MacIver News Service | December 5, 2011
[Madison, Wisc…] We the People of the Republic and The Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty, two of Wisconsin’s most prominent ‘Tea Party’ groups, are organizing an effort to check the validity of all signatures submitted in the ongoing gubernatorial recall.
The project is taking place, online, at VerifyTheRecall.com
“Software has been developed that will help identify duplicate signatures and other signature irregularities (questionable addresses, etc.),” wrote Ross Brown of We the People of the Republic in an email to supporters. “Additionally, individuals will be able to look up their name and address on a website to see if they have been included as a petition signor.”
Last week, the MacIver News Service reported that despite requesting a supplemental budget appropriation in excess of $600,000, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board would not be checking the authenticity or validity of the more than 540,000 recall petitions.
“We have all been hearing reports of duplicate signatures, questionable practices, and downright fraud in the gubernatorial recall effort,” reads the introductory posting on the VerifyTheRecall website. “In the last few weeks, there has been a public outcry to build a system to check the submitted signatures after learning that the Government Accountability Board (GAB) will assume all signatures are valid unless challenged as otherwise.”
Ross said the effort is all about Wisconsin voters making sure their elections are clean and fair.
“By taking such efforts, we will be able to protect the integrity of Wisconsin’s elections by ensuring that only legitimate Wisconsin electors are counted – once – as signors of petitions,” Brown wrote.
Ross notes the project is undertaken in an effort to ensure the integrity of Wisconsin’s elections and associated processes. The project, which also has a page on facebook, is an independent, non-partisan effort and is not affiliated withany candidate or public official, or with any campaign.
Volunteers will not be able to start entering data into the database until the gubernatorial recall drive is finished and the data is publicly available from the GAB, which could take months.
Ross stressed that the Verify the Recall project does not endorse or oppose any public officials or candidates for public office. We the People of the Republic and The Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty are 501(c)4 non-profit organizations.