2012 Wisconsin Senate recall elections

Paperwork was filed with the state Government Accountability Board in March 2012 authorizing an effort to collect recall signatures against Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and explore recalling Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center). Both efforts were launched by persons affiliated with the Citizens For Responsible Government Network, saying both Senators cost the state jobs. Both Senators opposed a bill that would have helped a Florida company open an iron mine in Wisconsin's north woods. The mining bill would have reworked Wisconsin's permitting process to help Gogebic Taconite open an iron mine just south of Lake Superior in Jauch's district. The company had claimed the project would create hundreds of needed jobs in northwestern Wisconsin, and Republicans touted the bill as their signature job-creation legislation this past session. 15,270 signatures were required to force Jauch into a recall election. 14,545 signatures were required to force Schultz into a recall election.[6] The group came up short in their efforts to obtain signatures and said they would try again after the Walker gubernatorial recall election on June 5, 2012.[7]

The initial vote on June 5 showed Democrat John Lehman defeating incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard by a margin of less than 800 votes. The election canvas, a week later on June 12, confirmed Lehman won. However, on June 14, the Racine County Sheriff's Office announced it was investigating allegations of voting irregularities at the Dr. John Bryant Center in Racine, as well as reports of voter registration forms in the trash behind the Cesar Chavez Center, also in Racine. Wanggaard had until 5 p.m. on June 15 to request a recount.[10]

On June 15, Wanggaard asked for a recount, which began on June 20, and was completed by July 2.[11] On June 25, it was revealed that possibly thousands of voters, including 116 voters in Ward 2 of Racine, did not sign the poll book before obtaining their ballot, a violation of a new Wisconsin law passed in 2011. Despite objection by the Wanggaard campaign, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board refused to strike the votes as invalid. The Government Accountability Board pointed out that it would not be easy to determine which ballot was used by someone who signed the poll book and which was not. Also the Government Accountability Board noted "Invalidating ballots based on the failure to require a signature would disenfranchise a voter due to an election official's error" as a poll worker is supposed to have voters sign the poll book before giving them a ballot rather than after. The State Senate Democratic Committee argued Republicans wanted "voter disenfranchisement" that this was "a clerical error" and "not voter fraud. Its not voter irregularities."[12] The missing poll book signatures were largely due to newly registered voters who had already given a signature when filling out registration forms.[13] Lehman was declared the winner by 819 votes in certified recount numbers.[14]

• 2011 Wisconsin protests
• 2011 Wisconsin Act 10
• Wisconsin Supreme Court election, 2011
• Wisconsin Senate recall elections, 2011
• Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election, 2012

• Elections & Voting Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
• Database of Governor Walker and state senator recall petitions