Assembly Speaker Robin Vos offered a blunt assessment of those seeking to force a recall election against the long-standing Assembly Republican, calling organizers behind the effort “whack jobs and morons” at an event in Madison on Tuesday.
The recall effort was launched in January by supporters of Donald Trump frustrated that Vos has refused the former president’s request to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Organizers said last week they submitted more than 10,000 signatures to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
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However, an initial review by commission staff last week found the group appears to have come up more than 900 signatures short of the 6,850 needed in Vos’ old Assembly district to force an election.
Regardless of the number of signatures collected, questions linger as to what legislative districts should apply to a recall effort, after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled late last year that maps used in the 2022 election are unconstitutional, effectively barring their use. New maps signed into law earlier this year don’t formally go into effect until November.
In a split decision Tuesday, the state’s high court gave all parties in the case until Thursday to file a response to a motion from the Elections Commission seeking clarification on what boundaries should be used for the potential recall election — a decision that could impact how many signatures are needed or deemed valid.
Vos has until Thursday to file a challenge to the petition. Speaking at a WisPolitics.com luncheon in Madison, the Rochester Republican described those pursuing the recall as “morons” who are “out of touch with reality.”
Vos also said a volunteer-conducted review of the petition found “a ton of fraud,” including as many as 400 duplicate signatures, misspelled addresses and missing information.
“The people who did this? Whack jobs and morons,” Vos told reporters after the luncheon.
What are the boundaries?
Vos was elected in the 63rd Assembly District, but new maps signed earlier this year by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers place Vos in the new 33rd Assembly District. What’s more, some of Vos’ previous territory now falls in the new 66th Assembly District.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled late last year that previous Republican-drawn legislative boundaries were unconstitutional. In that ruling, the state’s high court enjoined the Elections Commission “from using the current maps in all future elections.” New maps are to be used starting in November.
The bipartisan commission last week filed a motion with the state Supreme Court seeking clarification on what boundaries apply to the recall effort against Vos or in any special elections held before November.
In a 5-2 order Tuesday, the court gave all parties in the case until Thursday to respond to the commission’s motion. Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Justice Rebecca Bradley, both conservatives, dissented in the order.
Writing in dissent, Ziegler said it’s premature for the commission to request such an action from the court — noting the agency did not seek the court’s advice on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes in the 2020 election. Such boxes were later ruled illegal by the court’s then-conservative majority. The court, which has since shifted to a liberal majority, earlier this month accepted a lawsuit seeking to reverse that ruling.
“The court was not WEC’s legal advisor then, and the court is not WEC’s legal advisor now,” Ziegler wrote. “The court should not condone WEC’s request for legal advice here. No response to this ‘motion’ should be ordered.”
Suspicious signatures reported
In addition, Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson said last week her office began receiving reports of suspicious signatures just days after the petitions were submitted to the Elections Commission.
“The Racine County District Attorney’s Office has had numerous calls to report theft of identifying information from electors whose names appear on the recall petitions, but did not sign a petition personally,” Hanson said.
Vos previously had expressed suspicion that the recall group illegally paid people to sign the petition and engaged in other wrongdoing, including collecting signatures outside of his current 63rd Assembly District.
Organizers of the recall effort in a statement Monday attributed the suspicious signatures to “sabotage” committed by individuals from outside the state.
Organizers said they “meticulously followed every rule,” adding later that “despite our vigilance, a few unverified petitions slipped through due to a volunteer oversight, a regrettable yet isolated incident.”
Vos, the state’s longest-serving Assembly speaker, became the target of Trump’s supporters after refusing the former president’s call to decertify President Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state in 2020 — something he is not legally or constitutionally empowered to do.
A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes.
Vos also drew criticism from Trump supporters when he refused to back an effort to impeach Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe, who has been targeted by legislative Republicans since the commission made changes to certain procedures in the 2020 general election in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — changes that have spurred some conservatives to falsely accuse her of malfeasance.
Vos has said there is not enough GOP support in the Assembly to impeach Wolfe. A Dane County judge last year blocked efforts by Senate Republicans to remove her from office.
Matthew Snorek, a leader of the recall effort, said if the petition fails, efforts will shift to a primary challenge against Vos this August. The long-standing speaker faces another election this November.
Republican Adam Steen challenged Vos in the 2022 August primary, with Vos narrowly winning the contest by 260 votes. Vos won the general election handedly that year, with 73% of the vote.