Waukesha County Preliminary Examination Report FINAL
Authenticated Summons and Complaint 4/21/2011
Kloppenburg letter to GAB May 31
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 -- 4:30 p.m.
By NBC15's Dana Brueck
The race for the Supreme Court has ended.
JoAnne Kloppenburg says she will pursue no legal action to challenge the results of the statewide recount, but she has a lot to say about the election process.
Kloppenburg called incumbent Justice David Prosser Tuesday morning to congratulate him.
But she also called a news conference to say the recount's a "wake up call" that there needs to be a thorough review of the election process in Wisconsin, though the issues her campaign identified do not warrant a lawsuit.
"David Prosser has won this election, and I have congratulated him."
Eight weeks after election night...an end to the tight race for Supreme Court justice.
"I will not be requesting judicial review of the results."
Last week, the Government Accountability Board certified the recount results, reporting Kloppenburg lost by slightly more than 7-thousand votes.
Tuesday was the deadline for her to appeal those results in court.
Kloppenburg says the rare, statewide recount was worth the cost.
She says it uncovered issues of uneven compliance with procedures... ballot security and training of clerks and poll workers.
"The problem is there needs to be more training... there need to be more protections ...there need to be easier ways to secure our ballots to handle our absentee ballots," she says.
The assistant attorney general has submitted a letter with concerns and recommendations to the GAB.
She also wants the agency to appoint an independent investigator in Waukesha County.
Two days after the election, the clerk reported 14-thousand votes weren't included in preliminary counts, which put Prosser ahead, instead.
"I'm very pleased the election is now over," Prosser says.
Justice David Prosser called the campaign an ordeal but says he's eager to continue his work, saying he always believed he'd won the race.
"I have enormous confidence in our election system, including Waukesha County," he says, "The electoral system involves people and people are human and people make errors...but when you look at whole election, the number of errors was really very small," he says.
A spokesperson for the GAB says it has always maintained the recount was a chance to learn, and to identify potential issues and make recommendations.
The GAB has received a complaint about the Waukesha County clerk from the Kloppenburg campaign but cannot comment further.
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UPDATED Tuesday, May 31, 2011 --- 11:10 a.m.
NOTE: To read the letter that JoAnne Kloppenburg sent the GAB, click on the link ABOVE marked "Kloppenburg letter to GAB May 31"
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- JoAnne Kloppenburg has conceded defeat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race against incumbent conservative Justice David Prosser.
Kloppenburg announced her decision Tuesday in Madison.
Kloppenburg's decision comes after a statewide recount reaffirmed Prosser's victory over her in the April 5 election.
Prosser originally won the election by 7,316 votes, out of 1.5 million cast. She picked up only 312 votes in the recount.
Prosser's campaign had said there was no basis for a challenge and it was time to move on.
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most state workers. Conservative Walker backers largely backed Prosser while opponents of the collective bargaining bill lined up behind Kloppenburg.
Prosser's next 10-year term begins in August.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Tuesday, May 31, 2011 --- 9:15 a.m.
NOTE: JoAnne Kloppenburg will hold her press conference at 11:00 a.m.. NBC15 will air her announcement LIVE during NBC15 News at 11:00 a.m..
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UPDATED Tuesday, May 31, 2011 --- 7:50 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- JoAnne Kloppenburg is expected to announce whether she plans to challenge the recount results in her state Supreme Court race against Justice David Prosser.
Kloppenburg has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference Tuesday in Madison.
Prosser originally won the election by 7,316 votes, out of 1.5 million cast. Kloppenburg requested a statewide recount through which she picked up 312 votes. She had until Tuesday to decide whether to challenge the results in court.
Prosser's campaign has said there's no basis for a challenge and it's time to move on.
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most state workers. Conservative Walker backers largely backed Prosser while opponents of the collective bargaining bill lined up behind Kloppenburg.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Tuesday, May 31, 2011 --- 7:00 a.m.
JoAnne Kloppenburg will hold a Press Conference this morning at 11:00 a.m. to announce her decision whether to request judicial review of the recount results in the Supreme Court election.
Stay with NBC15.com for continuing coverage.
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UPDATED Monday, May 23, 2011 --- 9:15 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser's victory over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg has been certified by the state board that oversees elections.
The Government Accountability Board on Monday certified results of a statewide recount that showed the incumbent Prosser defeated Kloppenburg by 7,004 votes. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most state workers.
Conservative Walker backers largely backed Prosser while opponents of the collective bargaining bill lined up behind Kloppenburg in the officially nonpartisan race.
Kloppenburg now has until May 31 to challenge the results in court. Her campaign has not said whether it will file a challenge or not.
Prosser's campaign says there is no basis for a challenge and it's time to move on.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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STATEMENT OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DAVID PROSSER, JR:
"I am grateful that the final results of the April 5th election have been confirmed today. I want to thank the good people of Wisconsin for their confidence in me. I look forward to taking the oath of office and continuing to serve in a fair and independent manner as a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
I also want to thank the literally hundreds of local election officials and volunteers across the state's 72 counties who spent thousands of hours of their time in this recount. Their dedication went well beyond their normal "call of duty" and I know the state's residents who they serve share my appreciation for their great efforts in producing an accurate final result."
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UPDATED: Friday, May 20, 2011 --- 6:32p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Unofficial results from a statewide recount show incumbent Justice David Prosser has defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg in a race that became as much about Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill as the state Supreme Court.
The recount began on April 27 and finally ended on Friday afternoon. It found Prosser had 752,697 votes compared with Kloppenburg's 745,691.
Kloppenburg's campaign got a boost after her supporters worked to link the conservative Prosser to Walker, hoping to capitalize on outrage over the governor's plan to strip public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.
Initial results from the April 5 election showed Kloppenburg had narrowly defeated Prosser. But the Waukesha County clerk announced days later she had failed to report 14,000 votes, flipping the race for Prosser.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Friday, May 20, 2011 --- 4:15 p.m.
From the JoAnne Kloppenburg camp: Statement of Melissa Mulliken, Kloppenburg for Justice Campaign Manager on Supreme Court Recount.
Melissa Mulliken, Campaign Manager for JoAnne Kloppenburg, today issued a statement on the conclusion of the recount process in Waukesha County:
Clerks around Wisconsin have done hard and good work on this recount and all Wisconsin residents owe them thanks. We also thank the hundreds of volunteers across the state who have served as observers.
The recount has uncovered numerous anomalies and irregularities. Vote tallies have changed in every county.
Now, as the process calls for, we will review the record and we will determine, based on the facts, the evidence and the law, whether to request judicial review.
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UPDATED Friday, May 20, 2011 --- 1:30 p.m.
Wis. Supreme Court recount at a glance
By The Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began April 27. The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct. Here's a look at where the recount stood as of Friday:
--Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 3,570 of 3,602
--Prosser's current total: 746,205
--Kloppenburg's current total: 742,796
--The board reported that counties have recounted 1,490,741 votes, which is approximately 99 percent of the total votes cast.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Tuesday, May 10, 2011 --- 3:10 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began April 27. The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct. Here's a look at where the recount stood as of Friday afternoon:
--Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 3,455 of 3,602
--Prosser's current total: 689,642
--Kloppenburg's current total: 721,391
--The board reported that counties have recounted 1,412,729 votes, which is approximately 94 percent of the total votes cast. Waukesha County is the last county still counting votes.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Monday, May 9, 2011 --- 9:30 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Dane County judge has given Waukesha County about three more weeks to recount votes in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
Judge Richard Niess on Monday granted an extension to the county, the only one that hasn't yet completed the recount. Waukesha County will have until May 26 to finish.
The county's attorney Tom Farley says the county has completed about a third of the recount and is being meticulous about the work because it's at the center of the maelstrom. Niess says county officials may be moving slowly, but they are not shirking their responsibility.
JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results of the April 5 election showed her about 7,300 votes behind incumbent Justice David Prosser. Following the election, the Waukesha County clerk announced she had failed to report 14,000 votes from the Republican-leaning city of Brookfield. The new votes flipped the election for Prosser.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Friday, May 6, 2011 ---- 4:15 p.m.
From the G.A.B.:
Statewide Supreme Court Recount Update
MADISON, WI – The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board expects all counties except Waukesha County to have completed their recounts of the April 5 Supreme Court election by the statutory deadline of 5 p.m. Monday.
“Waukesha County’s recount is taking longer than expected, and we will seek a court extension of the deadline on Monday morning,” said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the G.A.B. “At this time, it is too early to say how much additional time Waukesha County will need.”
“We cannot stress enough our gratitude for the meticulous work conducted by county clerks and their Canvass Board members throughout this historic time,” said Nathaniel E. Robinson, Elections Division administrator. “The recount process has uncovered some issues and corrected some vote totals, but these are to be expected in any recount.”
Kennedy said that those who have raised concerns that the G.A.B. does not have representatives attending individual county Board of Canvassers during the recount misunderstand the structure of Wisconsin’s elections system and the role of the G.A.B. in conducting recounts.
“Wisconsin has the most decentralized election system in the United States,” Kennedy said. “The system has strong local control coupled with state oversight, resting on the partnership between the Government Accountability Board, the 72 county clerks, and the 1,850 municipal clerks. State law clearly gives each county’s Board of Canvassers the primary authority to conduct the recount, and to decide which ballots should and should not be counted. Recounting votes is an open, transparent process in which each of the candidates may have representatives present to raise objections, and where the public may be present to observe. The G.A.B.’s legal role is to order the recount, to provide legal guidance to the counties during the recount, and to certify the results. If either of the candidates disagrees with the results of the recount, the law gives them the right to appeal in circuit court within five business days after the recount is completed. The circuit court is where issues discovered during the recount, but not resolved to the satisfaction of the candidates, are resolved.”
Monday’s hearing regarding an extension for Waukesha County will be held at 8 a.m. before Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard G. Niess in Courtroom 5D. The case number is 2011-cv-1863.
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UPDATED Thursday, May 5, 2011 --- 1:49 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began last Wednesday. The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct. Here's a look at where the recount stood as of Thursday afternoon:
--Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 2,832 of 3,602
--Prosser's current total: 565,662
--Kloppenburg's current total: 530,768
--The board reported 1,097,566 votes have been recounted, about 73 percent of the total votes cast.
--The recount is scheduled to be complete by May 9, but board director Kevin Kennedy said the board plans to seek an extension. Dane and Waukesha counties have requested more time, he said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Thursday, May 5, 2011 --- 11:25 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board will be asking for an extension in the deadline to complete the recount in the state Supreme Court race.
Board director Kevin Kennedy said Thursday that Dane County has requested a one-day extension to Monday's deadline. He says Waukesha County has also asked for a deadline extension and the board is seeking more details about how long it will need.
Kennedy says Milwaukee County, the state's largest, intends to complete its counting of the ballots on Friday.
JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results of the April 5 election showed her about 7,300 votes behind incumbent Justice David Prosser.
As of Thursday morning, all but 11 of the state's 72 counties had completed the recount.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Monday, May 2, 2011 --- 11:25 a.m.
Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began on Wednesday. The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct. Here's a look at where the recount stood as of late Sunday afternoon:
--Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 1,847 of 3,602
--Prosser's current total: 366,694
--Kloppenburg's current total: 326,167
--Board spokesman Reid Magney said Monday morning he hadn't heard of any major anomalies or issues arising over the weekend.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Monday, May 2, 2011 --- 7:50 a.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- The Government Accountability Board says that as of Sunday afternoon only about one third of the state's reporting units have completed their recount of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
The recount information is due to the state in just eight days.
The recount process began Wednesday with Justice David Prosser holding a more than 7,000 vote lead over challenger Joanne Kloppenburg.
In Brown County, the clerk's office was busy all weekend working on the recount. County Clerk Darlene Marcelle tells WBAY-TV that her office has processed 30,000 ballots and they're about half done.
Marcelle says they expect to be finished with the recount in Brown County by Wednesday.
The WBAY-TV story is here: http://bit.ly/m02QM9
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Information from: WBAY-TV, http://www.wbay.com
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Saturday, April 30, 2011 --- 7:00 a.m.
Wis. Supreme Court recount at a glance
The Associated Press
Justice David Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg before a statewide recount began on Wednesday. The state Government Accountability Board is providing daily updates on the recount's progress by precinct. Here's a look at where the recount stood as of Friday evening:
—Precincts recounted and given a preliminary review by board staff: 525 of 3,602
—Prosser's current total: 95,398
—Kloppenburg's current total: 81,663
—Board spokesman Reid Magney said the board hadn't heard of any major anomalies around the state on Friday, although the board continues to field questions from local clerks about procedures.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Wednesday, April 27, 2011 --- 9:45 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The statewide Supreme Court recount is under way.
County clerks were scheduled to begin the process at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The state Government Accountability Board planned to post results as they gathered them on the board's website.
The board wants the recount done by May 9, but may seek an extension if the process bogs down.
Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount last week after final county totals showed incumbent Justice David Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead.
The recount marks the third statewide recount in Wisconsin history.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Wednesday, April 27, 2011 --- 6:55 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A recount in the hotly contested Wisconsin Supreme Court race is set to begin.
Counting is scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in counties across the state. State election officials want to complete the new tally by May 9, but they may seek an extension if it takes longer.
Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount last week after final county totals showed incumbent Justice David Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead.
The recount marks the third statewide recount in Wisconsin history. The last ones came in 1989 over a constitutional amendment dealing with property taxes and in the 1858 governor's race.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Tuesday, April 26, 2011 --- 2:18 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- County clerks say the Wisconsin Supreme Court recount will cost them at least a half-a-million dollars.
The Associated Press asked clerks in all 72 counties for their anticipated costs. Twenty-three provided cost estimates ranging from $120 in Price County to $500,000 in Milwaukee County. The total cost for the 23 counties was about $577,000.
Final county tallies released earlier this month show challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg down by 7,316 votes to incumbent Justice David Prosser. Kloppenburg demanded a recount last week. The counties must perform it free of charge to Kloppenburg because the margin between the candidates is less than one-half of 1 percent of all votes cast.
The recount is set to begin statewide on Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Monday, April 25, 2011 --- 2:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- State law requires the recount in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race to be completed by May 9.
The recount will begin on Wednesday. County election clerks asked questions to members of the Government Accountability Board during a conference call meeting Monday to outline details of the recount.
JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results show she lost to incumbent Justice David Prosser by 7,316 votes, roughly one-half of 1 percent of all votes cast in the April 5 election.
Kloppenburg said last week when she asked for the recount that she hoped to shine light on how the election was conducted. Prosser's campaign has been pressuring her to give up, saying the margin was too large to overcome.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Monday, April 25, 2011 --- 11:15 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state board that oversees elections in Wisconsin is hosting a meeting with local elections officials to discuss how a recount of the state Supreme Court race will proceed.
Monday's meeting hosted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board comes two days before the recount in the race between Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg was set to begin. Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results show she lost to Prosser by 7,316 votes, roughly one-half of 1 percent of all votes cast in the April 5 election.
Kloppenburg said last week when she asked for the recount that she hoped to shine light on how the election was conducted. Prosser's campaign has been pressuring her to give up, saying the margin was too large to overcome.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Thursday, April 21, 2011 --- 4:23 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- State election officials say they plan to order counties to begin a recount in the state Supreme Court race on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Government Accountability Board says the board plans to hold a teleconference with local election officials on Monday. He says the board anticipates issuing the start order on Wednesday. Counties have two days to begin after the order is issued.
County tallies completed last week show incumbent Justice David Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. She asked the board for a statewide recount on Wednesday.
Kloppenburg and Prosser's campaigns on Thursday agreed in court to a hand recount in precincts across 31 counties where electronic voting machines' memory cartridges are full.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Thursday, April 21, 2011 --- 4:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser's attorney has backed off from his promise to challenge any recount in Prosser's race against challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.
County tallies completed last week show Prosser has a 7,316-vote lead over Kloppenburg. Prosser's lawyer, Jim Troupis, promised on Monday to challenge any request from Kloppenburg to seek a recount.
She filed a request for a statewide recount with state election officials on Wednesday. Troupis hasn't objected and on Thursday agreed to a partial hand recount in some counties. He said Prosser wants to get the recount done to prove he was re-elected.
Troupis maintains the recount is frivolous and will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. He says Prosser's lead is too large to overcome.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Thursday, April 21, 2011 --- 3:50 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg have agreed to a partial hand recount in several dozen counties.
Kloppenburg told state election officials on Wednesday she wants a statewide recount after county tallies showed she lost to Prosser by 7,316 votes.
State law requires precincts that used electronic voting machines to count votes the first time to use them again in a recount.
However, state election officials say precincts across 31 counties filled their machines' memory cartridges and replacement cartridges are no longer being manufactured. They asked a Madison judge for permission to reuse the existing cartridges in the recount, even though that would mean the original data would be erased.
But Kloppenburg and Prosser's campaigns agreed in court conduct the recount in those precincts by hand.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Thursday, April 21, 2011 --- 7:00 a.m.
Wis. court challenger will seek statewide recount
By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked election officials Wednesday for a statewide recount in her flagging upset bid against Justice David Prosser, a race that marked yet another front in the fight over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing union rights law.
Final county tallies compiled last week showed Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead over the little-known state attorney. The margin is within one-half of 1 percent of the total votes cast, entitling Kloppenburg to a statewide recount at local governments' expense.
Kloppenburg said at a news conference that her campaign detected "widespread anomalies" in the election around the state. She didn't directly answer questions about whether she felt she could make up 7,000 votes, saying instead she wants to shine light on how the election was conducted.
"Wisconsin residents must have full confidence that these election results are legitimate and that this election was fair," Kloppenburg said.
State election officials said the recount would likely begin next week. They planned to file a request with a judge on Thursday seeking permission to clear voting machine memory cards so local clerks can start counting again.
Prosser's campaign has been pressuring Kloppenburg to give up, saying the margin is too great to overcome and a recount would cost taxpayers. His attorney has said he would challenge any recount request.
Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Government Accountability Board, which oversees Wisconsin elections, said he had no estimates for what the recount might cost local officials. Suzette Emmer, the deputy Administrator for the Milwaukee County Election Commission, says the commission estimates the recount would cost that county alone about $500,000.
"It may well take several weeks and it'll be an immense cost and it frankly begs the question of what the motive is," Prosser spokesman Brian Schimming said Wednesday. "Because there is no statistical, logical, evidence-based or even anecdotal reason to do this recount."
Kloppenburg went into the campaign as a heavy underdog against Prosser, a 12-year court veteran and former GOP legislator. But she got a boost after her supporters and pro-labor groups worked to tie Prosser to Walker and his contentious collective bargaining law, which strips public employees of nearly all their union rights and requires them to contribute more to their pensions and health care.
The law has been a flashpoint of controversy since Walker introduced it as a bill in mid-February. Thousands descended on the state Capitol in Madison to protest against it nonstop for weeks and Senate Democrats fled the state in an futile attempt to block a vote on the measure. Republicans across the country are watching the drama play out as they contemplate cost-cutting moves in their own states.
The law is currently tied up in court and hasn't taken effect. Its opponents hope a Kloppenburg victory would tilt the court to the left and set the stage for the justices to strike it down.
Turnout for the April 5 election shattered expectations. Initial returns showed Kloppenburg had defeated Prosser by about 200 votes.
But the Waukesha County clerk stepped forward two days after the election and announced she had failed to report 14,000 votes. Those votes flipped the race for Prosser.
The clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, worked for Prosser when he was the Republican Assembly speaker in the mid-1990s. Nickolaus has said she made an honest mistake, but the GAB is reviewing her operations.
Kloppenburg on Wednesday filed a complaint along with her recount request asking the board to appoint an independent investigator to look into Nickolaus' practices, alleging problems with her election administration dating back to 2004. Kloppenburg said during her news conference she felt the board has worked too closely with Nickolaus to perform an unbiased review.
Nickolaus' office said she had no comment on the complaint. Magney, the GAB's spokesman, says the board is independent but could choose at its May meeting to hire an outsider.
Kloppenburg also noted her campaign had learned of other problems around the state on election night, including under voting in Milwaukee as well as long lines and even allegations of photocopied ballots. Prosser's "threats" about how much the recount may cost won't stop her from exercising her right to a recount, she said.
"If there is doubt," she said, "we must remove it."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Wednesday, April 20, 2011 --- 5:00 p.m.
David Prosser campaign statement:
Statement from Campaign Spokesman Brian J. Nemoir regarding Joanne Kloppenburg’s costly decision to engage in a statistically improbable taxpayer-funded recount:
We learned something this afternoon from JoAnne Kloppenburg. Apparently nothing will stop her from going ahead and wasting taxpayers hard-earned money to discover what election officials did on April 5th – that Justice David Prosser was reelected.
We’ve now had a statewide canvass and four separate examinations of the canvass in one county. The record books show the largest number of votes turned in state history on a recount is 489. Their losing margin now stands at fifteen times that.
And now, ironically, less than 24 hours after the Government Accountability Board concluded that the April 5th canvass in Waukesha County was correct, she today insists that it needs further examination.
With the official canvass showing her down by over 7,300 votes, the only way she can achieve her nakedly political goal is to do one thing: challenge and disenfranchise thousands of Wisconsin citizens who exercised their right to vote April 5th and believed this election over.
Justice Prosser’s recount team will work diligently in the weeks and months ahead to protect the votes of Wisconsin citizens at the same time Ms. Kloppenburg’s campaign works to take them away.”
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UPDATED Wednesday, April 20, 2011 --- 4:01 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin Supreme Court hopeful says she will seek a statewide recount against an incumbent justice, prolonging a messy race defined by the state's bitter fight over union rights.
JoAnne Kloppenburg's campaign surged after her supporters worked to tie conservative incumbent Justice David Prosser to Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Walker's plan to strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Initial returns from the April 5 election showed Kloppenburg had defeated Prosser by a little more than 200 votes. But the Waukesha County clerk announced she had failed to report 14,000 votes, which flipped the race to Prosser.
Final county tallies completed on Friday showed Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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UPDATED Wednesday, April 20, 2011 --- 3:50 p.m.
From the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board:
Statement Regarding Supreme Court Election Recount Request
MADISON, WI – Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board issued the following statement today:
“The Government Accountability Board is prepared to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for Supreme Court Justice, as requested by the Kloppenburg campaign today. We have been preparing for a recount since Election Night. We have assembled an internal team to direct the recount, we have been in close consultation with our county clerk partners, and have arranged for legal representation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. We anticipate the recount will begin the week of April 25, and plan to hold a teleconference meeting for county clerks on Monday afternoon.”
For detailed information about how recounts are conducted in Wisconsin, please consult the Election Recount Procedures manual, which is available on the G.A.B. website: http://gab.wi.gov/manuals/recount.
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