Scott Williams
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Yard signs turned up in Racine County earlier this year in support of a recall effort targeting Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. |
UNION GROVE — The group behind a recall effort targeting Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has missed a deadline for reporting who financially backed the failed campaign.
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission said the recall group will receive a warning and possibly a $100 fine for missing the reporting deadline, which passed at midnight Monday.
Under state law, the Union Grove-based group is required to report who has donated money and how the money was spent.
Recall organizer Matthew Snorek said he was aware of the deadline, but he said others in the group were responsible for campaign finance reporting.
Snorek referred questions about the missed deadline to Conrad Reynolds, a Republican from Arkansas who traveled to Wisconsin to help run the recall petition drive. Reynolds could not be reached for comment.
Reynolds was working on the campaign finance report, Snorek said, but there was some confusion about when it was due.
“I have no idea how that stuff works at all,” he said.
Vos, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November, said the missed deadline is an example of the recall group’s disregard for laws and rules.
“Their lack of reporting is especially concerning given we’re probably talking about at least a million dollars in spending from out-of-state special interests,” Vos said. “Everyone in Racine County deserves to know who funded this effort.”
The recall effort sought to remove Vos from his state legislative seat after the Assembly speaker refused calls to decertify President Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election.
The group registered with the state ethics commission in January under the name “Recall Vos,” and again in March under the name “Racine Recall Committee.”
In two separate efforts, the group fell short of the number of signatures needed on a petition calling for a recall election in Vos’ legislative district.
Both groups were required to file campaign finance reports by Monday.
A candidate or committee can claim an exemption from the reporting requirement if they collect and spend less than $2,500. The deadline for claiming the exemption was June 30.
Under the ethics commission rules, the missed deadline will count as a “first strike” against the group. If future reporting deadlines are missed, the penalties could become more severe.
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