but the agency is now saying it will likely request a delay from a judge.
GAB Spokesman Reid Magney says part of the reason for the extension is to give staff more time to review petitions, but there are also concerns about scheduling a primary election. A primary would take place six weeks after an election is called, putting the race in late April. That conflicts with the April 3rd spring election because local clerks have to wait a month to clear out voting data and reprogram machines.
The GAB will meet March 12th to determine how much extra time the agency plans to ask for.
Governor Walker’s campaign this week decided not to challenge any petition signatures, saying they did not have enough time to get through the nearly one million turned in to the GAB in January. The decision came after a judge rejected a request for two more weeks to review the petitions.
Democrats say any delay in an election, which “even the governor has said is inevitable,” is a disservice to the people of Wisconsin. They say it only gives Walker an advantage by allowing him continue to raise unlimited campaign contributions until an election is called.
Also this week, the GAB sent a request to lawmakers, asking them to approve funding to cover the cost of reviewing recall petitions against Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleesfisch and four Republican state senators. The board is asking for $404,500 to help pay for work done up to February 24th.