weird...haven't heard a thing about an absentee count yet....I think this really stinks but also think she may get away with it.
Democrat on Waukesha County vote panel speaks out
Waukesha — The Democrat on the Waukesha County Board of Canvassers who was widely quoted as endorsing the county clerk's official ballot count that flipped the state Supreme Court winner last week said Monday that she was never told more than 14,000 missing votes from Brookfield until shortly before a Thursday news conference.
By then, the three-member board had finished its canvass, which had started midday Wednesday.
The Waukesha County Democratic Party released a statement Monday ascribed to Ramona Kitzinger, 80, a member of the canvassing board since 2004.
In the statement, Kitzinger said that even during the canvass of Brookfield's votes during the day Thursday, no mention was made of the big mistake, something in retrospect she called "shocking and somewhat appalling."
Meanwhile, in Madison, the state's top election official referred to "apparent negligence" by Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus. At a news conference Monday, Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the Government Accountability Board, said she needs to change her practices to bolster public confidence.
The state agency will not certify the election results until it finishes its review of what happened in Waukesha County, spokesman Reid Magney said.
Nickolaus did not respond Monday to requests for comment about Kitzinger's and Kennedy's statements.
In her own news conference Thursday in Waukesha, Nickolaus had said she had failed to save Brookfield's 14,315 votes on a computer before she reported the unofficial results to the media on election night. The bulk of the votes went to incumbent Justice David Prosser and gave him about a 7,500-vote lead over Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, who had earlier led by 204 votes. Nickolaus called it human error and apologized.
Asked then by reporters how a Democrat in this Republican stronghold felt about the change, Kitzinger said that "all the numbers jibed up, and we're satisfied they're correct. I'm not going to stand here and tell you something that's not true."
But in the statement released Monday by the county Democrats, she wrote:
"I am still very, very confused about why the canvass was finalized before I was informed of the Brookfield error, and it wasn't even until the news conference was happening that I learned it was this enormous mistake that could swing the whole election. I was never shown anything that would verify Kathy's statement about the missing vote, and with how events unfolded and people citing me as an authority on this now, I feel I must speak up."
Victor Weers, chairman of the Waukesha County Democratic Party, said that because of national attention to Kitzinger's statement and angry emails over it, party members talked to Kitzinger and solicited more details. The words in the statement are her own, Weers said. Kitzinger could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon, and Weers said she is not granting interviews.
Kitzinger said she was "instructed that I would not say anything at the news conference, and was actually surprised when I was asked questions by reporters." Nickolaus was seen gently trying to move Kitzinger back from the microphone after her initial statements Thursday.
Kennedy and others have criticized Nickolaus' failure to inform them on Wednesday about the untabulated Brookfield votes. The news came a day later.
Brookfield City Clerk Kristine Schmidt said she was disappointed she learned about it while watching the Thursday news conference on television. Schmidt said she was never given any indication, even during the canvass, that anything was amiss.
Investigators from the Government Accountability Board were in Waukesha last week and will return later this week, Magney said. They are checking vote totals and reviewing the clerk's election night practices, he said.
Kennedy said his staff spent the weekend going over the numbers and have verified Brookfield's numbers are correct. But they continue to review all the figures in Waukesha County, he said.
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now called on Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to launch a joint investigation of Nickolaus with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Van Hollen, a Republican, and Chisholm, a Democrat, have previously worked together on investigating allegations of vote fraud.
Meanwhile, the canvass continued around the state. Several more counties reported certified results to the Accountability Board, with only minor changes in vote totals.
By Monday, only results from Milwaukee, Crawford and Sauk counties remained to be certified. Milwaukee County, the state's most populous county, is typically the last to certify its results, said Magney and county elections administrator Lisa Weiner.
Milwaukee's Election Commission completed its own canvass and sent its results to the county Election Commission on Monday, said Weiner and Sue Edman, executive director of the city agency. The county is expected to complete its part of the process and certify its results to the state Tuesday or Wednesday, still ahead of the Friday deadline set by state law, Weiner and Magney said.
Either candidate in the Supreme Court race can ask for a recount, but not until the canvass is complete. Laurel Walker reported from Waukesha and Larry Sandler reported from Milwaukee. Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report from Madison.
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