It's time to call off the troops on the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Prosser won. The "unsaved" ballots from Brookfield put him in the lead, and state canvassing has confirmed his victory with a 7,316 vote margin. (1) Although there should still be investigations into the seeming continued ineptitude of the Waukesha clerk who "forgot to hit save" and didn't annouce it until two days later, the race is done.
Because Kloppenburg lost by a 0.488% margin, her campaign can request a state-funded recount (0.5 % is the Wisconsin threshhold). (1) It would cost county coffers a total likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (6) (the state summary of recount procedures can be found here). (2) Minnesota recounted its 2010 gubernatorial results. Democrat Mark Dayton's margin, at 0.42%, was "a larger unofficial margin than has ever been overturned in a modern-era recount, in any state." (3,4) Dayton's opponent, Republican Tom Emmer conceded after results confirmed a relatively unchanged margin. (7) (for thorough and insightful discussion about the insignificance of recount changes, check out Rob Ritchie in the Huffington Post here). (5)
But Kloppenburg's loss was not without gains. She was an aftertought in the primary, but yet state voters almost unseated a sitting state justice. And, hopefully, it will make Waukesha County's vote counts a bit more reliable, and believable, for goodness sakes, in future elections.
Figuratively, there will be many more battles. And don't think for a minute this single election has determined the way this war will end.
(1) Ballots are now totaled, JS Online, 4/16/11, http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/119938614.html
(2) Election Administration Manual for WI Municipal Clerks, State of Wisconsin, http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=11826&locid=47
(3) 2010 Election Results, Mpls. Star Tribune, http://elections.startribune.com/returns/mgovsm.html, retrieved 4/16/11
(4) Editorial: ...lower recount threshhold, Mpls. Star Tribune, 11/15/10, http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/108257194.html, retrieved 4/16/11
(5) Contested Recalls Unlikely..., by Rob Ritchie, Huffington Post, posted 11/1/10 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-richie/contested-recounts-unlike_b_777299.html, retrieved, 4/16/11
(6) Potential recount would cost... Wisconsin Reporter.com, 4/14/11, http://www.wisconsinreporter.com/potential-recount-would-cost-local-governments-money-manpower retrieved, 4/16/11
(7) Mark Dayton declared winner, finally, MPRNews, 12/10/10, http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/12/08/emmer-recount-concession/ retrieved 4/16/11
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