Racine Republicans Volunteer to Verify Wanggaard Recall Signatures

Racine County Republicans are preparing a small army of local volunteers to verify the signatures needed to trigger a recall election for State Sen. Van Wanggaard.

As of Jan. 17, the day 1.9 million signatures were delivered to the Capitol, more than 100 people had signed up to learn how to tell the difference between a good signature and a bad one.

"The outpouring of support was so great that we have training sessions scheduled every day this week," said Justin Phillips, Wanggaard's campaign manager confirmed.

So what are volunteers looking for? Phillips said the training process highlights how to visually verify a legitimate signature:

• Is the date of the signature within the proper timeframe of Nov. 15 - Jan. 14?
• Is the printed name legible?
• Does the entry contain all the required information?

If there's a question about an entry, the signature is flagged and sent up the chain to the Walker campaign.

Bill Folk, chair of the Racine County Republican Party, the expects to take delivery of the 24,000 signatures sometime in the next week or so, possibly by Sun., Jan. 22.

"The earliest we could get access to the signatures is maybe by Sunday," he said.

Wanggaard told Patch on Jan. 17 that he is grateful for the volunteers and support he has throughout the 21st District.

"Knowing I have support with our residents means I can focus on what I was sent to Madison to do and that is bring jobs to our district and to the state," he said. "Everyone who wants a job should have one, and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle on legislation that creates an atmosphere for business here in Wisconsin."

Phillips stressed that volunteers are still welcome to sign up to check signatures, but they must go through the training first. If anyone is interested in volunteering to verify signatures, they can call the GOP Victory Center at (262) 864-1010.