(The Center Square) – Those trying to oust Wisconsin’s assembly speaker say they are on board with an investigation into possible fraud in their recall effort.
The Recall Vos group said the point of the recall efforts against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is to uphold transparency and faith in our government and are promising to cooperate with any future investigation.
“At the heart of the Recall Vos campaign lies a steadfast commitment to the principles of election integrity and the secure fabric of our Republic. Our efforts to initiate a recall were conducted with utmost respect for legal standards, engaging a broad coalition of community volunteers, professional circulators and numerous citizens who participated via mail,” the recall group said in a statement. “The Recall Vos campaign not only welcomes but supports a thorough investigation into the suspected forgeries.”
Prosecutors in Racine County say they’ve received calls from people who say their names are on the recall list but insist they never signed anything.
“The Racine County District Attorney’s Office has had numerous calls to report theft of identifying information from electors whose names appear on the recall petitions, but did not sign a petition personally,” DA Patricia Hanson said in a statement Wednesday.
She is asking people to review the petitions and to report any suspected incidents of identity theft.
The Recall Vos organizers turned in more than 10,000 signatures to the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Monday. On Wednesday, the recall organizers said they turned over hundreds more signatures that they deemed problematic.
“We are voluntarily presenting over 400 signatures previously withheld over concerns of authenticity, rooted in our belief that some circulators may have violated their sworn affidavits,” the organizers said. “It is our firm stance that any individual found falsifying witness to these signatures should be held accountable to the fullest extent permissible by law.”
The Election Commission said the recall effort was at least 900 signatures short in Vos’ old legislative district. Organizers appear to be thousands of signatures short in Vos’ new legislative district.
