2/3rd of Signature Gatherers in Second Vos Recall Were from Out of State

About two-thirds of the 114 people who collected signatures to force a recall against Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos were from out of state, a Wisconsin Right Now review of nomination papers found.

A post on social media offered $2,000 a week to out-of-state circulators willing to come to Wisconsin to collect signatures against Vos, and one circulator listed a local hotel as his home address before crossing it out.

The Wisconsin Election Commission has not yet ruled whether the recallers submitted enough valid signatures. The WEC also has not determined whether a recall could even go forward, since district boundaries were redrawn.

Of the 114 circulators in the second Vos recall, about 38 were from Wisconsin. That means that two-thirds, or about 67%, were from out-of-state. They came from Washington DC, Arkansas, Hawaii, California, Illinois, and other states.

Some of the circulators had past criminal charges filed against them. A circulator, Andrew Cegielski, is a third-offense drunk driver with a disorderly conduct citation, for example; he has now announced that he is running against Vos in the primary for his new district. Cegielski’s address was listed as Waukesha on the recall gathering form.

In one case, a man with the same name and city as a Wisconsin circulator comes up with a felony sexual assault of a child conviction from 1999 in court records. Data mining sites list only one man in Wisconsin with the same name, although it could not be definitively verified that they are the same person because circulators do not need to list their dates of birth on the forms, just their address and name.

One circulator has the same name and hometown as a woman who ran for state Senate as a Democrat in a different state and withdrew from consideration after her nomination signatures were challenged by another candidate. Others run the gamut. They include massage therapists, a pizza delivery man, a man who wrote about his debt on Facebook, and people involved in religious communities.

In addition, of the 38 Wisconsin people who gathered signatures against Vos, about half do not live in or near his district.

The circulators include some prominent names, including former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, and Harry Wait, who is facing felony election fraud charges.

A review of the signatures shows problems with a number of them; for example, people signed the papers who live nowhere near Vos’s district – there were signatures from Milwaukee, Franklin, and other far-off communities.

The first recall efforts failed because of multiple problems with signatures turned in by out-of-state circulators including accusations of forgery after people came forward and said their names appeared, but they didn’t sign it. We wrote Racine County DA Patricia Hanson to ask about the status of those referrals to her office, but we received no answer.

Some nomination papers contain the names of people’s cities spelled wrong; Sturtevant was spelled multiple ways, and Caledonia was spelled Calidonia. One circulator repeatedly wrote that she was from Pheonix.

Here are the names of the circulators with their hometowns:

Circulators
Shannon West, Conway Arkansas
Rita Huff Branch MS
Ruth A Mills Bellevue MI
Stan Sisson Avondale AZ
Jay Schroeder Neenah, WI
Dusan Savic Wind Lake WI
Justin Gracier Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mark Duncan, Racine WI
Stephen Wright Benton Arkansas
Grace Huff Chesterfield MI
Ambriel Six Chesterfield MI
Jeffrey Jensen Racine WI
Moira Rounds Phoenix Az
Daniel Roumbanis Hartman Arkansas
Lydia Montoya Conway Arkansas
Lorri Justice LR Arkansas
D Reed Porter Cary IL
Janet Paquette Little Rock Arkansas
John Paquette Little Rock Arkansas
Linda C Iorio Conway Arkansas
Walter Harrison Stoermer Little Rock Arkansas
Gary DeWayne Tobar Turrell Arkansas
Jonathan Korte Green Bay Wisconsin
Maria DeSautel Scottsdale Arizona
Jodilynn Ortiz Placitas New Mexico
Stephanie Zink Phoenix Arizona
Abigail Merritt Belcamp Maryland
Timothy LaRose Baltimore Maryland
Michael Morin Churchville Maryland
Jesus Aguilera Baltimore Maryland
Ken Hein Kansasville WI
Patrick Howley Avon CT
Janet Evertsen Fairfield IA
James A Clark Henderson NC
Stefan Gregorevic or Oligorevic New Berlin WI
Robert Alan Greatsinger Racine WI
Steven Sean Ohlrogge Elkhorn WI
Amber Murray Glendale AZ
Josias Andujar Vero Beach FL
Matthew Snorek Burlington WI
Jeff Zink Phoenix AZ
Devin Pendergast Burlington WI
Harry Wait Union Grove WI
Janel Brandtjen Menomonee Falls WI
Joseph Pekarek Ferryvillw WI
Linda C Peterson Burlington WI
Jovan Knezic Franklin WI
Justin Moser Chesterfield MI
Chris Hull Washington DC
Kenneth Fuller Kansasville WI
Madison Jane DeWolf Pleasant Prairie WI
John Adamson Elizabethtown Pennsylvania
Gabriela Brumar Glenview IL
Alex Iten Aberdeen MD
Eric Chacon Durham NC
Andrew Cegelski Waukesha WI
Sheilla Thompson Traskwood Arkansas
Catherine Justice LR AR
Trexler Biehn Pea Ridge AR
Anna Barker Little Rock AR
Ella Thompson Little Rock AR
Brighid Macchia Vero Beach FL
Laura Lolya Palm Bay FL
Kelly Walker Columbia TN
Brandon Hawks Rocky Mount NC
David Bradford Mount Pleasant WI
Mike Gableman New Berlin WI
Brittany Baker Coastonia TN
Gail Golee Scottsdale AZ
Joshua Foss Batesville Ar
Jarrod Olson Green Bay WI
Jonathan Korte Green Bay WI
Russell Otten Sheboygan WI
Zachary Steffler Nashville MI
Bryntin Cardena San Marcos CA
Barbara Struckmeyer Cottage Grove WI
Carol A Williams Sun Prairie WI
Ryan Graham Kailua HI
Marvin Munyon Sun Prairie WI
Richard Carnagey Gresham OR
Dax Brown Fresno CA
Kimimila Webster Thunder North Sioux City SD
Jarden Flynn North Sioux City DF
Michael Kim Chandler AZ
Jason Zehe West Allis WI
Edwin Santiago Jr Mount Pleasant WI
Joseph Kosmicki Chula Vista LA
Christian Schroeder Neenah WI
Larry Grofanakis sp? Phoenix AZ
Amanda Marquez Fallon NV
Stephen Hurst Hawthorn Woods IL
Cody Eller Bible Grove IL
Fabian Maldonado Racine WI
Daniel Avila Richland WAS
Mike Kirchner Racine WI
John Lage (spe) Washington DC
Doug Bricker Batavia IL
Richard J Porter Cave City AR
Randall Blankenship Grand Prairie TX
Noah Zimmerman Evanston IL
Andrew Hoy Grafton WI
Quentin Cottrell Carlsbad CA
Jannene Barnes Mesa AZ
Teresa Campbell Jacksonville FL
Judith Neff Enview IL
Vlad Litvin Eugene OR
Elvira Brooks Mount Pleasant wI
Gary Alan Feldman Philadelphia PA
Joseph Steffler Nashville MI
Mark Harry Gabriel Appleton WI
Eric Paige Westchester IL
James Donahue Muskego WI
Jonathan Storms Grafton WI
Julia Storms Grafton WI