# Bellweather Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997 "2011-04-03T01:38:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/61 "2011-04-08T18:41:13Z")
[http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8456](http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8456) The BRADBLOG take. This thing stinks. The election results are only kept on her personal computer? How can that make sense? If it was a Dem doing this, it would be all over the news. But it seems to be an ignored story across the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/62 "2011-04-09T12:10:07Z")
In Wisconsin, all election results are kept this way. If they were kept on computers that were connected to the internet, they could be hacked and messed with. This is a simple way of eliminating any such shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/63 "2011-04-09T12:43:36Z")
> [@Enuma\_Elish](#): > > In Wisconsin, all election results are kept this way. If they were kept on computers that were connected to the internet, they could be hacked and messed with. This is a simple way of eliminating any such shenanigans. There are other alternatives, you know. Accountabilty dos not imply shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/64 "2011-04-09T19:47:26Z")
Even in tightly-contested races, it’s common for individual counties to slew heavily one way or the other. Urban counties tend to go heavily Democratic, and rural counties tend to go heavily Republican. Usually, what a tightly-contested race means is that the two balance each other out, not that each individual county is balanced. And for what it’s worth, Nate Silver says that the numbers favor it being a genuine mistake, not anything crooked. Though I’m not sure why **pkbites** would be so delighted at clear evidence of incompetence of a Republican campaign worker. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/65 "2011-04-09T20:58:46Z")
> [@Enuma\_Elish](#): > > In Wisconsin, all election results are kept this way. If they were kept on computers that were connected to the internet, they could be hacked and messed with. This is a simple way of eliminating any such shenanigans. I did not say it should be on the internet. It should be in public on a computer that anyone can see . The only one that can hack her home computer is her. She is a long term Repub who is now involved in something that stinks. This is happening in too many Republican districts nowadays. In the presidential election the vote counts are kept in an ongoing basis with information about what district has been tallied. As they come in. the Tv announces what area has been counted. That does not allow them to be hacked. It does allow them to be scrutinized though. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/66 "2011-04-10T00:38:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Though I’m not sure why **pkbites** would be so delighted at clear evidence of incompetence of a Republican campaign worker. I’m not. It’s outrageous. I am delighted, however, that Prosser has now apparently won and I’m tickled that the left thought they won and had it [legitimately] snatched away from them. This must burn their ass something fierce. It also is an indication of how they’ll fare in their ludicrous recall efforts. (With maybe 1 exception, not very well). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/67 "2011-04-10T02:54:07Z")
Am I the only one remembering [this](http://harpers.org/archive/2005/08/0080696) while reading about the “new” votes for Prosser? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/68 "2011-04-10T03:01:29Z")
> [@Enuma\_Elish](#): > > In Wisconsin, all election results are kept this way. If they were kept on computers that were connected to the internet, they could be hacked and messed with. This is a simple way of eliminating any such shenanigans. No, they aren’t. You are incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/69 "2011-04-10T06:48:44Z")
Nate Silver has done some interesting statistical analysis of the Waukesha irregularities. It does not appear to be shady. [http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/vote-counting-error-in-wisconsin-points-to-incompetence-not-conspiracy/](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/vote-counting-error-in-wisconsin-points-to-incompetence-not-conspiracy/) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/70 "2011-04-10T08:53:02Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Nate Silver has done some interesting statistical analysis of the Waukesha irregularities. It does not appear to be shady. > > [Vote-Counting Error In Wisconsin Points to Incompetence, Not Conspiracy - The New York Times](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/vote-counting-error-in-wisconsin-points-to-incompetence-not-conspiracy/) That doesn’t seem to cover the (to me) obvious method of keeping the number of votes constant but modifying who voted for whom. Unless I missed something. ---
**Author:** ![Reginald\_Hobbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Reginald\_Hobbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reginald_Hobbes)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/71 "2011-04-10T22:14:09Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I did not say it should be on the internet. It should be in public on a computer that anyone can see . The only one that can hack her **home computer** is her. She is a long term Repub who is now involved in something that stinks. This is happening in too many Republican districts nowadays. > In the presidential election the vote counts are kept in an ongoing basis with information about what district has been tallied. As they come in. the Tv announces what area has been counted. That does not allow them to be hacked. It does allow them to be scrutinized though. Not her home computer, it’s a PC in her office. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/72 "2011-04-10T22:16:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That doesn’t seem to cover the (to me) obvious method of keeping the number of votes constant but modifying who voted for whom. Unless I missed something. Well, since the controversy seems mostly to be focusing on the finding of the votes themselves, and the fact that it’d be a lot easier to just quietly change votes without drawing attention to them this way, I think Silver is just focusing on that aspect of it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/73 "2011-04-11T01:35:37Z")
> [@Reginald\_Hobbes](#): > > Not her home computer, it’s a PC in her office. It is not clear who owns the computer. I have seen several stories claiming the computer is her own personal computer, some saying rather ambiguously that the results were on a PC in her office. I have not seen any specifically saying that the computer was county or state property. ---
**Author:** ![Reginald\_Hobbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Reginald\_Hobbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reginald_Hobbes)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/74 "2011-04-11T02:48:47Z")
From [JSOnline](http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/100595954.html) 8/13/2010: > [@](#): > > Nickolaus said she decided to take the election data collection and storage system off the county’s computer network - and keep it on stand-alone **personal computers accessible only in her office** - for security reasons. > [@](#): > > Cummings said, “Nobody’s trying to do her elections for her.” He said, however, that he was troubled that Nickolaus talks about the computer equipment, software and data as if it is hers, although **it was purchased with county funds**. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/75 "2011-04-21T19:43:58Z")
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel reports: > [@](#): > > Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg asked Wednesday for a statewide recount - the first in 22 years - to check the results in the April 5 state Supreme Court race she lost to Justice David Prosser. > > That recount will start next week, at taxpayers’ expense, the state Government Accountability Board said. > > Kloppenburg lost to Prosser by 7,316 votes - less than 0.5% of the 1.5 million votes cast in the race. > . > . > . > Experts said it was unlikely the recount would change the result of the race, unless fraud is uncovered. > > “I think it’s going to be a hard go for her,” said Minnesota journalist Jay Weiner, who wrote a book about the epic recount of his state’s 2008 U.S. Senate race. > > Chris Sautter, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who typically represents Democratic candidates in recounts, agreed that the result of the race was unlikely to change but said “it’s worth the taxpayers’ investment” to be sure the count is accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/76 "2011-04-21T19:59:57Z")
What’s the threshhold for an _automatic_ recount (or is there one)? It’s hard to begrudge a recount for a .5% difference in votes I guess. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/77 "2011-04-21T20:20:09Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > What’s the threshhold for an _automatic_ recount (or is there one)? It’s hard to begrudge a recount for a .5% difference in votes I guess. The threshold IS .5%, and Prosser’s current lead is _just_ within that percentage. One of the Prosser campaign’s arguments for trying to block the recount is that Kloppenburg is wasting the state’s money in a time of extreme budget problems. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/78 "2011-04-25T12:56:32Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The threshold IS .5%, and Prosser’s current lead is _just_ within that percentage. One of the Prosser campaign’s arguments for trying to block the recount is that Kloppenburg is wasting the state’s money in a time of extreme budget problems. That’s an absurd argument. The law sets thresholds for a reason. Since the vote total is within that threshold, Kloppenburg has every right to say, “I want a recount at the state’s expense.” It’s disingenuous for Prosser to offer up that statement, since every single fair-minded observer knows that if the positions were reversed, he’d be asking for the recount and trumpeting the need to know what the public wants in such a close election with such high stakes for the future of the state, etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/79 "2011-04-25T13:57:14Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That’s an absurd argument. The law sets thresholds for a reason. Since the vote total is within that threshold, Kloppenburg has every right to say, “I want a recount at the state’s expense.” It’s disingenuous for Prosser to offer up that statement, since every single fair-minded observer knows that if the positions were reversed, he’d be asking for the recount and trumpeting the need to know what the public wants in such a close election with such high stakes for the future of the state, etc etc. That’s exactly what I said on election night, when it looked like he’d lost by 400 votes. One of my fellow Daily Kos readers commented that he’d probably try to get a recount, the rat! I took him to task because this kind of margin (and even a 7000 vote margin, when it’s less than 0.5%), needs to get a clarification. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997/80 "2011-04-25T14:05:34Z")
Minor nitpick: It’s “bellwether.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bellweather-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-on-tuesday/576997.md?page=3)