Don’t Keep Hope Alive: Wisconsin’s official Government Accountability Board has now investigated the election results in Waukesha County and found no reason to overturn the results that gave Supreme Court Justice David Prosser a 7,300 vote victory over his labor-backed challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg. Kloppenburg has nevertheless filed for a recount. I don’t blame her. I know what it’s like to suffer a crushing, soul-destroying defeat. You want to fight on! That sentiment must be especially strong if you’ve prematurely declared victory. And yes, given all the drama it’s worth something to double-check to ensure everyone of the result. But barring some unforeseen shenanigans–Prof. Jacobson wisely counsels vigilance on that front–the result will not change. Kloppenburg lost. This hasn’t stopped some on the left (update: including Kloppenburg herself) from continuing to find ever-more-tenuous reasons for doubting the result.
I’m reminded of the closing anecdote in the Brookfield Patch account of the Waukesha ballot difficulties:
Also Thursday in Brookfield, a resident expressed concern that her vote was not counted by the machine after she initially marked her ballot with a red pen she found in the polling station, according to the city clerk’s office.
Schmidt said, however, she believes the vote was counted because the machine otherwise would have kicked the ballot back out with an error message.
The woman came to City Hall Thursday to report concerns about her vote Tuesday at the Dixon Elementary School polling site. According to Schmidt:
The woman said she used a red pen she found at the voting station but then stopped and asked poll workers if red would register. They told her to switch to a black pen and write with black over the red marks. The machine accepted the ballot, but the woman said she did not hear the usual beep that sounds after the ballot enters the machine.
Schmidt said the site might have been too noisy to hear the beep.
Hear the beep, people!
[via Instapundit]