UNION GROVE, Wis. — The original effort to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos did not gather enough signatures to trigger an election.
According to a story from the Wisconsin Examiner, the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) voted 5-0 not to certify the petitions from the Recall Vos committee.
“It really boils down to an arithmetic problem,” Commissioner Bob Spindell, a Republican appointee, is quoted as saying. “Commission staff looked at it from every single angle, and no matter which angle they looked at, the petitions were woefully short.”
The WEC is comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans.
Recall Vos signatures fall short
In March, the Recall Vos committee said they had more than 10,000 signatures, far more than the 6,800 signatures needed for the WEC to certify a recall election.
Under the state’s recall laws, petitioners needed to gather a number of signatures from residents of Vos’ district equal to 25% of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor.
The question about which district actually comprises the area Vos represents remains largely unanswered after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined the WEC’s request to specify which legislative maps the commission should use, according to a story from Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).
In the end, WEC staff reviewed the signatures collected in Vos’s old 63rd district and his new 33rd district and only found 4,989 and 3,053 signatures, respectively. They also reviewed signatures from the new 66th district, which includes part of the area represented by Vos’s old seat, and found those numbers lacking as well.
“Not enough valid signatures were submitted from either old AD 63 or new AD 33 for the petition to be valid, and because Representative Vos was neither elected to new AD 66 nor lives within the territory of that district, staff do not believe that this petition could cause a recall election against representative Vos to be held regarding that territory,” wrote WEC attorney Brandon Hunzicker in the decision quoted by WPR.
Why the committee is targeting Vos
The Recall Vos effort is headed by Matt Snorek based in large part on Vos’s refusal to dismantle the WEC and remove administrator Meagan Wolfe from her job, but in an email response to questions posed by Racine County Eye, other issues seemed to take center stage.
“Vos is holding up key legislation that could stop the Chinese Communist Party from buying Wisconsin farmland” the response reads. “Also, he’s blocking Prescription Benefits Management (PBM) reform – a move that hurts veterans and retirees in rural communities and threatens the extinction of local pharmacies.”
Vos disputes the committee’s take on both topics.
“The bill about farmland was introduced but never got out of committee, and I actually support it,” he told Racine County Eye. “It’s opposed by farmers, and because of a federal treaty in place that prohibits certain things, even if the bill were approved, it probably can’t even happen.”
As for PBM reform, Vos said a bill passed the last legislative session and another version passed the assembly this session but died in the senate.
“I’m only one person,” he added. “I can’t force other lawmakers to vote my way.”
Another Recall Vos effort underway amid election fraud investigation
While the WEC was reviewing the original set of signatures, Snorek launched a second, concurrent campaign. The deadline to return the 6,800 signatures needed to trigger a recall election is May 28.
At the same time, Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson is investigating several claims from individuals who say their signatures were forged on petitions.
In response, the committee issued a statement.
“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 statement reads. “Despite rigorous verification processes to identify and eliminate fraudulent entries, it has come to our attention that certain petitions may contain signatures that were unlawfully obtained.”
Racine County Eye spoke to a resident of the 63rd district who said they signed an original petition but won’t sign a second time.
“Why would I sign a second time when this group has already proven they’re liars?” they said. “I have family members who also signed, and their names and signatures were forged on additional pages. It’s ridiculous.”
This person asked that we not use their name.
Vos said he’s heard similar sentiments from residents who have been approached multiple times at their homes and in the community while they’re out and about.
“I’m heartened by the number of people who say they’re sorry I have to go through this and that they won’t sign a second time,” he said. “It appears the committee isn’t meeting with the same success as their first effort.”
The WEC has until June 28 to certify the petitions, and if successful, the recall election would be Tuesday, Aug. 6.
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