Wisconsin: Ballot machine malfunction delays voters in Fond du Lac | JSOnline

A ballot machine malfunction in Fond du Lac delayed voters for a short time early this afternoon, in one of the six recall elections drawing strong turnout of electors in Wisconsin.

Ballots cast during the temporary shutdown in Fond du Lac were placed in an auxiliary bin, then scanned through a new machine when it was delivered about 12:30 p.m., said City Clerk Sue Strands. No voters were turned away, although some may have left instead of waiting in line, she said. All of the ballots were counted.

Wisconsin: Political groups get recall election date wrong | The Oshkosh Northwestern

Some voters in the 18th Senate District are getting misleading information in the mail about the deadline for absentee voting in the recall election between Republican incumbent Sen. Randy Hopper and Democrat Jessica King.

Absentee voter applications sent by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity tell voters to return the mailing by Aug. 11, two days after Aug. 9 recall election. Oshkosh Deputy Clerk Angela Joeckel said ballots that arrive after Aug. 9 would not be counted in any way. She said Thursday, Aug. 4, is the last day the clerk’s office can send an absentee ballot out by mail.

Mailings from AFP with incorrect election dates were also sent out in at least two of the other five districts in which recall electionswill be held on Tuesday, those represented by Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Rob Cowles of Allouez.

Wisconsin: Everything you need to know heading into Tuesday’s state senate recall election | Primary Matters/The Oshkosh Northwestern

The story of how state Sens. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon; and Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, are the subjects of a July primary and August recall election is as odd as the idea of two summer elections.

Just the same, voters will go to the polls Tuesday for a primary election to determine their opponents in an Aug. 9 recall election, a tale with a few plot twists along the way as well.

It began on Feb. 10 when Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature proposed to curtail the ability of some public employee unions to collectively bargain for wages and benefits and required employees to pay parts of their health insurance and pension contributions.

Wisconsin: County, city clerks prep for recalls | Fox11 WLUK-TV

County and city clerks are busy preparing for some unprecedented recall elections. Nine State Senators will fight for their seats over the next two months.

That includes three Democrats, Dave Hansen of Green Bay, Jim Holperin of Conover and Robert Wirch of Pleasant Prairie. There are also six Republicans, including Robert Cowles from Allouez, Randy Hopper of Fond du Lac and Luther Olsen of Ripon.

The unusual round of elections has county and city clerks on their toes. They’re working on ballots for a July 12th primary. “They’re at the printers now and they’re being prepared for printing,” Outagamie County Clerk Lori O’Bright explained. Only this primary is a bit different.

Wisconsin: Expense of fake Democrats in primaries will top $400,000 | JSOnline

A plan by Republicans to run fake Democratic candidates in this summer’s recall elections would cost taxpayers upward of $428,000, according to election clerks. In one Senate district alone, the cost would top $100,000, interviews with county and municipal clerks show.

Even if Republicans back off their plans in some of the districts, taxpayers are all but guaranteed to have to pay the costs of the primary, because Democrats now plan to run multiple candidates in order to guarantee all the recall elections are held on the same day. Tuesday is the filing deadline.

Recall elections for six Republican senators are scheduled for July 12. But if there are multiple candidates from the same party in any of those elections, the July 12 election becomes a primary, with a general recall election to follow on Aug. 9.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Senators Fight Sweeping Recalls | Courthouse News Service

Three Republican state senators have challenged the recall petitions that voters filed against them. And it looks like recall elections of three Democratic senators, if they occur, will come separately, a week after the six Republican recall elections scheduled for July 12.

The three Republicans’ complaints are based on a technicality: that the recall petitioners are not identified as members of the Committees to Recall.

State senators Randy Hopper (Fond du Lac), Luther Olsen (Ripon) and Dan Kapanke (La Crosse) sued the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board in separate but virtually identical complaints in Dane County Court.