Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, the Republican who now has ensnared the Wisconsin Supreme Election in stink and who has a history of doing this sort of thing has an 80 year old Democrat on the Waukesha County Board of Canvassers very upset.
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 about more than 14,000 missing votes from the city of 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, board spokesman Reid Magney said.
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"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."
