Friday, December 28, 2012
2012 really did feel like one long election, didn't it? And at the center of it all: the historic recall elections.
The historic recall of Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and a handful of Republican state senators this year dominated the headlines for the first half of 2012. After nearly 1 million signatures were turned in against Walker - primarily because of Act 10, which severely limited how far collective bargaining could go for public employees - the fight got under way among Democrats for who would challenge the governor. A live forum was hosted at the George Bray Center by a number of Racine-area groups for the Democratic primary candidates; Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Kathleen Vinehout and Doug LaFollette, and Independent gubernatorial candidate Hariprasad "Hari" Trivedi. Opponents of …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Nearly $3 million was spent in heated race between John Lehman and Van Wanggaard.
It will come as a surprise to no one to learn that there was a lot of big money spent in the Wisconsin recall elections. Between the 15 races from both 2011 and 2012, a total of $137 million was spent and while there was big money involved in the recall of Gov. Scott Walker, when it comes to the senate races, the 21st Senate District involved the biggest dollars. According to a story from the Associated Press in The Journal Times, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign released a report detailing the money that went into the recalls, and the amounts are staggering. Among the Senate races from both 2011 and 2012, the one that targeted Republican Van Wanggaard generated the most money at $2.9 million. Sen. John Lehman — he was declared the winner …
Monday, July 16, 2012
After being declared the winner of the recall election on June 5 and again after a recount, Sen. John Lehman was sworn into office Monday.
A group of about 100 supporters cheered for Sen. John Lehman Monday after he took the oath of office for the 21st Senate District. Lehman ran against Republican Van Wanggaard in the 21st Senate District recall in a kind of rematch. Wanggaard defeated Lehman in November 2010, but when Wanggaard was targeted for recall, Lehman stepped forward as the challenger. On June 5, Lehman was declared the winner by 834 votes. Wanggaard requested a recount that concluded July 2, again confirming Lehman the winner but by a slightly smaller margin of 819 votes. Wanggaard chose not to challenge the recount, leaving the Democrats with a majority - at least until November - in the state Senate. It was standing room only in the courtroom where Judge Gerald …
Friday, July 13, 2012
A Democratic group wants the Racine County DA and the Sheriff to let residents know if they found anything during an investigation into voter irregularities stemming from the June 5 recall election.
**Updated 5:30 pm One Wisconsin Now issued a press release Friday turning up the heat on the Racine County District Attorney and the Racine County Sheriff to let people know what they found investigating claims of voting irregularities from the June 5 recall elections. Senator-elect John Lehman unseated Republican Van Wanggaard by 834 votes as certified by the Racine County Clerk's Board of Canvass. Wanggaard requested a recount that confirmed Lehman's win by a slightly smaller margin of 819 votes. On July 10 Wanggaard announced he would not file an appeal challenging the results of the recount despite his campaign noting over 1,000 objections to things like missing signatures, missing pages from poll books and partially opened ballot bags…
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A half-dozen Republicans called the 21st District Senate race a "wake-up call to the state" in a letter to the Government Accountability Board.
Republican Legislature leadership on Wednesday requested the Government Accountability Board examine and resolve alleged irregularities at the polls that came to light in the District 21 recall race. Half a dozen Republicans including Rep. Robin Vos and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald signed a letter to GAB director Kevin Kennedy asking him to detail his specific plans to "restore the trust in our election process." "The situation in the 21 Senate District is a wake-up call to the state," the Republicans wrote. "We have laws in the books that are not being followed and a recall election that made a mockery of our election system." Reid Magney, spokesman for the GAB, said the agency just received the letter and will develop a timely …
John Lehman will officially be sworn into his seat in the 21st Senate District Monday at noon.
John Lehman will once again become Senator John Lehman when he takes his oath of office Monday at noon. Lehman confirmed to Patch Wednesday that Judge George Petak will conduct the ceremony at noon Monday in Branch 1 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Avenue. While residents are more than welcome, they are encouraged to arrive early and be prepared to wait in line as everyone has their bags and purses put through a scanner and they pass through a metal detector. Lehman was declared the winner June 5 election with a lead of 834 votes. Wanggaard requested a recount on June 20, and it completed on July 2 with the same result. Lehman's election night win was confirmed, but with a slightly smaller margin of 819 votes. …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Patch caught up with both Republican Van Wanggaard and Senator-elect John Lehman just a few hours after Wanggaard announced he will not challenge the results of the recall election against him.
While Republican Van Wanggaard hits the campaign trail again, Senator-elect John Lehman is ready to move to Madison to get to work. Patch caught up with both Wanggaard and Lehman just hours after Wanggaard announced he would not file an appeal with the Racine County Circuit Court to challenge the results of the recall election in the 21st Senate District.
The recall for the 21st Senate District is over now that Republican Van Wanggaard has announced that he will not file an appeal in Racine County Circuit Court.
The election results from both June 5 recall election in the 21st State Senate District and the subsequent recount will stand as incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard decided Tuesday not to challenge the results that show him losing to Democrat John Lehman by more than 800 votes. "My first call this morning was to leave a message for John confirming that I will not file a challenge in the courts at this point," Wanggaard told Patch. However, Wanggaard made it clear that he still has concerns about how the election was run — and he said will run for the seat again in 2014. What his decision came down to, he said, was that the five days he was given between the end of the recount and the deadline to appeal it wasn't enough time to fully …
Monday, July 9, 2012
Republican Van Wanggaard has until end of business on Tuesday to decide if he will challenge the results of the recount he requested for his recall election in the 21st Senate District.
The recall election in the 21st State Senate District could continue to drag on, if Republican Van Wanggaard goes to court before the end of the day Tuesday to challenge the results. By the end of the night in the June 5 election, Democrat John Lehman came out the winner over incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard by 834 votes Wanggaard requested a recount and when it was over, Lehman was still declared the winner, this time by 819 votes. Wanggaard's only recourse to challenge the results is to file a lawsuit in Racine County Circuit Court, and he has until the end of the day Tuesday to do so. At the conclusion of the recount on July 2, Wanggaard attorney Jonathan Strasburg said the campaign would fully weigh its options before making any …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
It’s about more than unsealed ballot bags and missing signatures.
Almost three weeks ago, I asked for a recount in my senate election under the philosophy of “trust but verify.” I stated then that I hoped that a trusted and verified result would allow us to finally move forward as a state. Unfortunately, following the recount, we only have a verified vote tally. Election laws are in place to provide confidence in election results. The Democrats said the recall election was a “trial run” of their ground game for November. Yet, Wisconsin’s long-standing laws prohibiting electioneering, same-day registration requirements, and how to receive and count ballots were widely ignored in this trial run. Election laws are in place to ensure the integrity of the vote. When they are not followed, the results are less…
Mike Itzenhuiser
2:15 pm on Saturday, December 29, 2012
Where's the link to recall Obama? more ›