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Defending GAB

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Just four years after its creation, Republican Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) is now discussing the possibility of disbanding the Government Accountability Board and returning to a system with separate elections and ethics boards. Common Cause in Wisconsin executive director Jay Heck says it’s a “terrible idea” that would return the state to a highly partisan system that did not work in the first place.

Heck says Republicans are simply upset that they are unable to control the GAB, which was established to be an independent body free of political concerns. He says the old elections and ethics boards in the state were filled with partisan appointees and often failed to go after wrongdoing by lawmakers until well after the damage was done, such as the caucus scandal nearly a decade ago that brought down several elected officials.

Heck says the proposal from the Speaker comes after several months of Republican lawmakers criticizing the GAB for decisions related to recalls and the new voter ID law. He says it’s a combination of “sour grapes” and the fact that legislators “can’t stand having an agency of state government that doesn’t kotow to them.”

Heck says the GAB is working exactly like it’s supposed to and serves as a “strong independent voice in state government to be able to make decisions not based on partisan considerations.”

If anything, Heck says, the agency should be given more resources to handle the tremendous influx of issues it has had to handle this year. Those include multiple recall elections, implementation of the voter ID law, and a statewide Supreme Court recount earlier this year.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:08)

GAB clarifies online recall petition policy

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Groups hoping to recall Governor Scott Walker from office will be able to seek out petition signatures online. However, action by the Government Accountability Board on Wednesday is meant to make it clear that they will not allow groups to just print out petitions using databases.

GAB director Kevin Kennedy says the policy allows recall petitions to be printed out and signed by a single person, but only the person signing the petition can add in information like the name and address.

The clarification comes after Republican lawmakers raised concerns about mass mailings of recall petitions that could be generated by using voter databases. Kennedy admits is a tough issue to address, but people who suspect that has taken place will be able to file a complaint with the elections agency.

The issue was brought to the GAB by at least two people working on online petition forms for an upcoming recall attempt targeting the governor. Mark Balwinski of Racine has been working with United Wisconsin to design online forms. He says the policy will make it easier for disabled voters to fill out petitions from home and will also move along their efforts during the 60 days recall organizers will have to collect signatures. The recall effort against Walker is expected to launch on November 15th.

The GAB policy does not allow voters to fill out and submit recall petitions online. They will still need to be printed out, filled in, and then mailed to the recall campaign.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:24)

Taking recall campaigns online

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The state Government Accountability Board has signed-off on a policy that allows single-signature petition forms to be submitted as part of recall campaigns. Under the change, petitions generated online could be printed out by an individual and mailed to the campaign, reducing the need for volunteers to go door-to-door to collect signatures. [Read more…]

GAB asking for recall clarification

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The state Constitution says the governor and lieutenant governor are elected together. However, Government Accountability Board spokesman Reid Magney says it’s unclear whether both offices could be recalled under a single petition or if each needs to be targeted on its own.

Magney says the GAB is hoping the Attorney General can provide some clarity on the issue and the Board is expected to request a formal opinion on the subject at its meeting next week. [Read more…]

Setting the record straight on recalls

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As recall elections against eight state Senators approach, the Government Accountability Board is trying to address a large number of campaign mailers that have gone out with wrong information on them. GAB spokesman Reid Magney says the agency has received several complaints about campaign literature that lists the wrong dates for recall elections and absentee ballot applications from outside groups that have the wrong return address information on them. [Read more…]

Judge rejects Nygren ballot request

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A state lawmaker has lost a bid to have his name added to the ballot in the 30th Senate District recall election. As a result, state Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) will face just a single challenger later this month.

The decision Friday in Dane County Court comes out of a challenge by state Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) who had his nominating petition to run in the recall race rejected earlier this month by the Government Accountability Board. Nygren filed a petition with 465 signatures on it, but challenges to dozens of those left him with just 398 valid signatures. State law requires 400 to get on the ballot. [Read more…]

GAB staff urges dismissal of most recall petition challenges

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Staff with the Government Accountability Board reviewed hundreds of challenges to signatures on recall petitions filed against state Senators Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac), and Luther Olsen (R-Ripon).

Now, GAB counsel is recommending the board reject most of those, including claims that the petitioners behind the recall efforts failed to properly register with the state. [Read more…]

GAB weighs options on ballot fix

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The state Government Accountability Board is working on solutions for how to comply with federal laws on mailing ballots to overseas voters. The federal government last week denied Wisconsin’s request for a waiver on when ballots for the November election need to sent out, citing concerns that they may not reach voters in time. [Read more…]

GAB knocks four candidates off the ballot

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The Government Accountability Board has decided four candidates will not be able to appear on the ballot for the September Primary or the General Election in November.

The Board ruled that Republican Andrew Wisniewski in the 25th Assembly District, Republican Paris Procopis in the 13th Assembly District, and Independent William Tucker in the First Congressional District did not submit enough valid signatures on their nominating papers. [Read more…]

GAB addresses troubled database

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The head of the Government Accountability Board says the agency may have acted too quickly in rolling out a new electronic system for filing campaign finance reports.

Since the Campaign Finance Information System went online in January, it has been the target of frequent criticism for problems such as limited accessibility and missing data. There have also been complaints about long delays in filing reports, with state Representative Gary Sherman (D-Port Wing) says it took his treasurer 12 hours to send the information through.

State Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine) says time clearly wasn’t taken to fix the bugs before the system was put in place and all candidates were required to use it.

Lawmakers held a Capitol hearing Tuesday, where they outlined concerns about the continued use of the database. GAB Executive Director Kevin Kennedy says they are constantly working to fix problems, and are already taking steps to address specific concerns raised during the hearing.

Still, Kennedy says they probably could have avoided some problems by delaying implementation. He says they felt a great deal of pressure to get the system out as quickly as possible.

The system was intended to give the public more access to campaign finance reports and make filing easier for candidates. However, critics say it’s doing just the opposite right now, in its current form.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 1:06)