On Thursday, state election officials retracted changes which could have circulated recall petitions for the possible upcoming recall efforts more efficiently, including the effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
At a meeting Thursday, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules oversaw several of the Government Accountability Board’s retracted plans to recall election operations, including the distribution of online petitions.
At the meeting, Kevin Kennedy, head of the GAB, said the rule changes previously sought would allow an individual to open a “petition for recall” online with both their name and address on the form, increasing the speed of the petition’s circulation. This petition would also be considered valid even if this individual was the only one to sign the petition, he said.
Kennedy said this proposition would have allowed for a faster process because groups would not have to gather the signatures face-to-face and the petition signers would not have to fill in their addresses.
Republican members of the committee were skeptical of a the rules change by the independent GAB regarding the online circulation of petitions for recall elections in the state.
Committee Co-Chair Rep. Jim Ott, R-Mequon, said the committee would postpone action on the recall petition rules change because the language of the change was too broad and would contrast with the intent of current policy.
“Basically, an agency can come up with any form that would be completely counter to existing law, and we would have to say we can’t touch it because it is a form,” Ott said. “This particular law would result in a change in policy.”
Teghan DeLane, spokesperson for Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said Republicans wanted to compel the GAB into an emergency rule codification process, which would stop them from continuing with recommendations they disagree with.
“By forcing the GAB into the emergency rule process, the GOP would subject the GAB recommendations to the governor’s approval. This means … Walker would have the power to adopt or reject rules that may have a considerable impact on his political future,” DeLane said.
In a statement, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said Republicans members of the JCRAR pressured the GAB not to promote the recall petition changes.
He said this pressured decision will directly impact the potential recall effort against Walker which could gain traction later this year.
In regards to the Voter ID Law, the GAB will recommend the stickers that will be affixed to ID cards only contain a student’s signature and expiration date, and will only be legal if the expiration date is within two years of being issued. In a statement, Kennedy said most colleges and universities intend to issue student cards for the purpose of voting.
During the meeting, Taylor said she did not understand why the GAB had not discussed their decision not to include the IDs of technical college students among the list of passable identifications to receive a voting ballot.
Kennedy said the decision was talked about internally among the GAB but not brought to the JCRAR for debate because the committee only required the GAB to make administrative rules for Voter ID and left no implication they were to review these rules in front of the committee.
Kennedy said the GAB had been recommended to prohibit technical college IDs as proof of state residence but instead require proof of enrollment during the semester in which the election is held. Nevertheless, JCRAR did not agree with the GAB recommendation to allow university or college-issued stickers to be fastened to IDs.
Due to an editing error, in the original article, the headline said the Voter ID stickers were approved when in actuality there was no vote on the finality of the stickers. The headline has been changed to reflect this change. We regret the error.
