The citizens of Wisconsin have just had to endure the most contentious election in our state’s history only to have a governor elected for a second time in his first term. Now this never-ending cycle of recalls must come to an end. Wisconsin has had 15 attempts to recall a state official in less than a year. It has become a political circus with taxpayer dollars being thrown around like confetti. Thankfully, it has become crystal clear that people across our state have had enough; it’s time to recall the recalls. Exit polls June 5 found that 60% of voters say recall elections are appropriate only for official misconduct. It’s understandable that there’s voter fatigue. This is the second round of recall elections in a year, and voters will go to the polls four times in five months. We need to limit recalls to a malfeasance in office; they should not be used as a political tactic. That clearly was not the intention of those who put it in our constitution nearly 100 years ago.
When legislators crafted the recall provision for the constitution in 1926, most state officials except state senators had two-year terms. It was intended to be used only in extreme cases and until now was rarely used. It was not meant to remove officials over one vote that a special interest group didn’t like. These recall elections are a huge financial drain on taxpayer resources. The latest round will cost at least $18 million. Add that to the $2.1 million for the Senate recalls last summer, and you have a ridiculous amount of wasted taxpayer dollars. Keep in mind most of the dollars are coming from already-tight budgets at the local and county levels. To change the law, state legislators need to amend the Wisconsin constitution. That means two subsequent Legislatures must approve the resolution and then put it to a statewide vote of the people. Based on the exit poll numbers, it’s a good bet the resolution would pass by referendum. Now we need to get legislators on board.
Full Article: Time to recall the recalls – JSOnline.