This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/04/wisconsin-recall-vote-what-you-should-know
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Wisconsin recall vote: what you need to know about the high-stakes election | Wisconsin recall vote: what you need to know about the high-stakes election |
| (8 days later) | |
| What's happening in Wisconsin? | What's happening in Wisconsin? |
| On June 5 the state votes in a recall election to choose its governor. The Republican incumbent, Scott Walker, is fighting to keep his job. A Democratic challenger, Tom Barrett, is fighting to take it. It's a re-match from 2010 when Walker defeated Barrett 52% to 47%. | On June 5 the state votes in a recall election to choose its governor. The Republican incumbent, Scott Walker, is fighting to keep his job. A Democratic challenger, Tom Barrett, is fighting to take it. It's a re-match from 2010 when Walker defeated Barrett 52% to 47%. |
| How come they're having a new election so soon? | How come they're having a new election so soon? |
| Walker had a four-year term but kicked a hornet's nest in the form of public sector workers. He sought to remove collective bargaining rights from the unions and to cut workers' health benefits and pension entitlements. He said it was to make the labour market more competitive and balance the budget. Opponents said it was Tea Party radicalism gone berserk. Democratic state senators fled the state in an attempt to block the legislation. Unions and activists mobilised protests and collected 1m signatures to force a recall vote. | Walker had a four-year term but kicked a hornet's nest in the form of public sector workers. He sought to remove collective bargaining rights from the unions and to cut workers' health benefits and pension entitlements. He said it was to make the labour market more competitive and balance the budget. Opponents said it was Tea Party radicalism gone berserk. Democratic state senators fled the state in an attempt to block the legislation. Unions and activists mobilised protests and collected 1m signatures to force a recall vote. |
| How does all this work exactly? | How does all this work exactly? |
| Only 19 states – Wisconsin is one – allow voters to recall governors. The anti-Walker side had a 60-day period to collect 540,208 signatures, one-quarter of the 2,160,832 votes cast for governor in the November 2010 general election. Between November 2011 and January 2012 United Wisconsin, a coalition group, announced it had collected 1m signatures. The Government Accountability Board certified 900,938 signatures. After wrangling by Walker, the courts set June 5 as the recall vote date. If the vote is close the loser may well request a recount on June 6. | Only 19 states – Wisconsin is one – allow voters to recall governors. The anti-Walker side had a 60-day period to collect 540,208 signatures, one-quarter of the 2,160,832 votes cast for governor in the November 2010 general election. Between November 2011 and January 2012 United Wisconsin, a coalition group, announced it had collected 1m signatures. The Government Accountability Board certified 900,938 signatures. After wrangling by Walker, the courts set June 5 as the recall vote date. If the vote is close the loser may well request a recount on June 6. |
| Why the nationwide fuss? | Why the nationwide fuss? |
| Partly because recall elections are so rare. Only two governors have ever been ousted in this way: Lynne Frazier of North Dakota in 1921 and Gray Davis in California in 2003. But mainly because Wisconsin's vote is widely seen as a referendum on the Republican surge since 2010 and a harbinger of the presidential election in November. If Walker holds on it will energise the state's Republicans and could tip Wisconsin, a swing state, Mitt Romney's way. If Walker falls Democrats will trumpet a backlash against Republican overreach. Expect the White House to cast Romney as Walker-in-waiting. | Partly because recall elections are so rare. Only two governors have ever been ousted in this way: Lynne Frazier of North Dakota in 1921 and Gray Davis in California in 2003. But mainly because Wisconsin's vote is widely seen as a referendum on the Republican surge since 2010 and a harbinger of the presidential election in November. If Walker holds on it will energise the state's Republicans and could tip Wisconsin, a swing state, Mitt Romney's way. If Walker falls Democrats will trumpet a backlash against Republican overreach. Expect the White House to cast Romney as Walker-in-waiting. |
| Will Walker hold on? | Will Walker hold on? |
| Most analysts seem to think he will. Polls give him a single-digit lead. The state has become so polarised that few voters are undecided. They love or hate the governor. But everything hinges on turnout. Walker could be pipped if Democrats prove better than Republicans at mobilising support on voting day. | Most analysts seem to think he will. Polls give him a single-digit lead. The state has become so polarised that few voters are undecided. They love or hate the governor. But everything hinges on turnout. Walker could be pipped if Democrats prove better than Republicans at mobilising support on voting day. |
| Have Republicans rallied around Walker? | Have Republicans rallied around Walker? |
| You betcha, and not just Tea Partyers. Other governors – Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Bobby Jindal, Bob McDonnell – have popped up in Milwaukee and around Wisconsin's lakes canvassing for their man. Out-of-state supporters and billionaire donors such as the Koch brothers have filled his war chest with an estimated $30m. | You betcha, and not just Tea Partyers. Other governors – Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Bobby Jindal, Bob McDonnell – have popped up in Milwaukee and around Wisconsin's lakes canvassing for their man. Out-of-state supporters and billionaire donors such as the Koch brothers have filled his war chest with an estimated $30m. |
| Have Democrats rallied around Barrett? | Have Democrats rallied around Barrett? |
| Sort of. Public sector unions and grassroots activists are championing the Milwaukee mayor as their deliverance from right-wing barbarians. On Friday Bill Clinton fired up a crowd in Milwaukee with a plea to oust Walker's "divide and rule" politics. But other party leaders in Washington have been accused of soft-pedalling. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have endorsed Barrett but neither has campaigned in Wisconsin. The White House is apparently calculating that some who vote Republican next week will return to Obama's banner in November – as long as he stays out of Wisconsin's current partisan foaming. | Sort of. Public sector unions and grassroots activists are championing the Milwaukee mayor as their deliverance from right-wing barbarians. On Friday Bill Clinton fired up a crowd in Milwaukee with a plea to oust Walker's "divide and rule" politics. But other party leaders in Washington have been accused of soft-pedalling. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have endorsed Barrett but neither has campaigned in Wisconsin. The White House is apparently calculating that some who vote Republican next week will return to Obama's banner in November – as long as he stays out of Wisconsin's current partisan foaming. |
| How bad is the foaming? | How bad is the foaming? |
| A state once noted for relative plurality and decorum in public discourse is now roiled by political arguments not just on the airwaves but between colleagues and friends and within families. A full dress-rehearsal, in other words, for the presidential election. | A state once noted for relative plurality and decorum in public discourse is now roiled by political arguments not just on the airwaves but between colleagues and friends and within families. A full dress-rehearsal, in other words, for the presidential election. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |