Opponents of Wisconsin's governor, Scott Walker, have reportedly gathered more than one million signatures to force a recall election that could oust Walker well before his term is up. Wisconsin voters protested in huge numbers a year ago when Walker and the Republican-controlled State Senate passed a bill outlawing collective bargaining, also known as unionizing.
Now, workers have to verify each of the recall signatures to make sure there aren't duplicates and that all of them are authentic. If more than 540,208 of them are deemed authentic, Wisconsin voters will go to the polls again in the coming months to vote for either Walker or an opposition candidate.
For now, the boxes of signatures sit at Wisconsin's Government Accountability Office under heavy security, waiting to be scanned by computers and checked for authenticity in a process that could take months.
Quotes
"We think this represents such an incredible figure and is absolutely beyond any challenge, legal or otherwise." -Mike Tate, Democratic Party of Wisconsin
"Our volunteers will be doing a hand review of all petitions, in addition to whatever the Government Accountability Board is able to do on its end." - Ben Sparks, Republican Party of Wisconsin
Warm Up Questions
1. What is a union?
2. What is a petition? What are petitions used for?
3. What does the governor of a state do? What are his or her responsibilities?
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think Wisconsin Republicans are getting involved in verifying the signatures on the recall petition?
2. Does a recall election automatically mean that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will no longer be in office? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think supporters of the recall election were able to gather so many votes? Read this student voice and watch this video for background information.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/speakout/us/jan-june11/wisconsin_03-02.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june11/wisconsin_02-21.html
Additional Resources
