A Madison-based group has garnered enough votes to include an anti-war referendum on the city's state election ballots next April.
Judy Miner of the Bring Our Troops Home Referendum Coalition, the group that gathered the signatures, said, however, the referendum is a non-binding message.
"Wisconsin's voice in the matter will not force the federal government to necessarily bring back the troops," Miner said. "But I think we can send a real message to the government with a 'yes' vote on the referendum."
The referendum, which reads, "Should the United States bring all military personnel home from Iraq now?" has nearly 18,000 signatures thus far, she added, almost 5,000 more than the necessary 12,884 signatures.
Miner said Madison's response has been enormous.
"We can't even believe the kind of support we have gathered," Miner said. "And this is not just a handful of people who are working hard to gather signatures. We have several groups, including students, labor unions, church groups, peace groups and political organizations, helping us."
Ald. Austin King, District 8, who supports the referendum, said the large response from Madison citizens is not surprising.
"There is a real anti-war sentiment across the country, and in Madison it's very strong," King said. "I wasn't surprised at all to see so that many citizens have joined the efforts to stop this idiotic war."
According to Miner, the effort spans the state and seven other cities have already gathered the necessary votes to include the referendum on their ballots. In all, 27 cities and towns that the group knows of are attempting to collect the signatures, she added.
Because of the nationwide push, King said Madison's push for the referendum is encouraging.
"This is happening in most major cities and a lot of smaller towns," King said. "This hits close to home for a lot of people in the state. I think it's cool that we're going to see the referendum on the ballot in April, and I expect it to carry the day."
Madison groups have until Nov. 11 to gather signatures in cooperation with a 60-day time frame to garner support. In all cities and towns, the group must gather 15 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
Despite the 60-day time allowance, Miner said anti-war groups must work quickly at this point.
"In order for the referendum to appear on the April ballot, everyone must have completed their efforts by Dec. 27," Miner said.
The referendum can appear on a city's ballot in April one of two ways. For cities unable to gather the necessary number of signatures, the option is for the city council to approve the referendum before Dec. 27.
Either way, Miner said the next step for the group, after getting the referendum, is educating the city.
"We need to inform the public what the referendum actually means," Miner said. "You will see a lot of energy in the winter and next spring to try to get a really strong push and a vast number of citizens to vote 'yes' for the referendum."
