JoAnne Kloppenburg lost the election for Supreme Court Justice by over 7,000 votes, less than half a percent of the total votes cast. This entitles her to a machine recount on the State’s dime. A machine recount will involve bundling up all the machine readable ballots and running them through the machines again. Seems like a useless exercise. What we need is a hand recount.
The Government Accountability Board audited the Waukesha County canvas and turned up only a few minor inconsistencies. Yesterday they reported that their audit review included:
Total Votes Cast Report from Voting Equipment
Ballot Container Security Seals/Documentation
Inspectors’ Statement- Election Day Log
Write-In Form
Security Documentation of Voting Equipment Memory Devices
Certification Page of Poll List
They did NOT audit the voting machine programming. A hand recount is the only way to assure that the machines accurately tallied the votes. A statewide hand recount is the only way to be sure that a large scale hack-a-thon in Republican controlled counties didn’t skew the election results. There is sufficient concern about the record of the Waukesha County Clerk to gain a court ordered hand recount in her county, but unless we bite the bullet and go through the painful process of a statewide hand recount, we won’t be sure that our voting machines haven’t been hacked in a systematic way.
Waukesha County has a consistent pattern of voting irregularities with a Republican bias going back to 2024. Barb Caffrey documents them here. Wisconsin voters place a lot of trust and confidence in our elections officials. Historically, they’ve deserved it. But trust without accountability puts us on the edge of a precipice. Unless we verify results from time to time, we’re vulnerable to being pushed off that cliff but a self-serving few. The 2024 Supreme Court election is an opportunity to verify that the self-serving few haven’t found a way to steal our ballot boxes.
Kloppenburg’s decision must be made by 5pm today. From 12:30 to 3:30 today, in the State Capitol building at the Government Accountability offices a Rally for Election Fairness will be held. The Kloppenburg campaign can be reached by email at campaign@kloppenburgforjustice.com
UPDATE
She did it! Thanks JoAnne!
3 Comments
Mrs. Kloppenburg,
I am writing you today to encourage you to opt for a recount of the supreme court election. I have been listening intently to the Tea Party Politicians across the country and this is a movement that scares me todeath (and I’m fearless). As I listen and review the statements made by Gov. John Kasich, Governor Rick Snyder, and Scott Walker during their elections and now I am struck by the outright dishonesty of these individuals. They all represented themselves as canadites who wanted to improve the conditions of the middle class. Yet in all cases they have enacted instrumental legislation that is monumentaly detrimental to the middle class of America. They have taken a course of action that is not even close to the campainge promises they made during their elections. In your own state of Wisconsin you have seen Scott Walker completely ignore the judicial branch of your government signifying his complete disregard for the democratic process. It therefore does not strike me as odd that he or his representitives would stoop to something like voter tampering to get his way. The discrepency in votes in Waukesha is disturbing. How can it be that in all other counties the race was pretty much a dead heat and yet misteriously in Waukesha County it was disproportionately in favor of Prosser? In addition there is a huge 20,000 voter difference between this election and Waukesha County election in 2024. And most importantly what was going on during the three days it took to bring the new votes to light? What is the source of these additionaly discovered votes? And if there was voter fraud what will prevent that from happening in the recall elections that are coming up? I find it especially disconcerting that David Prosser is set to fight any recount. WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO HIDE?!!!!!! It is important to establish the legitimacy of the election to ensure that future elections will be honest. Pleas don’t back down now!!!!!
Dear Concerned American,
I appreciate your comment here, and I hope you forward it to the JoAnne Kloppenburg campaign too.
Let me suggest a way to make your voice heard more clearly. Your comment above is anonymous, and while I understand why some people would sometimes rather not reveal their identity in a blog comment, I hope that if you forward your comment to the Kloppenburg campaign you will do so without the cloak of anonymity. It will mean so much more to us to know who you are. For example, if you are from Colorado, it will draw attention to the fact that this situation has national exposure. On the other hand, if you are from Wisconsin, it will draw attention to the fact that many Wisconsin voters truly want to know that their votes were not wasted this year in an underhanded election.
Your comment includes a couple of statements that I think deserve to be examined. For example, Waukesha was not the only lopsided county. In fact, other Milwaukee suburban counties and several northern counties showed the same lopsidedness. I think it will be a good exercise to recount the whole state by hand to restore our faith in the process and to perhaps uncover any crooked counting. I think you agree!
Mrs. Kloppenburg,
I am just saying best of luck for recount of supreme court election.