The Government Accountability Board "said politics played no role in its decision" but "it was able to get through the [recall] petitions against Republicans faster than the ones against Democrats."

Hmm. So the Board has certified the 6 Republican recall elections (for July 12), but it has needed an extension to finish up on certifying the elections against the 3 Democrats for whom petitions have been filed. Consequently, the recall elections against the Democrats, assuming they are certified, will happen a week later.

The Democrats have submitted more than 200 affidavits that they say show fraud was committed. The board has said it is obligated to review all that material, which will take more time.

In contrast, the Republicans made a purely legal argument that paperwork was filed improperly. The same argument was made in all six cases, so once the board got through one of them, there was comparatively little work to do on the others.

So that — rather than partisanship — seems to explain the speed difference.

Republicans argued if the deadlines were delayed for Democrats, the recall elections should be delayed by a week for the Republicans.

Is it really disadvantageous to go a week later? At that point, Republicans will know if any Democrats need to get ousted to preserve their majority in the state senate. Or will it light a fire under Democrats? If on the other hand, the Democrats fail to oust enough Republicans to get a senate majority — they need 3 of the 6 — then voters may blow off the elections against the Democrats.