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Monday, May 9, 2011

Kloppenburg Still Raising Money For Recount

As I posted yesterday, the city of Brookfield recount is complete and there was almost no change in the vote count from the canvass and as reported by Brookfield on election night.  That all three vote counts match almost precisely puts to bed, in the minds of rational people, the suggestions by the Kloppenburg campaign that there was ballot stuffing based upon some bags having gaps or openings in them.

Nonetheless, the "ballot security" theory lives on in the minds of the Kloppenburg campaign, which is raising money for further recount fights.  Here is a letter (via Democratic Underground h/t reader Lenny):
Dear Friends,

As of the end of the day tomorrow [Monday, May 9], Waukesha County is expected to be the only County that has not completed the recount.

The recount has uncovered significant issues in ballot security, especially in Waukesha but elsewhere as well: bags of ballots unsealed, a pile of ballots in a clerk's office, ballot bag seal numbers that do not match the inspectors' logs.

David Prosser's campaign has called these kinds of anomalies "small errors."

They aren't small errors. As a volunteer in Waukesha put it, the integrity of the ballot count is only as good as the integrity of the condition of the bags. As more anomalies are discovered, the importance of this recount becomes even clearer. Here is a telling incident as reported by WisPolitics:

"A Prosser observer echoed the hope that the recount would reveal best practices from some communities that could be standardized, and said she is now inspired to become a poll worker. But a Prosser leader scolded her for talking to the media and she asked that her name not be used."

In her announcement requesting the recount, JoAnne noted that Wisconsin residents need to have confidence that elections are fair, that every vote counts and is counted accurately.

We need your help to make sure the Kloppenburg campaign continues to have the person-power and financial resources to participate vigorously in this recount.

To volunteer as an observer in Waukesha (Monday and ongoing) sign up at www.kloppenburgforjustice.com .

This recount is not free. We have significant costs including attorneys, staff, office space and supplies. To donate, visit www.kloppenburgforjustice.com or mail a check to Kloppenburg for Justice, P.O. Box 5464, Madison, WI 53705. Your contribution of $100, $50, $25 or whatever you can afford will help. There is no limit on contributions for the recount. Corporate contributions are prohibited.

Thanks for all you are doing.

Melissa Mulliken
Campaign Manager
The Kloppenburg for Justice Committee
There are a couple of ways to read this.  The most obvious is that Kloppenburg intends to keep fighting regardless of the absurdity of the ballot security issue in light of the matching vote counts.

Less obvious is that this fundraising pitch may reflect that the money which once flowed so freely to Kloppenburg is not there anymore.

After the recount, unless there are verifiable problems which would change the outcome short of disenfranchising an entire city, further fights likely would hurt Democrats.
 
I still find it hard to believe Kloppenburg will take this to court based on the ballot security issue.  But then again, Wisconsin has held some surprises this year.

Update:  In case you were worried about Dane County, don't.  The Dane recount is complete, and Prosser picked up 19 votes and Kloppenburg 93, for a net Kloppenburg gain of 74 votes.  I'm not postiive, but I think this is Kloppenburg's biggest gain yet in any single county.

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6 comments:

  1. She has 17 more days to get her retirement funds.

    On Monday, May 9, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard Niess ordered an extension in time for Waukesha County to complete its Supreme Court recount until May 26, 2011. A status conference will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 13.

    G.A.B. staff will continue to work with Waukesha County officials to identify methods to accelerate the recount process without affecting the transparency, accuracy or the public's confidence in the recount.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DU has a tradition of allowing hopeless liberal elective causes to hustle money from parental-basement-living rad-chic quasiCommunist burger-flippers. For weeks, for example, "we are just ten bucks away from proving that Al Gore won Florida" was a major money-grubbing campaign that let someone spend a few weeks at nice hotels in Florida...

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  3. "Stuffers". Meh. Crazy people.

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  4. I know it's nothing substantial, but is it just a coincidence that Kloppenburg seems to be getting the majority of net votes? Has there been any studies on recounts tending to benefit the person going into it trailing? As in, perhaps the people doing the recount erring on the side of the one losing?

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  5. Approximately 96 percent of the of the 3,602 total Reporting Units.

    So far, counties have recounted 1,411,638 votes, which is approximately 94 percent of the original votes cast in the State Supreme Court race.

    Prosser 688,152 +331
    Kloppy 721,790 +668

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ptcontracting - thanks for the update. Kloppenburg's team had to know going in that a normal recount would not work, which is why they are focusing on the wholesale disqualification of ballots not because of any proof of an inaccurate vote count, but based on speculation and conjecture.

    ReplyDelete