Did Wisconsin GOPers Forge a Dead Man's Signature in Recall Effort?

[n2doc]

By Andy Kroll| Mon May. 2, 2011 3:00 AM PDT

Recall frenzy is sweeping through Wisconsin, with nine state legislators, Democrats and Republicans, targeted by activists and the state political parties in the aftermath of the uprising over Governor Scott Walker's anti-union "budget repair" bill. So far, efforts to recall GOPers are easily outpacing recall campaigns targeting Democrats, and so perhaps it comes as little surprise that Republicans were recently accused of using dirty tricks to boost their efforts.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, in the petition to recall Sen. Bob Wirch, one of the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in February to block a vote on Walker's bill, the signature and address of "Bill Pocan" appear. Here's the problem: Bill Pocan, who happens to be the father of Democratic state Assembly member Mark Pocan, died twenty years ago.

The chairman of the campaign to recall Wirch, Dan Hunt, told the Journal Sentinel that the signature looks to be a forgery. Hunt, however, blamed the forged signature on Wisconsin Democrats, who he said were seeking to derail his efforts.

Democrats immediately waved off Hunt's accusation. The head of the State Senate Democratic Committee said Hunt had "been caught red-handed" and "need look no further than his own organization" for someone to blame for the controversy. Mike Tate, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement that "the Republican forgery of dead names on recall petitions represents a new low for Wisconsin. It is voter fraud at its most abhorrent and it must be investigated and explained."

more

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/did-wisconsin-gopers-forge-dead-mans-signature-recall-effort

[ejpoeta]

1. republicans tend to project.... they always say the dems are purpetrating voter fraud

when it seems they are the ones that end up getting caught doing it.

[Viking12]

2. WI Public Radio this morning had a story about the Native American D-party caucus challenging sigs

I can't find it on the internets yet, but the story was basically that a non-native went to the reservation and deceived natives into signing a recall petition for a Democratic Senator. Some 400+ signatures are being challenged with collected affidavits. I'll keep looking for the whole story...

[Kingofalldems]

3. Never trust a republican

[fasttense]

4. Dead people have always been a large RepubliCON voting block. n/t

[jtrockville]

5. Was it just this one dead person who signed? Or was there a pattern?