A state lawmaker unveiled a bill Wednesday that he says would target “legal bribery” in the effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker. Rep. Evan Wynn, R-Whitewater, has introduced a bill he said would eliminate a loophole in state law that allows recall petitioners to pay others in exchange for petition signatures.
The state’s bribery statutes outlaw paying someone to vote or to sign nomination papers, but there’s no state law on the books against paying someone to sign—or not to sign—a recall petition, Wynn said.
Wynn, who represents the 43rd Assembly District, said he learned of the issue recently after a constituent told him that someone collecting recall signatures door-to-door had paid the constituent’s friend $10 to sign a petition. Wynn has reached out to the state Government Accountability Board over the issue. He called the legal loophole “mind-boggling” and said it allows “legal bribery.”
In a Dec. 22 letter to Wynn’s legislative office, Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy confirmed there’s nothing in state statutes that prohibits people from paying cash for recall petition signatures. In the letter, Kennedy wrote that the GAB has no power to create rules governing recall petitions, and any changes in law would have to come out of the Legislature.
Kennedy wrote that the GAB would like some legislative reform to guard against people paying for others to sign or not to sign recall petitions, noting that such acts “would undermine public confidence in the electoral system.”
Full Article: Bill would outlaw paying for recall signatures — GazetteXtra.