MADISON, Wis. – The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday rejected an effort to force a revoke election from the state’s top Republican after determining that not enough valid signatures were collected.
The vote by three Republican commissioners and one Democratic commissioner means Assembly Speaker Robin Vos will not have to run in a recall election unless a court intervenes. Vos was targeted for recall by fellow Republicans and supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Recall organizers targeted Vos, the longest-serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, after he refused calls to decertify President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state. Biden’s victory by about 21,000 votes withstood two partial recounts, lawsuits, an independent audit and a review by a conservative law firm.
Vos further angered Trump supporters when he did not support an impeachment plan Meagan Wolfe, the state’s top election official.
Election commission staff determined that petition circulators submitted 16 more valid signatures than needed to force a recall election of Vos. But the commission broke staff recommendation on Thursday and rejected 188 additional signatures because they were collected beyond the petition’s 60-day circulation period.
Recall organizers argued that they should be counted because the submission deadline was extended by two days due to the Memorial Day holiday. But committee members who pushed to reject the signatures said the law allowed them to change the petition filing date, but the 60-day deadline for collecting signatures remained unchanged.
The commission’s decision can be appealed to the district court.
Democratic Commissioner Mark Thomsen urged the panel not to block the recall because of what he called a technicality.
“Why should I ignore these 6,000 people and their right to recall?” he said. “Did they not fulfill their burden to at least get the vote?”
Republican Commissioner Don Millis, appointed by Vos, made the motion to dismiss the petition for not having enough valid signatures.
“I don’t agree with the idea that we’re giving Rep. Vos permission,” Millis said. “I strongly believe that any signatures collected on May 27 and 28 are not valid. anyone’s right to remember. It’s certainly a difficult decision in terms of the number of signatures.”
Vos ridiculed those who targeted him as “crazy and idiots.” He did not attend the meeting, but his lawyer defended the non-counting of signatures collected after the 60-day deadline.
“This is the easiest way to resolve this,” said attorney Matthew Fernholz.
Trump supporters, including former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, on May 28 submitted more than 9,000 signatures to trigger the recall election.
They needed 6,850 valid signatures to force a recall election in the district where Vos was elected to serve. 6,866 valid signatures were collected in that district before the commission voted Thursday to reject the additional 188, leaving them at 6,678.
Democratic Commissioner Carrie Riepl joined the three Republican members in voting to reject the recall. She did not explain the reason for her vote during the meeting.
