After receiving recall petitions for eight state senators, the Government Accountability Board will have more time to review the petitions after a Dane County Circuit Court judge struck down a ruling Friday. 

A Dane County Circuit Court judge Friday granted the Government Accountability Board more time to review recall petitions after the board requested an extension because of the large number of petitions received.

Nine total petitions have been filed, but the court order would not affect the most recent petition handed in last Thursday.

The extension gives the GAB until the end of this month to validate signatures and determine which petitions trigger a recall election, according to a statement from spokesperson Reid Magney. The extension would also allow the GAB to better coordinate the election times, scheduling most or all of the elections to be held on the same day.

“Our goal was to have enough time to give the petitions careful examination for the people who signed them and for officeholders to know that we have carefully considered their challenges,” GAB Executive Director Kevin Kennedy said in an affidavit filed with the court last week.

He added GAB does not anticipate recall elections or election recounts, and the volume of signatures would require more time and effort than the original deadline would provide.

Republican leadership supported the extension and said they believe it is an appropriate measure to protect fairness and trust in the state’s election process, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in a statement.

“Nobody benefits when confusion and misinformation stands in the way of an orderly, fair election,” Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Given the politically charged Supreme Court election statewide-recount efforts and the unprecedented nature of the recall elections, Fitzgerald said the verdict was a “fair compromise” that puts the focus of the recall elections in its proper place – the future of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Democrats, however, are outraged. 

In this situation, the additional review time gives out-of-state special interest groups more time to “protect their investments,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said.

“The delay benefits [Senators] Hopper and Kapanke who are benefiting from out-of-state corporate cash,” Zielinski said.

Aside from money, many of the recall campaigns targeting Wisconsin Democrats are being run by an organization in Utah.

The DPW also expressed concern that delaying recall elections would allow Republicans in the Senate and Assembly to force bills suiting their agenda, like the Voter ID bill.

“Walker is about power; the Voter ID law is about power. If that was fast-tracked it would underline a lack of ethics,” Zielinksi said.

The GAB’s plan is to schedule recall elections on July 12 for any of the eight petitions that meet the state statute requirements to force a recall.

Recall petitions have been filed against five Republican legislators and three Democratic legislators.

Friday’s ruling does not impact a ninth petition filed on Thursday against Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay. It also does not impact any future petitions. 

Any petitions handed in after the ruling Friday will be handled through the normal process, the GAB said in a statement.