MacIver Responds To PolitiFact On Wisconsin Recall Signature Fraud

As you may have noticed, PolitiFact tried to take the MacIver News Service to task over our reporting of a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB). Specifically, they rated as “Mostly False” our report on the recall signature submission, review, challenge and certification processes as outlined at a GAB hearing earlier this week. Despite PolitiFact’s subjective analysis, I stand by our story.

Go ahead, watch the video and decide for yourself. As you will clearly see, the Mickey Mouse/Hitler signature acceptance question was posed by a member of the GAB and answered by GAB staff at their hearing on December 13th. The GAB staff clearly states that as long as signatures are accompanied by the proper date and a plausible Wisconsin address, they are deemed acceptable, pending the outcome of any possible challenge. All we did was record the sequence and broadcast it to the world.

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The GAB explained that unless a successful challenge is mounted, all signatures, including those such as those of Mickey Mouse or Hitler, which are accompanied by an accurate date and a plausible Wisconsin address, WOULD be accepted if admitted by the recallers.

I find it disappointing that the paper would specifically criticize our reporting, even though the AP and scores of other media outlets ran a similar story. Yet they ignored the underlying fundamental question; how can the GAB, the government agency entrusted to protect the sanctity of Wisconsin elections, not automatically strike obviously fraudulent signatures like Adolph Hitler or Mickey Mouse? It defies common sense-and judging by the intense reaction our story has generated, it has touched a nerve. Many Wisconsinites are asking if one of their most fundamental rights, their ability to cast a vote just like every other citizen in an orderly election free of manipulation, is in jeopardy.

One organization has already promoted the notion it is okay to sign a petition more than once. WISN Channel 12 TV in Milwaukee broadcast an interview with a gentleman who said he signed “probably eighty times.” The GAB has said Adolph Hitler with a plausible Wisconsin address will be presumed valid.

This would be truly comical if it weren’t so important.

I stand by our reporting and our story. While the paper and the GAB may choose to ignore the problem, the MacIver News Service will continue to pursue the issue election fraud and report what we find.

See the original text story here.