In response to reports of alleged plans to illegally destroy recall petitions, One Wisconsin Now has established a $10,000 reward fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any individual guilty of fraudulently destroying or defacing recall petitions from today until the end of the recall gathering process on January 14, 2012. The fraudulent destruction or defacement of a recall petition is in violation of Wis. Stat. § 12.13(3)(a) and, as the Government Accountability Board has recently made clear, a Class I felony.

“We cannot allow democracy to be threatened by those who would illegally destroy recall petitions with valid signatures on them,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “We intend to keep the public informed about its rights during the signature gathering process and alert those who would engage in illegal conduct that they do so at their own peril.”

In addition to the $10,000 Reward Fund, One Wisconsin Now is providing information to ensure those who wish to sign and/or circulate recall petitions know their rights. The memo is available here.

“This information will help combat any scurrilous myths being disseminated about who is eligible to sign and circulate recall petitions,” said Ross. “We will continue to monitor all fronts on this fight to ensure people’s rights are protected.”

The terms of One Wisconsin Now’s $10,000 Reward Fund are as follows:

• The total amount of the reward fund is $10,000.
• The individual must provide the information to One Wisconsin Now as part of a sworn affidavit.
• To collect the reward the person need not become involved in the prosecution or appear as a witness at the trial.
• The information must be adequate and timely; if someone has surrendered, or the information was already known when the person provided it, no reward will be given. One Wisconsin Now’s reward fund will cover information regarding petition destruction or defacing from November 22, 2011 and January 14, 2012.
• If the information does not lead to the arrest and conviction, the reward will be denied.
• If a reward is claimed, One Wisconsin Now will make the final determination regarding any payment.
• In the event of separate incidents, One Wisconsin Now may pay portions of the reward to two or more persons.
• In the event One Wisconsin Now receives affidavits from more than one person about a specific incident, any reward funds will only be provided to the first person submitting an affidavit.
• No individual serving on the jury of a case in which a successful prosecution for recall petition destruction occurs is eligible for reward funds.
• No district attorney, deputy district attorney assistant district attorney or public official is eligible for reward funds.