Prosser Wins, Kloppenburg Weighs Recount, State Says Brookfield Votes Match

State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser beat challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg by 7,316 votes, or less than half of one percent — slim enough to allow a Kloppenburg to request a free statewide recount.

Kloppenburg's campaign was considering the move, saying they had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to decide.

According to the certified results from all 72 counties — including Milwaukee County which was the last to file, Prosser had 752,323 votes and Kloppenburg had 745,007, the state Government Accountability Board announced Friday. The difference was 0.488 percent.

The results are not final. State elections officials must wait to see if a recount request is filed, and if it is, results will not be certified until the recount is complete.

Melissa Mulliken, spokeswoman for the Kloppenburg campaign, said, "We will review the information available to us and carefully weigh the options."

Prosser campaign spokesman Brian J. Nemoir said, “Today, the will of the electorate is clear with the last canvas now completed and Justice David Prosser reelected to another 10 year term to the Supreme Court.

"Justice Prosser extends his appreciation and respect to Joanne Kloppenburg and her spirited campaign," Nemoir said. Prosser's campaign has urged against a recount, saying a 7,000-plus difference was too wide to overturn.

Meanwhile, Kevin Kennedy, GAB director and general counsel, said in an interview Friday that his staff was continuing its review of the Waukesha County election results on April 5 and for the November 2006 election for state Attorney General.

"We've opened an investigation into whether she acted contrary to law," Kennedy said.

State elections officials were in Waukesha again Friday, meticulously reviewing Waukesha County records as they did April 8 and on Wednesday and Thursday, he said.

The have been reviewed and the Brookfield votes certified by the Waukesha County Board of Convassers on April 7 match the votes reported by the City of Brookfield, Kennedy said.

State officials are making sure the county's certified numbers match the results reported by the other approximately three dozen cities, villages and towns in Waukesha County. GAB staff will be in Waukesha Monday and hope to finish Monday or Tuesday, Kennedy said.

"My staff is being very meticulous and looking at not just the votes but the method of the transmission," he said. "Did they record the security seals on the machines and everything like that. We want to look at the whole process."

Kennedy said his office also is investigating whether Waukesha County's results were accurate in the 2006 AG race between J.B. Van Hollen, who was re-elected in 2010, and challenger Kathleen Falk.

The blog Daily Kos raised questions about discrepancies between the number of votes and ballots cast in that race, according to the Waukesha County web site.

Nickolaus then put a note on the web site, saying the different numbers were explained by differences in how hand-counted votes are counted. She could not be reached for comment Friday.

Kennedy said his office was reviewing her explanation.

"I have a sense of the explanation for all of these issues," he said but added more study was needed. 

When GAB will release its findings on Waukesha County votes and practices is unknown and could be delayed if Kloppenburg requests a statewide recount, Kennedy said.