Last July Isaac Weix, an apparent Republican, entered the election recall race of state Sen. Sheila Harsdorf as a Democrat to force a primary election for Harsdorf’s Democrat opponent Shelly Moore. Weix’s motivation was that a primary would give Harsdorf more time to campaign for the general recall election. This year recall fever revs up again. More state lawmakers, including Gov. Scott Walker, are facing recall elections. Statewide, six Republicans are running as fake Democrats to force primaries. Walker, too, has a “fake” opponent: Arthur Kohl-Riggs, whose motto is “Less of a joke than Scott Walker,” has collected enough signatures to force a Republican primary. Kohl-Riggs has never been associated with the Republican Party.
Many Wisconsin residents are already leery of the recall process and believe it’s being overused. We agree and think the bar should be raised. One way would be to at least double the number of signatures to force a recall election. That would make the recall petition drive harder to achieve and, if successful, show a much larger percentage of the electorate favoring political change. Aside from recall mania, fake party candidates turn our voting system into a joke. Primaries are meant to thin the field of each given party before the general election.
Full Article: Editorial: Phony party candidates dilute election process | River Falls Journal | River Falls, Wisconsin.