State election officials publicly released the recall petitions for Gov. Scott Walker online Tuesday night, reversing their original decision to postpone publication amid privacy concerns.

Government Accountability Board spokesperson Reid Magney said the board gave Walker’s campaign electronic copies of the petitions containing an estimated one million signatures Friday, and promised to post them online for the public to see Monday.  

Reid said the board originally decided to hold off on posting the recall petitions after hearing concerns about releasing the addresses of domestic violence victims, along with complaints from individuals who signed the petitions and did not want their names released. 

GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said in a statement the petitions were released under Wisconsin law, a position also publically supported by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. 

“Unlike an elector’s vote, which is private and confidential, the signing of recall petition is a public process,” Kennedy said in the statement. “In addition to providing copies to requestors, the GAB will continue its past practice, and put all 153,335 pages of PDF copies of the petitions online later today.”

Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment spokesperson Jacqueline O’Reilly said the board’s decision was disappointing since releasing the addresses of past assault victims could be dangerous.

“People in general can decide what amount of information they want out,” she said. “But obviously when the victims of stalking and physical assault’s safety is put in jeopardy, that should be given significant weight in the decision. “

O’Reilly questioned whether making the addresses public was necessary and said releasing just the name or picture of the signatures after confirming the addresses could have been an alternative and safer way to release the information.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a statement to ratify the situation, attorneys from the Department of Justice met with GAB staff Tuesday to discuss the matter. 

“I believe the public should have access to the recall petitions,” Hollen said in the statement. “If there are any issues about disclosure, we are ready to work with GAB to resolve those issues so that as much information as possible can be made available as soon as possible.”

Hollen said he did not believe any signatures should be redacted, saying petition signers, including domestic violence victims, should have no expectation of privacy. 

Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said he did not have a problem with the GAB’s original decision to delay electronically posting the petitions because it did not delay the recall process.

“People should be supportive of the GAB’s efforts to take steps to address the concerns raised by victims’ rights groups about their privacy,” Zielinski said.