Wisconsin Republicans Eye Change To Recall Law

[Ellipsis]

Eric Kleefeld October 27, 2011, 11:40 AM

There’s new controversy in the push to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Which district maps will be used it, and for any further state Senate recalls.

Under Wisconsin’s recall law, elected officials must have served at least one year of their current term before being recalled. And because half of the state Senate is up each two years, this exempted earlier this year the half of the Senate that was just elected in 2010. However, with that ceiling now lifted going into next year, the state Dems are aiming to launch more state Senate recalls, in addition to their goal of recalling Walker.

The next wrinkle, then, is the fact that 2012 is a redistricting cycle — and the state Republicans, who gained control of both legislative chambers and the governorship in 2010, passed a very GOP-friendly redistricting map earlier this year.

The state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in the state, told lawmakers on Wednesday that further recalls would take place under the old districts — because the redistricting law was written in a way that it would take effect in Fall 2012 for election purposes, though at the same time it took effect immediately for constituent service purposes.


http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/wisconsin-republicans-eye-change-to-recall-law.php


Democrats have vowed to recall Walker and other Republican lawmakers over the governor’s contentious collective bargaining law. Complicating matters, however, is a law Republicans passed this year redrawing legislative district boundaries to reflect population shifts. State election officials say legislators targeted in recall elections scheduled before Nov. 6, 2012, would run in their old districts.
If lawmakers face a recall election after that date, they would run under their new boundaries. The policy wouldn’t affect a Walker recall because that would be a statewide race. Still, the governor says local election officials are worried the policy could confuse them and voters in legislative recalls. He says most people are just tired of endless elections.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111027/APC0101/111027066/Walker-Redistricting-legislative-boundaries-could-mean-confusion-possible-recalls


Man up Walker... no, he adds fuel to the fire.


.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. They will try everything, and I mean everything.

[FBaggins]

2. Isn't it a good thing that they take place in the old districts?

Republicans designed the new districts.

My guess is that there's also a logistical reason for the decision. A recall requires a certain percentage of the people who voted in the district in the last election to sign a petition. If a recall occurs in a new district... how do you determine how many signatures you need and where they have to come from?

[Ellipsis]

3. Yes... plus the redistricting is going before the courts (normal that)and will most likely change

from the Repubs. submission.

[FBaggins]

4. Do they not also have a majority on the state supreme court?

Is WI a federal VRA pre-clearance state?

[Ellipsis]

5. They do... they aren't involved.

One federal lawsuit is pending challenging the constitutionality of the maps. Federal courts have drawn the state's 132 legislative districts each of the past three decades because a politically divided Legislature couldn't agree on a map.




Judges Refuse To Dismiss Redistricting Suit
Legislature Passed New Boundaries Earlier This Year


MADISON, Wis. -- A three-judge panel in Milwaukee has refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's new legislative and congressional districts.

The Republican-controlled Legislature redrew the districts this summer to reflect population changes. Democrats have complained the new boundaries are unfair and amount to a naked power grab.

A group of Wisconsin voters filed a federal lawsuit in June seeking to block the new boundaries. They argued nearly 300,000 people won't be able to vote in state Senate races next year because they now live in different districts.

http://www.channel3000.com/politics/29571399/detail.html



What is a "federal VRA pre-clearance state Mr Baggins?

I live in a sea of acronyms. That one, I am unfamiliar with.