Fitzgerald Says Recall Filing Deadline Should Be Today

1/13/12 – Wisconsin’s Senate majority leader says those who are trying to recall him and four other Republicans should be forced to turn in their petitions today instead of Tuesday. Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau filed a complaint yesterday with the Government Accountability Board. He said today should be the filing deadline because it’s the 60th day after the recall campaigns were kicked off on November 15th. But the Justice Department issued a memo this week saying the clock didn’t start until November 16th, the day after the recall committees registered. That means signatures can be collected tomorrow and filed on the next business day – which is Tuesday, since state offices are closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. In Fitzgerald’s case, the extra day might allow recall organizers to get enough signatures to force an election. They need 16-thousand-742. They had around 16-thousand as of Wednesday, and organizer Lori Compas has asked volunteers from other recall efforts to knock on doors in Fitzgerald’s district today and tomorrow to get signatures. The Board expects a million-and-a-half signatures to be filed to try and force recall elections against Governor Scott Walker and the other Republicans.