"Mines for Wisconsin" update

by folkbum

The Government Accountability Board, the body that oversees recall (and other) elections in Wisconsin, has referred the group from my last post, "Mines for Wisconsin," to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office for a possible felony investigation. (I firmly believe "Mines for Wisconsin" is simply the "Christian Civil Liberties Union" with a new name.)

The GAB's statement in full is here. In part:

It is against the law to intentionally falsify a name on a recall petition. If the fliers encouraging people to falsify signatures are genuine, this group may be breaking the law, as would anyone who acts on this blatant attempt to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

The Government Accountability Board has referred this matter to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office for investigation.

It is a violation of Wisconsin Statutes 12.13(3)(a) to “Falsify any information in respect to or fraudulently deface or destroy a … recall petition ….” Violation is a Class I felony, punishable by up to 3½ years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

I was not aware of the penalties when I posted last night--I was in too much of a hurry to get the story out before I had to leave the house again to do more than verify that signing a false name was indeed illegal. I have no idea whether, or with what penalties, encouraging that kind of fraud is also a violation of the law, and certainly I have no idea whether the matter will go any further.

UPDATE: The Wisconsin State Journal is running a story based on the GAB's press release. Photo credit there goes to the GAB, not this blog or my friend who actually took the photo.

But, as I prepare to close this blog down for good (don't act so shocked, you had to know it was coming) by the end of this year, it's nice to know that I was able to get one last thing done. Nice way to end it.