Lawsuit Filed Against the Government Accountability Board

[MADISON, WI]- The Republican Party of Wisconsin is announcing the filing today of a complaint in Waukesha County Circuit Court against the Government Accountability Board, on grounds that the GAB is violating the Equal Protection Rights of those Wisconsin electors who have chosen to NOT sign a recall petition.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of repeated allegations that individuals have signed recall petitions multiple times. The GAB has stated "that there is no specific prohibition on a person signing a recall petition more than once." Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all individuals are guaranteed Equal Protection under the law; as such, those who sign a recall petition more than once are disenfranchising the millions of Wisconsin citizens who choose not to sign a recall petition.

"The decision of one individual who chooses to sign a recall petition should not carry more weight than the decision of another who chooses not to sign," said Stephan Thompson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "This lawsuit seeks to protect the Wisconsin electors whose voices have been trumped by those purposefully signing multiple petitions."

In response to these allegations, the GAB has cited state statute that says the Walker campaign may have a 10 day period to review the recall petitions so as to identify and challenge duplicate signatures. This position, rather than correcting the problem, simply exacerbates it. The Walker campaign will have only 10 days to examine, compare and challenge over 540,000 signatures – more than 50,000 signatures per day. Under the circumstances, any effort to fully examine these signatures will be practically impossible.

The GAB's position that it is the responsibility of the Walker campaign to identify and challenge duplicate signatures flies in the face of the idea of a fair electoral process.

View the complaint here: http://www.wisgop.org/sites/default/files/RPW_COMPLAINT_GAB.pdf