Statement Regarding Single-Signature Recall Petitions

MADISON, WI – At its meeting Monday, the Government Accountability Board reaffirmed the practice allowed by state law for recall committees to submit petition pages that contain a single signature and are also circulated by the signer.  The Board also recognized that a recall petition could be printed from the website of a recall committee with the signer’s address pre-populated.

The G.A.B. has received a number of inquiries about single-signature recall petitions as well as making recall petitions available on a website to be printed out and then circulated.  The Board found that state law does not contain any prohibition on these practices, which were followed in the recent recall elections.

“In the recent State Senate recalls, the Board received many single-signature petitions from committees working to recall members of both parties,” said Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel of the G.A.B.  “People downloaded them from the Internet, filled them out and signed them, and turned them in to the recall committees, which filed them with along with other recall petitions.”

The G.A.B. does not accept recall petitions directly from individuals.  They must be collected by the recall committees and offered for filing at the same time within the 60-day time period as required by state law.