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Wisconsin votes on recalling their governor

Residents vote shortly after the polls opened in the Wisconsin recall election at the Beloit Historical Society on June 5, in Beloit, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat, is trying to unseat Republican Governor Scott Walker in the recall election. Opponents of Walker forced a recall election after the governor pushed to change the collective bargaining process for public employees in the state.
Residents vote shortly after the polls opened in the Wisconsin recall election at the Beloit Historical Society on June 5, in Beloit, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat, is trying to unseat Republican Governor Scott Walker in the recall election. Opponents of Walker forced a recall election after the governor pushed to change the collective bargaining process for public employees in the state.Scott Olson / Getty Images
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People wait in line for voting to open on June 5, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is taking on Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a recall election.
People wait in line for voting to open on June 5, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is taking on Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a recall election.Jeffrey Phelps / AP

AP reports -- After a brief but bruising campaign that followed a more than yearlong fight over union rights and the state's cash-strapped budget, voters in a narrowly divided Wisconsin began casting ballots Tuesday on whether to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

The first-term Republican was back on the ballot just 17 months after his election. Enraged Democrats and labor activists gathered more than 900,000 signatures in support of the recall after they failed to stop Walker and his GOP allies in the state legislature from stripping most public employees of their union right to collectively bargain. Continue reading.

For more information: Wisconsin recall vote continues the age of polarization.

 

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker votes on June 5, in Wauwatosa, Wis. Walker faces Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a special recall election.
Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker votes on June 5, in Wauwatosa, Wis. Walker faces Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a special recall election.Morry Gash / AP

Gubernatorial candidate and Milwaukee's Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett lines up to vote at the French Immersion School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 5. Wisconsin voters will decide on Tuesday whether to throw Governor Scott Walker out of office in a rare recall election forced by opponents of the Republican's controversial effort to curb collective bargaining for most unionized government workers.
Gubernatorial candidate and Milwaukee's Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett lines up to vote at the French Immersion School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 5. Wisconsin voters will decide on Tuesday whether to throw Governor Scott Walker out of office in a rare recall election forced by opponents of the Republican's controversial effort to curb collective bargaining for most unionized government workers.John Gress / Reuters

Voters cast their ballots on June 5, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is taking on Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a recall election.
Voters cast their ballots on June 5, in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is taking on Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in a recall election.Jeffrey Phelps / AP

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