Wisconsin: State lawmakers look to give Governor and legislature more power over recall

Republicans are looking to strip the power to regulate recall laws from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board and hand it over to the Governor and the legislature. Professor Rick Hasen at the Election Law Blog notes that this is a troubling development, especially because the GAB has served as one of the best examples of nonpartisan election administration.

One rule of particular interest specifically mentioned in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article is the use of online petitioning. The GAB has held that people can print out the petitions and send it in, which, as we noted in a similar Maryland case, would radically cut down on the cost and potentially expand the use of the recall and the initiative.