Some Wisconsinites wish to see Gov. Jim Doyle recalled from office in much the same way that California voters recently deposed former Gov. Gray Davis in favor of current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Wisconsin election law states 25 percent of the voter signatures from the last gubernatorial election must be collected within 60 days to initiate a recall election. Rolf Lindgren, a proponent of the recall and former Libertarian Party leader, said he hoped the 60-day requirement would be waived.
Supporters of the recall would have to collect 443,837 signatures within 60 days.
\The chances of it being successful, I think, are quite unlikely,"" said Frank Harris, chair of the College Republicans.
While he thinks the recall is a good idea, Harris said Doyle would be difficult to unseat in the long-run.
Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the Wisconsin State Elections Board, said signatures more than 60 days old would not be valid and therefore would not be accepted.
""A state agency does not have the authority to waive a constitutional requirement,"" he said.
Lindgren said he opposed Doyle's veto of the bill which would have frozen property taxes at their current level.
""Fifty percent of the people in this country live paycheck to paycheck because their taxes are so high,"" Lindgren said.
The second motivation for the recall, according to Lindgren, is Doyle's veto of the concealed carry bill. Lindgren said he feels the right to carry concealed weapons is the second most important right citizens have behind the first amendment.
Lindgren also contends a recall of Doyle will lead to election law reform. If Doyle were recalled, the Libertarian party would be eligible for a state grant of several hundred thousand dollars in the recall election. Their candidate, Ed Thompson, received more than 6 percent of the votes in the 2002 gubernatorial election. However, to qualify for the funds in the next general election the Libertarian candidate would have to get more than 6 percent of the votes in the primary elections that year. Third party primaries are virtually ignored by voters, Lindgren said.
Lindgren also wants to eliminate political corruption in Wisconsin.
""The amount of money that the [Wisconsin Education Association Council] and these Indian casinos are funneling to Democrats is just outrageous. It's really the same thing as bribery,"" he said.
""Maybe a different governor who wasn't so influenced by the money would be elected. Maybe Ed Thompson would be elected,"" Lindgren said.
