Posted on 08/28/2011 1:30:46 PM PDT by Jean S
Would governor recall be a package deal?
Accountability board researching whether a Walker ticket would include Kleefisch
Madison - In a possible recall election, are Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch a package deal or separate tickets?
It's an unprecedented question for an unprecedented period in Wisconsin politics, and so far there's no official answer.
The Government Accountability Board, which runs state elections, won't yet weigh in, saying that it's still researching the issue.
"It's the unanswered question that somebody needs to provide some guidance on," said Mike Wittenwyler, a Madison election and campaign finance attorney. "To me, it's an issue that deserves serious study before this begins."
So far, any talk of a recall of Walker or Kleefisch by Democrats and unions is just that - neither official is even eligible for recall until early November, one year after they were elected to office. To do it, recall organizers would need to gather a whopping 540,208 signatures across the state within 60 days and then back a pair of candidates in a costly statewide election.
But the group United Wisconsin, which is identifying potential recall petition signers, says its mission is to "recall Scott Walker & Rebecca Kleefisch." And the issue would be important even at the beginning of a recall effort for questions as simple as whether organizers would have to circulate one petition or two while gathering signatures.
Kleefisch and the treasurer for United Wisconsin, Mike Brown, didn't respond to requests for comment.
United Wisconsin says it's seeking to recall Walker for his legislation repealing most union bargaining for public workers and for budget policies such as passing tax cuts for business while making spending cuts in areas such as public schools. Walker says he was seeking to boost the state's economy and close a more than $3 billion budget shortfall over two years.
So far, United Wisconsin says more than 190,000 people have signed its pledge supporting the recall. But that number can't be independently verified since the group is keeping the names confidential.
The nine state senators who recently faced recall elections over their stances on union legislation were all elected - and recalled - separately in different districts. But in Wisconsin, governors and lieutenant governors such as Walker and Kleefisch are elected on a single ticket just as presidents and vice presidents are at the federal level.
So far, no state official is weighing in on whether that means Walker and Kleefisch might also be recalled jointly. In Wisconsin, no statewide official has ever been successfully recalled, putting the question into uncharted territory.
"The answer is we do not have an answer yet. It's something we are researching," said Reid Magney, a spokesman for the accountability board, adding that the agency is seeking to get an answer before either official is eligible for recall.
State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is declining to comment on the issue, said Dana Brueck, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice.
State law and the Wisconsin Constitution make somewhat contradictory statements about recalls and about governors and lieutenant governors.
The state constitution, for instance, says that voters "may petition for the recall of any incumbent elective officer." A related state law says that "a petition requesting the recall of each elected officer shall be prepared and filed separately."
But under the section in the state constitution on the governor and lieutenant governor, it says that they must be elected together.
"They shall be chosen jointly, by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both offices," the constitution reads.
Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York, said there have been only two successful recalls of governors in the nation's history - one decades ago in North Dakota and the other in California in 2003 of then-Gov. Gray Davis by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Spivak, who also writes the Recall Elections Blog, said he wasn't sure what happened in North Dakota. But he noted that in California governors and lieutenant governors are elected separately and that Davis was recalled separately. Spivak said he found the idea that Walker and Kleefisch could possibly be recalled by a single petition "kind of strange."
"I'm wondering why someone would assume that's the case, as a default," said Spivak, adding he expected they would need to be recalled separately.
Wittenwyler noted that there are two issues to be decided: First, whether Democrats and unions would need to circulate separate petitions to recall Walker and Kleefisch. Second, if the petition drive were successful, whether the two politicians would have separate recall votes against separate opponents or whether the pair would face recall the same way they were originally elected - on a joint ticket.
Katie McCallum, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said the GOP welcomes a debate about the efforts being made by Republicans to improve the state's economy vs. the actions taken by Democrats during the two previous years in which they controlled state government.
"Voters went to the polls in November and again in this summer's recall elections and sent the message that they trust Republicans to get the state's financial house in order," McCallum said. "The message isn't changing."
Neither state political party would directly address the question of what should happen with a joint ticket in the event of a recall attempt against Walker and Kleefisch. McCallum declined to comment on that question and a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party provided no comment.
I’m not a fan of recall elections. I’m glad we don’t have them in Texas.
Communist are just poor sports!
Why not just have annual elections? That way no politicians seeking to stay in office will take on the unions or the media. If this succeeds in Wisconsin, count on other Republican politicians to be even more timid when challenging the left than most of them usually are already.
Expensive for WI.
You're right about CA. We the People recalled Gray Davis over giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Arnold chose to run for governor in the special election following the recall.
IANAL, but technically it looks a lot like the Gov. and Lt. Gov. would have to be attacked separately for any proposed recall.
I AM DEMOCRAT. YOU DARE NOT OPPOSE ME. STAND NOT AGAINST ME. WEEP NOT FOR YOUR LOST FREEDOM.
FOR I AM DEMOCRAT, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE. OBEY ME. ME. MEEEEEE!
How are they collecting signatures legally before it is legal to recall? Oh, wait, these are Dims and the rules do not apply.
It sounds as though the union, commie brownshirts are wanting to make sure they’ll get their money’s worth. A twofer. Typical commies. Always wanting something for nothing.
However the more telling statistic is that of the votes cast on Aug 9 for the 6 recall Repub elections, the Repubs (and by default Walker), outscored the RATs, the unions, the socialists, by 53-47%, which was Walker's same winning margin in Nov 2, 2010 election.
In essence, the RATs & unions got their asses plastered and handed back to them on a platter. They are perpetually sore losers and there is no doubt they will make an attempt to recall Walker & his Lt Governor. Even if they do gather enough signatures, I believe that the vast majority of Wisc voters are sick & tired of the RATs bitching & complaining all the time, and I would predict that Walker would win with an even greater margin than 53-47%, including his Lt governor.
I am so sick of this and wonder when somebody is going to crack down on these fools. Scott Walker has done nothing but good for this state. But that won’t save him, necessarily. The unionistas have whipped themselves into a frenzy and they won’t stop.
Last Thursday 13 were arrested because they refused to leave the Capital at closing. One was standing on the railing of the Capital Rotunda. Who would be responsible had he slipped and fallen? Those who were arrested were all under 20. One girl bragged that she had been arrested 5 times already. Their beef? Public sector union members were going to have to pay a small prtion of their retirement and health insurance costs starting that day.
Now, many of those arrested do you suppose actually WORK in the public sector?
Then, on Friday, vandals squirted super glue into the locks of a private, Catholic, school just because Gov. Walker was scheduled to speak to the students there on Friday. One of the protagonists — a man in his mid thirties — said that they were there because “school hasn’t started yet, and we have the time.”
Br. Bob, principal of Messmer Academy, was not pleased and scolded the protestors saying, “This is about something that does not concern these children,, and they shouldn’t be exposed to it.” (paraphrasing)
Moonbats on Parade. Let them spend every last dime they have.
It would seem your judicial system is soft.
They collected "advisory" signatures when they collected the other recall signatures and they've saved them. I certainly hope that the GAB requires a different wording of the petition so that none of the Dems try to slip an old petition in to pad the number of signatures. After all, there will be snow on the ground in November and December when the new signatures will be due. My question is: if Walker is re-called, how come Rebecca isn't Governor? I would hate forr that to happen, but it would serve the Rats right.
It appears so. Part of the problem is that in the areas these creeps demonstrate, the police and DAs are all Rats too. In Madison they still haven’t charged the teacher who threatened the lives of the GOP Senators and the Governor, as well as their families. And it was a specific and detailed threat. The case seems to have fallen down a black hole.
The Lt. Governor campaigned separately and was elected separately. It’s really not that difficult.
Might as well speculate whether Obama will be impeached due to a Walker recall if we’re engaging in nonsensical considerations.
WI just spent a pile of $$$ on recalls that were a bust. When are the citizens going to start busting the chops of the union goons behind this crap?
That's true if you meant by "following the recall," "further down the same ballot." IIRC, Bustamonte was running on the slogan "No, Bustamonte" meaning "vote NO on the recall, but for Bustamonte just in case." The recall WAS the special election.
This is bogus discussion.
They are elected separately. They can only be recalled separately.
The peeps from Memphis tried to pull the same shenanigans in Nashville and were promptly arrested. The holding cells in Davidson County have bugs as big as your hand. LOL!
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