The GAB’s Duty of “Careful Examination”: Why Judge Davis Got It Right

I have written a few things on my personal blog about the GAB’s authority and duty to conduct a more thorough review of recall petitions than it apparently intends to conduct. Last Thursday, Judge Mac Davis ordered a more extensive review. Ed Fallone thinks that the judge got it wrong. I disagree. Here’s why.

Ed argues that “there are no explicit provisions in the statutes that direct the GAB to look for and eliminate duplicate, fictitious or unrecognizable signatures. Just a direction not to count signatures that are insufficient under Section 9.10(2)(e).”

I see two problems with this statement. First, the GAB’s obligation upon the filing of a petition is not limited to the elimination of signatures for the reasons set forth in § 9.10(2)(e). To the contrary, the obligation imposed on GAB is to “determine by careful examination whether the petition on its face is sufficient.” Wis. Stat. § 9.10(3)(b). Whatever that duty is, it is nowhere limited by § 9.10(2)(e). Second, as we will see, even if it is so limited, § 9.10(2)(e) does not relieve GAB of the obligation to do what Judge Davis ordered it to do.

So what does this duty of “careful examination” entail?

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New Ventures and Old

As some members of the Law School know, last winter I received a grant from the Bradley Foundation to form a nonprofit law center that has come to be known as the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. WILL engages in public education and litigation in the public interest with respect to issues of constitutional government, individual liberty, and the preservation of a robust civil society. We currently have a staff of four, including Tom Kamenick (L’09), and look forward to expanding as we complete our first year of operation this July. You can read more about us here.

I am excited by WILL but also happy to be able to return to the Law School on the adjunct faculty and teach Election Law this spring. When I proposed the class and first taught it a few years ago, I thought it would be something that could be offered every two years for the politicos in the student body. I had no idea that it would be delivered during a time when Wisconsin had become a virtual election law laboratory. But that’s where we are and that’s where I’d like to go in my next blog post.

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Friends of Scott Walker v. GAB Changes the Recall Rules Mid-Stream

Today, Judge J. Mac Davis ruled that the Government Accountability Board must take “affirmative steps to identify and strike duplicate, fictitious or unrecognizable signatures as it reviews the recall petitions expected to be filed against Gov. Scott Walker.”  The ruling comes in the case of Friends of Scott Walker v. GAB, filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court on December 15, 2011. The complaint in the case sought a declaratory judgment from the court that the procedures of the Government Accountability Board, whereby the GAB accepted (but did not necessarily count) duplicative signatures on recall petitions, violated the United States Constitution, the Wisconsin Constitution and Wisconsin law.  The complaint in the case is available here.

The GAB responded to the lawsuit by arguing that the Wisconsin statutes provide a clearly defined procedure that allows elected officials subject to recall to instigate challenges to any signatures that appear to be duplicative, fictitious or unrecognizable. After the GAB accepts the recall petitions, there is a period of 10 days in which the signatures may be challenged by the official. It is at the challenge stage that suspect signatures should be identified and removed, according to the GAB, and not earlier when the recall petitions are accepted by the agency. The GAB also contended that there was no provision in the Wisconsin Statutes that granted the agency the authority to do what the Friends of Scott Walker asked it to do.

Judge Davis disagreed with the GAB, and earlier today he ruled that the GAB is required to take affirmative action that will have the effect of reducing the burden that the Friends of Scott Walker would otherwise face. This is because the GAB must now identify and remove suspect signatures on its own initiative.

Why is the GAB obligated to do this, when there is no statutory language that explicitly places such an obligation on the agency?

Continue ReadingFriends of Scott Walker v. GAB Changes the Recall Rules Mid-Stream