Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg announced yesterday that her campaign has requested a statewide recount of the ballots cast in the April 6, 2011 election.
"With a margin this small," Kloppenburg said, "the importance of every vote is magnified and doubts about each vote are magnified as well."
Kloppenburg also called for the Government Accountability Board to appoint a special investigator to examine the actions of Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus. Kloppenburg's initial slim lead was erased after Nickolaus discovered a counting error in the Waukesha tally, resulting in a gain of more than 7,000 votes for Prosser two days after the election.
Kloppenburg said that a recount is necessary in light of the irregularities in Waukesha and other counties.
Because the margin is so close between the candidates, a recount will be done at the state's expense. But the more important request may be that special investigator to look into Kathy Nickolaus, who is either the most incompetent county clerk on the planet, or else something else more nefarious.
Blue Cheddar has video of the press conference and a chronology of events leading to this.
The Prosser campaign has already vowed to fight any recount effort. Good luck with that.
