The statewide recount for a contested Supreme Court seat began today, with one county clerk recusing herself from overseeing the proceedings in order to avoid more conflict in an already tense election.
Challenger Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg requested the recount, which it was determined will be done by hand in 31 counties and machine in the remaining.
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who reported incorrect election night vote totals from her county, will not take part in her county’s recount proceedings. She wrote a letter to Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas reminding him he could substitute Nickolaus and her deputy if she felt it was in the county’s best interest, which she told him it was.
“[…]I do believe that the citizens of Waukesha County would be best served and there would be a total avoidance of any appearance of impropriety or conflict if an independent third party were appointed by you to run the board of canvassers for a recount in the April 2011 Supreme Court election,” Nickolaus said in the letter.
She also reinforced her belief that her election procedures were run fairly and those who thought differently because of “erroneous” facts were wrong.
Vrakas agreed with the request and appointed retired judge Robert Mawdsley in her place.
Kloppenburg’s campaign manager Melissa Mulliken, asked if she thought it necessary for the clerk to step down, said it was Nickolaus’ decision, before going on to discuss how their campaign requested the Government Accountability Board for an independent investigation into the conduct of Nickolaus the week of the election.
Like the Kloppenburg camp, incumbent Justice David Prosser has a number of volunteers who will act as observers during the recount proceedings. He sent a letter to them Wednesday outlining his expectations and criticizing his opponent for stalling the election.
“Our opponent chose to seek a recount, continuing to prolong politics-as-usual,” Prosser said in the letter. “We respect her statutorily-granted right to seek a recount, but believe it an unfortunate use of scant taxpayer resources.”
He added volunteers should conduct themselves with the utmost respect for county staff.
In Dane County Wednesday, the recount effort began early, and staff and volunteers were expecting a 12-hour day, Dane County Clerk Karen Peters said. Around 184,000 votes were cast in Dane County, and the recount is expected to cost anywhere from $25,000 to $30,000, Peters said.
The recount must be finished by May 9, according to Wisconsin statutes.
The results from the April 5 election have at different times pointed toward both candidates as winners. The first unofficial results reported in the race between 12-year incumbent Justice David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg put the challenger ahead by an extremely narrow margin of just 204 votes. She declared victory the next day.
Within the next two days, though, a “bombshell” dropped in Waukesha County. Nickolaus announced to the media she had failed to report a number of votes from Brookfield – roughly 14,000. After a canvass put Prosser up by about 7,000 votes, he soon declared victory while Kloppenburg formally requested a recount just two days after on April 20.
