The official recall efforts to remove both Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch will start at midnight tonight.
Organizers have to gather more than 540,000 signatures to force a recall election against Walker. Mahaffey said her group hopes to gather 600,000 to 700,000 signatures to allow a cushion if some signatures are found not to properly count.
It will be necessary to circulate separate petitions for the Governor and Lt. Governor according to a recent ruling by Wisconsin State Attorney General Van Hollen (Republican, of course). While the Governor and Lt. Governor are both elected simultaneously on the same ticket, Van Hollen has thrown another hurdle for recallers to jump over.
A fake recall effort was begun earlier this month by a Republican supporter triggering the unlimited fundraising Walker will be entitled to collect as well as an attempt to derail the official recall by confusing Wisconsin residents about which petition to sign.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal article:
For their part, Democrats have raised concerns that some Republicans may gather signatures for a Walker recall, tell people not to sign other petitions, and then destroy the signatures they gather. Some people who have commented on United Wisconsin's website have said they intend to do just that, though it is impossible to know if they actually intend to follow through on those threats.
Fraudulently defacing or destroying election petitions is a felony, said Reid Magney, a spokesman for the accountability board.
Apparantly, Walker and Kleefisch won't be alone in facing recall.
Recall efforts will also be launched against three Republican senators on Tuesday, said Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the state Democratic Party. Those targeted are Pam Galloway of Wausau, Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls and Van Wanggaard of Racine, Zielinski said.
According to a brief news article, Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) will also have recall petitions circulated starting Tuesday. The group organizing this recall, however, is unclear and doesn't (to me, at least) seem connected with United Wisconsin or the Wisconsin Democratic Party. It is, however, being taken seriously by Fitzgerald:
Fitzgerald tells Newsradio 620 (one of two RW radio stations in Milwaukee) WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News" he will counter the recall by focusing on what he's done for his constituents.
"(We will) make sure that people understand that in December, their property tax bills are going to go down, that certainly many of the reforms Governor Walker put in place are working, and the last thing is, we're going to just work hard. We're going to go out, keep talking to people," said Fitzgerald.
-------- information in italics inserted by me ---------------
Further information on this effort are available here.
For further information, please visit the United Wisconsin website and Scott Walker Watch (which also includes an excellent list of products and companies to boycott (Walker donors).
Anyone wishing to make a donation to aid the recalls may do so via the Wisconsin Democratic Party or United Wisconsin.
I'll post additional information (particularly on the State Senate recalls) as it becomes available.
Thanks, fellow Kossacks, for all of the support you continue to give us.
I can't wait! Snotty Walker's gotta go!
Update: 12:15 PM Central Time: Just updated my title to clarify the 3 State Senate Recalls).
Update #2: Mike Tate (Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party) is being interviewed now on the Ed Schultz radio show. He just stated that he expects $50-70 million dollars to be spent by forces supporting Scott Walker. An insane amount of money. He has also confirmed the recalls of 3 State Senators (Pam Galloway of Wausau, Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls and Van Wanggaard of Racine), but did not mention the recall of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (which makes me wonder even more about the organization planning that).
Update #3: Thankfully, any insider, Kossack BluebirdBadger has posted about the Fitzgerald recall in the comments to this diary.
Anyway, concerning the Scott Fitzgerald recall, it's happening on a very local level as far as I can tell. I was at the Jefferson County Dem. office opening and met the person who will be filing
.
It's a local effort in a heavily Republican District. I wish them success. Thanks for the added information.