After losing Wisconsin recount, GOP state senator considering legal action 2JUL12

SO gov scott walker r WI survived his recall election, but the final decision on this one state Senate race will determine who will really win......From The Raw Story...

 

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard may challenge a recount that found he was defeated by Democrat John Lehman in last month’s recall elections.
“Official County Canvass shows we won the election by 834 votes,” Lehman said in a statement on Monday. “Thank you to all our hard working clerks and election workers throughout Racine County.”
But Wanggaard suggested that he was considering taking legal action over “suspicious” voting activity. He has until July 10 to challenge the result of the recount.
“The list of problems now includes missing pages in poll books, missing signatures, wrong voter numbers, wrong and unverified addresses and most shocking of all, unsealed and sealed and reopened ballot bags – all without explanation,” he said in a statement. “None of these issues would have been discovered if not for the recount.”
“Anyone who argues that this recount was a waste of time, or that we do not need voter ID, either wants to conceal these potential fraudulent activities or hasn’t been paying attention,” Wanggaard added.
The recall elections on June 5 were the culmination of months of effort by state Democrats and labor unions who spearheaded a backlash against Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Shortly after taking office, the tea party favorite joined Republicans in the state Senate in attempting to strip public labor unions of their ability to collectively bargain.
Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and state Sens. Scott Fitzgerald, Terry Moulton and Jerry Petrowski all defeated their Democratic challengers.
Last year, Wisconsin Democrats picked up two seats in the state Senate after defeating incumbent Republicans in recall elections. If the Government Accountability Board declares Lehman to be the official winner of the recall election, the Democrats will have a one-seat majority in the Wisconsin Senate.
“It is time for Senator Wanggaard to concede and let the voters of the 21st Senate District have the senator they chose,” Senate Majority Leader Mark Miller said. “Any attempt to delay with court cases is irresponsible and a waste of time and money, not to mention a denial of democracy.”
“The voters in the 21st have spoken,” he added. “Let’s move forward and let Senator-elect Lehman start working on job creation for his constituents.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/02/after-losing-wisconsin-recount-gop-state-senator-considering-legal-action/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

THIS WEEK IN CIVIL LIBERTIES from THE ACLU 8JUN12

THIS week in civil liberties from the ACLU covering government surveillance, over-incarceration, same-sex couples & DOMA, voter ID laws and Wisconsin......

By Rekha Arulanantham

Why should you care about surveillance if you have nothing to hide?

True or False? Several states including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia have taken steps to reduce overincarceration.

Which law that discriminates against same-sex couples was ruled unconstitutional by yet another federal judge?

Which ACLU affiliate unveiled this week a smart phone app that will allow users to record and report encounters with local law enforcement?

What group was disproportionately affected by Wisconsin’s voter ID law in this week’s recall election?

Plenty to Hide

The ACLU’s Jay Stanley gives six responses to the question, “Why should I care about surveillance if I have nothing to hide?”

States Take Sizeable Steps in 2012 to End Overincarceration

As states begin to realize that they can reduce their prison populations safely, the pace of reform has begun to pick up a bit this year. State legislative sessions are coming to a close, which makes it a good time to review the actions lawmakers have taken to reduce their unsustainable prison populations in 2012. Here are the some of the legislative reform highlights.

Another DOMA Win!

This week, another federal judge ruled that the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the federal constitution. The ruling came in an ACLU case brought by Edie Windsor after the death of her spouse and partner of 44 years, Thea Spyer. Edie’s is the fifth case in which courts have struck down DOMA, and the fourth ruling to come just in 2012 – a veritable avalanche of judicial wisdom on our side, and a sure sign of an idea whose time has come.

Stop and Frisk Watch: Keep Tabs on the NYPD with Your Smart Phone

The New York Civil Liberties Union is giving smart phones a social conscience. This week, NYCLU unveiled Stop and Frisk Watch – a new smart phone app that will empower New Yorkers to hold the NYPD accountable for unlawful, abusive street stops and other misconduct.

Wisconsin’s Recall Election: State Law Makes Voting an Uphill Battle for Young Voters

On June 5, Wisconsin held a recall election – a rarity in U.S. history – in which Gov. Scott Walker was challenged by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Unfortunately, the state’s new voting law may have diminished turnout of many residents, particularly young voters.

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This Week in Civil Liberties

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL MAP from ELECTORAL-VOTE.COM 5JUN12

THIS shows the race tightening across the country..it will be an interesting 5 months......

Obama 276

Ties 19

Romney 243

Senate

Dem 50

Ties 3

GOP 47

Senate Downloadable
polling data

• Strongly Dem (210)
• Likely Dem (34)
• Barely Dem (32)
• Exactly tied (19)
• Barely GOP (62)
• Likely GOP (51)
• Strongly GOP (130)

270 Electoral votes needed to win Map algorithm explained

New polls: VA

Dem pickups: MO

GOP pickups: FL IN NC OH

Someone Hacked into Romney's Email Account Obama Ahead in Florida What if the Supreme Court Strikes Down the Health Care Law? The Resilience of the Two-Party System Elusive Victories 17 Recall Elections Today

News from the Votemaster

Wisconsin Recall Election Today

For only the third time in U.S. history a sitting governor is facing a recall election. Today the voters of Wisconsin have to decide if they want to keep Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), who has taken an extremely hard line against the state's unions, which got them angry enough to successfully collect sufficient signatures to force a recall election. Walker is facing former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett (D). The other governors who faced recall elections were Lynn Frazier, governor of North Dakota, who was recalled in 1921 and Gray Davis, governor of California, who was recalled in 2003. Here are the most recent six polls of the Wisconsin recall election.

Pollster	Barrett	Walker	Start	End
We Ask America	42%	50%	Jun 3	Jun 3
PPP	47%	50%	June 2	June 3
Angus-Reid	46%	51%	May 30	Jun 2
Marquette Law School	45%	52%	May 23	May 26
We Ask America	42%	54%	May 23	May 23
St. Norbert Coll.	45%	50%	May 17	May 22

If the polls are to be believed, Scott Walker will keep his job. However, as with primary elections, turnout on special elections tends to be low so a lot depends on which side is better at turning out its supporters.
No matter what happens today, Wednesday morning a lot of soothsayers will be examining the results for clues to November as if they were the entrails of a goat. A Walker victory today means a Romney win in November and a Barrett win means Obama will get a second term they will all say. It seems unlikely. It often happens that people vote for a Democrat for one office and a Republican for another. If everybody voted a straight party line, then each state would either have a Republican governor and two Republican senators or a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators. In reality, 14 states have a Republican governor and two Republican senators, 11 states have a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, and 25 states have some other combination. So in half the states, the voters don't vote a straight ticket, including Wisconsin. Here is the list of sitting governors and senators (this list is also on the Data galore page in case you look for it later).

State	Governor	Senior senator	Junior senator
Alabama	Robert Bentley (R)	Richard Shelby (R)	Jeffrey Sessions (R)
Alaska	Sean Parnell (R)	Lisa Murkowski (I)	Mark Begich (D)
Arizona	Janice Brewer (R)	John McCain (R)	Jon Kyl (R)
Arkansas	Michael Beebe (D)	Mark Pryor (D)	John Boozman (R)
California	Edmund Brown (D)	Dianne Feinstein (D)	Barbara Boxer (D)
Colorado	John Hickenlooper (D)	Mark Udall (D)	Michael Bennet (D)
Connecticut	Daniel Malloy (D)	Joseph Lieberman (I)	Richard Blumenthal (D)
Delaware	John Markell (D)	Thomas Carper (D)	Christopher Coons (D)
Florida	Richard Scott (R)	William Nelson (D)	Marco Rubio (R)
Georgia	John Deal (R)	Saxby Chambliss (R)	John Isakson (R)
Hawaii	Neil Abercrombie (D)	Daniel Inouye (D)	Daniel Akaka (D)
Idaho	Clement Otter (R)	Michael Crapo (R)	James Risch (R)
Illinois	Patrick Quinn (D)	Richard Durbin (D)	Mark Kirk (R)
Indiana	Mitchell Daniels (R)	Richard Lugar (R)	Daniel Coats (R)
Iowa	Terry Branstad (R)	Charles Grassley (R)	Thomas Harkin (D)
Kansas	Samuel Brownback (R)	Patrick Roberts (R)	Gerald Moran (R)
Kentucky	Steven Beshear (D)	Addison McConnell (R)	Rand Paul (R)
Louisiana	Piyush Jindal (R)	Mary Landrieu (D)	David Vitter (R)
Maine	Paul LePage (R)	Olympia Snowe (R)	Susan Collins (R)
Maryland	Martin O'Malley (D)	Barbara Mikulsi (D)	Benjamin Cardin (D)
Massachusetts	Deval Patrick (D)	John Kerry (D)	Scott Brown (R)
Michigan	Richard Snyder (R)	Carl Levin (D)	Deborah Stabenow (D)
Minnesota	Mark Dayton (D)	Amy Klobuchar (D)	Alan Franken (D)
Mississippi	Haley Barbour (R)	William Cochran (R)	Roger Wicker (R)
Missouri	Jeremiah Nixon (D)	Claire McCaskill (D)	Roy Blunt (R)
Montana	Brian Schweitzer (D)	Max Baucus (D)	Jon Tester (D)
Nebraska	David Heineman (R)	Benjamin Nelson (D)	Michael Johans (R)
Nevada	Brian Sandoval (R)	Harry Reid (D)	Dean Heller (R)
New Hampshire	John Lynch (D)	Jeanne Shaheen (D)	Kelly Ayote (R)
New Jersey	Christopher Christie (R)	Frank Lautenberg (D)	Robert Menendez (D)
New Mexico	Susana Martinez (R)	Jeffrey Bingaman (D)	Thomas Udall (D)
New York	Andrew Cuomo (D)	Charles Shumer (D)	Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
North Carolina	Beverly Perdue (D)	Richard Burr (R)	Kay Hagan (D)
North Dakota	John Dalrymple (R)	Kent Conrad (D)	John Hoeven (R)
Ohio	John Kasich (R)	Sherrod Brown (D)	Robert Portman (R)
Oklahoma	Mary Fallin (R)	James Inhofe (R)	Thomas Coburn (R)
Oregon	John Kitzhaber (D)	Ronald Wyden (D)	Jeffrey Merkley (D)
Pennsylvania	Thomas Corbett (R)	Robert Casey (D)	Patrick Toomey (R)
Rhode Island	Lincoln Chafee (I)	John Reed (D)	Sheldon Whitehouse (D)
South Carolina	Nimrata Haley (R)	Lindsey Graham (R)	James DeMint (R)
South Dakota	Dennis Daugaard (R)	Timothy Johnson (D)	John Thume (R)
Tennessee	William Haslam (R)	Lamar Alexander (R)	Robert Corker (R)
Texas	James Perry (R)	Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)	John Cornyn (R)
Utah	Gary Herbert (R)	Orrin Hatch (R)	Michael Lee (R)
Vermont	Peter Shumlin (D)	Patrick Leahy (D)	Bernard Sanders (I)
Virginia	Robert McDonnell (R)	James Webb (D)	Mark Warner (D)
Washington	Christine Gregoire (D)	Patricia Murray (D)	Maria Cantwell (D)
West Virginia	Earl Tomblin (D)	John Rockefeller (D)	Joseph Manchin (D)
Wisconsin	Scott Walker (R)	Herbert Kohl (D)	Ronald Johnson (R)
Wyoming	Matthew Mead (R)	Michael Enzi (R)	John Barrasso (R)

Five Primaries Today

Although Mitt Romney has more than enough delegates to capture the Republican nomination, the primary process is continuing to roll along, with primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota today. In a number of cases there are contested primaries for the Senate and House, so there will no doubt be substantial turnout. Incumbent vs. incumbent elections are happening in New Jersey and California. Also, in New Mexico, there are tough Democratic and Republican primaries in New Mexico for the Senate seat of retiring senator Jeff Bingaman.

Today's Presidential Polls

State	Obama	Romney		Start	End	Pollster
Virginia	47%	47%		Jun 03	Jun 03	Rasmussen

Email a link to a friend or share:

---The Votemaster

DNC sitting out the Walker recall? 15MAI12

THE DNC must financially support the Democrats and their candidate for governor, Tom Barrett D WI in his campaign to recall Gov scott walker R WI. Please sign this petition to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and demand the DNC support the walker recall campaign!

---

Dear MoveOn member,

As a Wisconsin progressive working day and night for the recall of Scott Walker, I'm shocked: The Democratic National Committee still isn't giving financial support to the recall fight in Wisconsin.

After more than a year of grassroots efforts, Wisconsin citizens have accomplished more than anyone thought possible. We now have a Democratic challenger to Scott Walker who is neck and neck in the polls, even though Tom Barrett is being outspent by Walker's millions from out-of-state donations. 

There is no more time for the Democratic National Committee to wait—if Walker wins, it would be a huge setback to Democrats in races across the country this year. We need the DNC's support immediately!

That's why I created a petition on SignOn.org to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, which says:

Democratic National Committee and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, invest now in the crucial fight to remove Scott Walker from office in Wisconsin—the people have worked hard and it's time to help.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://signon.org/sign/democratic-national-committe?source=mo&id=41481-17549061-jw1kIWx

Thanks!

–Mary Magnuson

Source:

1. "EXCLUSIVE: Wisconsin Dems furious with DNC for refusing to invest big money in Walker recall," The Washington Post, May 15, 2012 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=275547&id=41481-17549061-jw1kIWx&t=3

This petition was created on SignOn.org, the progressive, nonprofit petition site that will never sell your email address and will never promote a petition because someone paid us to. SignOn.org is sponsored by MoveOn Civic Action, which is not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site.

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