The campaign of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser is now saying that challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg should consider the heavy odds in a recount — and that the margin shifts that occur in them are quite small.
As WisPolitics reports, Prosser’s campaign released a statement pointing out that that the largest ever vote swing in a Wisconsin statewide recount has only been 489 votes. Prosser’s current lead is over 7,000 votes. “History does not provide a rosy picture of recounts of a half a percent or less,” said Prosser campaign spokesman Brian J. Nemoir. “While there may be a legal right to a recount, after a review of past‐results and consideration for the heavy burden upon the state, it is in the best interests of the state to have the common sense decision be made to avoid the unnecessary drama of a recount.”
The Kloppenburg campaign did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment.
On Wednesday of last week, Kloppenburg declared victory on the basis of Associated Press figures showing 100% of precincts reported, with Kloppenburg enjoying the very narrow lead of 204 votes out of nearly 1.5 million. Then on Thursday, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus (R) announced the discovery of un-tabulated votes in the city of Brookfield — giving Prosser a net gain of over 7,000 — saying that her own error had resulted in them not being properly imported and saved into the county’s database.
In other news, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, the Democratic county chair in Waukesha has called upon Nickolaus to resign, saying that she “has willfully ignored pleas to repair her broken reporting process in an open and technologically reliable way.”
In response, Nickolaus said she will not step down:
“I will serve the remainder of my term,” Nickolaus said. “I understand why people are upset and I am taking this matter seriously. Again, I am sorry for my mistake.”
“I have immediately begun the process of reviewing my procedures,” with the Government Accountability Board and Waukesha County auditor, she said.
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