By Kirsten Adshead | Wisconsin Reporter

MADISON — The accusations are almost certain to fly again.

Some will swear they saw, in strict violation of election law, children collecting signatures to recall Gov. Scott Walker,

Others will complain that Walker supporters are harassing signature-collectors.

Rumors will swirl that someone, somewhere got pushed, shoved or maybe even punched.

And the Government Accountability Board, or GAB, will be called in to investigate.

Such was the case last spring, when the efforts to collect signatures to recall half of the state Senate were marked by accusations of thievery and harassment and — from liberals and conservatives — allegations that the other side was being funded by too much outside money.

Now as the state nears Nov. 15, the day a planned recall campaign against Walker is scheduled to begin, Wisconsin’s political parties are trying to do some chaos control in advance, ensuring that all signatures are collected legally and without incident.

“We’re not spoiling for a fight here,” Sachin Chheda, chairman of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, told Wisconsin Reporter.

Beginning Tuesday, Democrats are holding a series of training sessions aimed at informing volunteers what they can and cannot do in the campaign to collect enough signatures to trigger a recall election of Walker.

Training sessions will be held Tuesday here and in Milwaukee, Green Bay and La Crosse, with other sessions around the state in the upcoming days. People can sign up on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's website.

Walker critics need 540,208 signatures to get the governor on a recall ballot, but an email sent to Democrats, on Monday announcing the training sessions, said the goal was to collect 650,000 valid signatures.

Those circulating petitions against the senators earlier this year also aimed to collect significantly more than the number of signatures needed to ensure the recall drive could withstand any legal challenges, even if some signatures were declared invalid.

Once the initial paperwork is filed with the GAB, the state's election agency, recall supporters will have 60 days to collect signatures.

The campaign is being led by United Wisconsin, which calls itself a nonpartisan political action committee and claims to have more than 200,000 pledges from people ready to support the Walker recall effort once it begins.

Republicans are making their own plans.

Nicole Larson, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Republican Party, wouldn’t say Monday if the GOP was planning its own training sessions. But she said the party will be on its guard.

"Similar to the Senate recall elections, the Republican Party of Wisconsin will be operating a recall integrity center for individuals to report any instances of intimidation or questionable activities regarding the Democrats’ signature process,” Larson said in a statement.

Republicans and Democrats also are considering trying to recall some or all of the senators who were shielded from recall this year. State law protects elected officials from facing a recall during their first year in office — the same law that keeps Walker opponents from collecting signatures before Nov. 4.

No one has announced when, or if, efforts to recall state senators will begin in earnest.

Two Republican senators, Dan Kapanke, of La Crosse, and Randy Hopper, of Fond du Lac, were ousted from office in recall elections during the summer, but the GOP held onto a 17-16 Senate majority.

The GAB has released guidelines for the recall process and has a specific page on its website devoted to recall information.

One of the issues that came up repeatedly during the recall of the senators was where recall supporters are allowed to circulate petitions.

“Any time you’re not operating on your own property, it’s best to get permission,” GAB spokesman Reid Magney said in an email Monday.