Scott Fitzgerald recall, Wisconsin State Senate (2011-2012)

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Wisconsin State Senate recall
Officeholders
Scott Fitzgerald
Recall status
Recall defeated
Recall election date
June 5, 2011
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2011 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall Scott Fitzgerald, a member of the Republican Party, from his elected position representing District 13 in the Wisconsin State Senate was launched on November 15, 2011. Supporters submitted 20,600 signatures on January 17, 2012. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board voted unanimously on March 12 to order the recall, determining that at least 18,282 of the signatures were valid.

Fitzgerald defeated Lori Compas (D) and Terry Virgil (L) in the recall on June 5. A primary took place on May 8.

Fitzgerald said early on he would consider running fake Democrats as they did during the 2011 recalls in order to give Republicans more time to campaign.

Timeline

See also: Timeline of events of the recall of Wisconsin State Senators in 2012

• November 15, 2011: Democrats filed recall petition against Scott Fitzgerald.
• January 17, 2012: Organizers turned in some 20,600 signatures to recall Fitzgerald to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
• February 9: Fitzgerald submitted a challenge, contesting more than 4,300 signatures.
• February 27: Lori Compas, the organizer of the recall campaign against Fitzgerald said that she would run against him if a recall was scheduled.
• March 12: GAB voteed unanimously to order a recall election.
• March 14: Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess signed an agreement scheduling the primary for May 8 with general election on June 5.
• May 8: Lori Compas defeated Gary Ellerman in the Democratic primary.
• June 5: Fitzgerald defeated Compas and Virgil to retain his seat.

Recall vote

Fitzgerald defeated Lori Compas (D) and Terry Virgil (L) in the recall on June 5.

Recall of Wisconsin State Senator Scott Fitzgerald, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Fitzgerald Incumbent	58.3%	47,146
	Democratic	Lori Compas	40.7%	32,909
	Libertarian	Terry Virgil	0.9%	763
	-	Scattering	0%	33
Total Votes				80,851
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

Wisconsin State Senate District 13 Recall - Democratic Primary Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lori Compas	71.5%	21,257
Gary Ellerman	27.6%	8,213
Scattering	0.9%	273
Total Votes		29,743
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

Path to the ballot

Lori Compas said the recall Scott Fitzgerald movement had 9,200 signatures as of December 15. On January 2, organizers said they had collected over 12,000, and on January 12 they were said to be at 16,000.

Organizers said they turned in 20,600 signatures on January 17. In order to force a recall election at least 16,742 had to be valid. In response, Fitzgerald stated, "If the petitions are found to be sufficient and a recall election moves forward, I will embrace the opportunity to run on my record and the accomplishments Senate Republicans have made over the past year."

Signature verification

Under state law, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has 31 days to determine if enough valid signatures were submitted to force a recall. However, with 1.9 million signatures to review for six recalls, they asked a judge for extra time on January 20, 2012. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess granted the extension on January 25, giving the board an additional 30 days.

The state purchased software from Artsyl Technologies to help with the process. Workers scanned the petitions into computers and the software read the names and converted them into type. A human operator verified the name, correcting any errors before it was entered into a database. The databases could then be used to check for duplicate signatures.

The petitions were processed in a secret location, but a webcam was set up to provide a live feed of the work.

Under state law, Fitzgerald had only 10 days to challenge the validity of the petitions starting on January 18. However, as GAB officials were not able to readily provide Fitzgerald with the signatures against him, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess extended the period to 20 days.

Signature challenge

Fitzgerald submitted an official challenge on February 9, contesting over 4,300 signatures. According to the challenge, included among the signatures were about 1,500 that were manipulated by circulators, some 100 that were incorrect or made up, and over 250 duplicates.

Legal issues

Recalls in old districts or new?

On November 18, 2011, a group of citizens asked a federal court to make sure that the recall elections took place in the old districts where the legislators were elected from, rather than the newly drawn districts. Three days later, a group of Republicans asked the state Supreme Court to require any recall elections take place in the new districts. The new districts, drawn by the Republican majority, would help the GOP.

During the first week of November Republicans in the Senate attempt to fast-track a bill that would have immediately implemented the new Senate districts while allowing the old Assembly districts to remain. A vote on the bill was indefinitely delayed when Republican Sen. Dale Schultz said he would not vote for it, denying the necessary majority.

Republicans filed a second lawsuit in Waukesha County on November 29, requesting a panel of three circuit court judges hear the case. The new GOP suit was filed to make sure proper procedures are followed in the case. On December 2, Republicans asked to withdraw their first lawsuit, a move Democrats immediately tried to block, saying the court should keep the case and dismiss it at a later date. The request came after it was known that Justice David Prosser, sidelined with an illness, would not take part in the case. That same day, Republicans amended their complaint, requesting a single Waukesha County judge hear the case, rather than the three-judge panel.

Three days later, Republicans announced they were switching lawyers in the case, from the law firm of Michael, Best and Friedrich, to attorney Michael Dean. Michael, Best and Friedrich was the same firm used by Republicans during the redistricting process.

Walker lawsuit

On December 15, Governor Scott Walker's campaign and the state Republican Party director filed suit against the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board in Waukesha County Circuit Court. The lawsuit asks that a judge require GAB to search for and strike duplicate signatures, fake names and illegible addresses.

Stephan Thompson, executive director of the state Republican Party, stated, "The decision of one individual who chooses to sign a recall petition should not carry more weight than the decision of another who chooses not to sign. This lawsuit seeks to protect the Wisconsin electors whose voices have been trumped by those purposefully signing multiple petitions."

Currently, GAB reviews signatures to ensure there are enough to trigger a recall and verify they include a Wisconsin address and are dated during the recall period. It is up to challengers to point out potential issues with signatures.

On December 20, The Recall Walker Committee, as well as the committees to recall Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and three Republican state senators, filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the suit. They argued that the suit was designed to create uncertainty, disruptions and expenses in the recall process. At a hearing on December 29, Judge Mac Davis, a former Republican state Senator, denied the motion to intervene, citing the need for speed and desire to avoid possible "chaos" that could come if new parties were allowed in the case.

Davis issued a ruling on January 5, 2012, stating that GAB must take "reasonable" actions to eliminate duplicate and illegal signatures from recall petitions. However, he gave them discretion to decide how to achieve that, noting that requiring such action "is limited by the resources and ability they have or are reasonably able to obtain." GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said they will have to discuss the decision in order to determine what procedures in their process they will need to change.

On February 3, the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Madison overturned the ruling that denied recall organizers from joining the suit, stating that they had a valid interest to join. The ruling also threw out Judge Davis' decision that GAB must actively seek to strike fake and duplicate signatures. The case went back to Davis.

Campaign contributions

Scott Fitzgerald Campaign Finance Reports (GAB ID No. 0103112)
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions	(Expenditures)	Cash on Hand
Special Pre-Primary 2012 report		April 30, 2012	$399,787.37	$231,287.62	$(203,701.19)	$427,373.80
Recall 60 day report		January 23, 2012	$366,463.47	$34,786.06	$(1,461.16)	$399,787.37
Recall 30 day report		December 15, 2011	$202,400.87	$189,932.18	$(112,063.72)	$280,269.33

Additional reading

• Dane 101, "David vs. Goliath: Fort Atkinson woman takes on Sen. Scott Fitzgerald with independent recall effort," November 17, 2011
• Fond du Lac Reporter, "Organizers say Fitzgerald recall drive halfway to goal," December 15, 2011
• WISN, "State Sen. Fitzgerald Says Recall Petitioners Have Had Too Much Time," January 13, 2012 (dead link)
• Channel 3000, "Group Says It Has Names To Recall State Senate Leader," January 14, 2012
• WisPolitics, "Fitzgerald optimistic about recalls, upcoming legislation," January 23, 2012

Official documents

• Committee to Recall Scott Fizgerald campaign registration statement
• All recall petitions against Fitzgerald

See also

• Timeline of events of the recall of Wisconsin State Senators in 2012
• Recall campaigns in Wisconsin
• Political recall efforts, 2012
• Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
• Scott Walker recall, Wisconsin (2012)
• Rebecca Kleefisch recall, Wisconsin (2012)
• Recall of Wisconsin State Senators (2011)
• Van Wanggaard recall, Wisconsin State Senate (2012)
• Terry Moulton recall, Wisconsin State Senate (2012)
• Pam Galloway recall, Wisconsin State Senate (2012)

External links

• Committee to Recall Scott Fitzgerald
• Recall Scott Fitzgerald on Facebook
• GAB - Committee to Recall Scott Fitzgerald
• Scott Fitzgerald's official campaign website