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28 Jun 2011 15:24

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U.S.: Slim margin eliminates one of Wisconsin GOP’s recall efforts

  • 2 signatures short for Wisconsin Rep. John Nygren’s recall candidacy source
  • » GOP pushback comes up a hair short: Following challenges by the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, the state’s Government Accountability Board has ruled that 26 of the Nygren campaign’s recall petition signatures are invalid, and as that left Nygren with just 398 signatures, they kicked him out of the race. Nygren is pursuing legal options, and frankly we don’t expect this to be over — two signatures is such a slim margin, it seems obvious that every last signature is again going to get combed over. The GOP still has a candidate, an activist named David VanderLeest, but given his comparatively lackluster background, we imagine they’re pushing to get Nygren back.

31 May 2011 16:54

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U.S.: Wisconsin board approves recalls against GOP, but not Dems

  • six Wisconsin GOP Senators will face recall elections, following Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) approving the signatures collected by Democratic activists
  • three Wisconsin Democratic Senators may or may not face recall elections, as the same GAB stated that they’re not ready to approve the signatures collected by GOP activists source
  • » So, what’s going on here? Basically, the GAB’s decision means they believe the signatures collected by Democrats, in the aftermath of Gov. Scott Walker’s nationally spotlighted union-busting effort, are legitimate. The Republican signatures, however, “have raised numerous factual and legal issues which need to be investigated and analyzed,” the board says. This is likely to ignite a firestorm of accusations about political bias, favoritism and so forth — the Democrats likely see this as a major boon, as they’ve argued fraud on the GOP’s petitions. We’re inclined to sit tight and see how this plays out, but today’s events, suffice to say, don’t favor the Wisconsin GOP.

07 Apr 2011 14:19

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U.S.: Wisconsin Democrats to file for recall against Randy Hopper

  • Another Wisconsin GOP senator to face recall: In the wake of JoAnne Kloppenburg’s possible State Supreme Court win (pending a mandated recount, as she leads by the narrowest of margins), an unthinkable upset absent Gov. Scott Walker and his union-busting ways, it seems clear that Wisconsin Republicans have a tough road ahead. GOP State Senator Randy Hopper is the latest victim of this, as he’ll be forced to face a recall election; Democratic activists have more than enough signatures to file against him. source

01 Apr 2011 14:24

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World: Recall push against Wisconsin GOPers heating up

  • impetus The Wisconsin Democratic Party has been running at high intensity since Gov. Walker’s anti-union bill passed (a court order has since halted it). Remember, this plan is demonstrably not about fiscal issues, it’s about crushing unions.
  • blowback GOP state Senator Dan Kapanke is feeling the heat, as the Democrats will file 15,588 signatures, enough to force a recall election against him. The biggest fish here is clearly Gov. Walker, but he’s immune from recall for his first year in office. source

22 Aug 2010 10:37

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Politics: At Chicago’s Comic Con, Blago outdrew the big stars

  • $50 the amount people paid for a signature from the hair himself
  • $80 the amount people paid to get in a photo with said hair source

07 Jul 2010 09:32

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U.S.: James Traficant can’t even meet modest goals in Congress run

  • 2,199 number of signatures Traficant needed to get himself on the ballot
  • 2,092 number of signatures Traficant actually turned in; oops source

15 Feb 2010 11:57

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U.S.: Why Evan Bayh’s drop-out puts Democrats in a tough spot

  • $13
    million
    the amount Bayh had in his coffers prior to his drop-out; he was up significantly on the GOP in recent polls
  • 4,500
    people
    the number of people the Dems need to sign a petition for a new candidate (500 per district) – by tomorrow
 

28 Jan 2010 20:46

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U.S.: Ca. pot legalization pushers get off the couch, get petitions signed

  • 433,971 number of valid signatures supporters of marijuana legalization need to get it on the 2010 ballot
  • 700,000 number of signatures they just dropped off today in California; mind the cloud of Cheeto dust source