First Day of Recall Recount Sets Tone for Long, Detailed Process
Unofficial tallies from the Town of Dover give Wanggaard a net gain of three votes, but Lehman remains in the lead. In a room full of ballots and people, the recount of ballots cast in the 21st Senate District race began Wednesday.
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A small conference room at the Racine County Courthouse is serving as ground zero for the recount of 71,868 ballots cast in the 21st Senate District recall election between Democrat John Lehman and Republican Van Wanggaard.
Wanggaard, who lost to Lehman in his bid to keep the 21st District seat on June 5, filed a petition Friday with the state Government Accountability Board asking for a recount. Wanggaard lost by 834 votes — with Lehman receiving 36,351 votes and Wanggaard getting 35,517 votes.
Racine County Clerk Wendy Christensen has 13 days to complete the recount, which would take her to July 2. Christensen and her crew are expected to take the full time allotted since the state Supreme Court recount last year took eight days with half as many ballots. The recount includes reconciling the poll books, re-tabulating the vote counts on the machines and in some cases counting ballots by hand.
Same-day voter registrations, however, will not be considered. Christensen said they are looking only at the number of ballots cast and the number of votes tallied on the voter logs.
While Lehman attended the start of the recount on Wednesday, Wanggaard was not in the audience.
“I wanted to see what this looked like,” Lehman said.
Since Wanggaard lost by a margin of more than one-half a percentage point, he will need to pay for the recount.
Randy Nash, an attorney representing the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said he's mainly focused on having all of the votes counted.
"I'm here to say that when the Republicans take issue with a vote not being counted that they are wrong," he said. "I think this is a complete waste of taxpayers money, especially with the margin being way over 800 votes."
The outcome of the 21st Senate District race has been watched closely statewide because a Lehman victory gives Democrats control of the state Senate by a 17-16 margin. The Legislature is not in session until after the November 2012 elections during which all 99 Assembly seats are up for grabs and 16 of 33 Senate seats are up for re-election.
Recount starts with Town of Dover
The Town of Dover was the first municipality to have its ballots recounted. While the numbers weren't official until Christensen read the results at the end of the day, it appeared at about 3:30 p.m. that Van Wanggaard picked up some votes.
After the ballots were reconciled and counted, Wanggaard's tally went from 1,154 to 1,156. Senator-elect John Lehman's count decreased by one; 598 to 597, giving Wanggaard a cumulative increase of three votes.
But Nash said he made a formal objection to the way votes from Dover were tallied because the number in the poll book didn't match the number of ballots and he disagreed with the way the numbers were reconciled.
In short, there were 1,780 voters recorded but 1,781 ballots. Canvassers removed one ballot that didn't match, and then they discovered an absentee ballot that wasn't properly signed. Christensen's deputies removed that ballot as well.
"By my count, they should only have taken one vote away, since there were more ballots cast by one," Nash said. "But the canvassers removed two, which is what I objected to. They ruled against me but at the objection remains a part of the minutes."
One of Christensen’s deputies clarified a few minutes later and said a total of 1,779 voters were recorded in the poll books, making the removal of two ballots appropriate.
It really doesn't matter either way, Nash continued, since Lehman has a lead of 830 votes.
But Wanggaard campaign manager Justin Phillips said the vote pickup is good news and remains optimistic.
"Only 831 to go," he joked.
Lazich on hand to see how recount proceeds
Among those at the Racine County Courthouse Wednesday was state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin). She said she was attending the recount because as the chair of elections in the Senate, she wants to see how a recount is conducted.
"I've never seen this before," she said. "I wanted to see how it's done, how long it takes. I want to hear from the people who participate, too."
She doesn't know if she'll be present every day, but she does plan to attend as many days as possible. And now that she knows wireless Internet accessibility is available at the Racine County Courthouse, Lazich said she'll bring her computer and get some work done, too.
Mount Pleasant Trustee Karen Albeck is volunteering as a tabulator for the recount effort. What that means is that she checks the number of regular and absentee votes in the poll books and then has her figures double-checked by another tabulator. Assuming the numbers are the same, they are matched against how many ballots were cast.
"I'm retired, and I want to help," she said. "And while it is tedious, I do find it fascinating."
The recount is happening in the order in which results rolled in on election night. As soon as Dover was counted and sealed away, tabulators got started on the Town of Norway. Raymond and Yorkville were also getting underway as the clock ticked closer to 4 p.m.
The public can come to the Racine County Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Ave., to watch the recount, but people will have to sign in and out of the room. The public also can’t bring purses, briefcases, pencils, black pens or blue pens into the room.
Stay tuned to Patch for updates. We’ll check on the recount efforts every day until the results are final.
Tuco
11:17 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
"The outcome of the 21st Senate District race has been watched closely statewide because a Lehman victory gives Democrats control of the state Senate by a 17-16 margin."
Not to diminish the alleged fraud that has been reported.
This is why voter ID is needed. Wisconsin needs to back track and reverse same day registration.
Dorothy Feeney
3:24 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Eliminating same daay registration has nothing to do with eliminating voter fraud. Apples and oranges based on making assumptions about the people who register on election day. Everyone is not like you. Some people move frequently or occasionally. Some people turn 18. The multiple reasons for same day registration do not mean voter will necessarily occur. Think logically.
James R Hoffa
11:23 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Apparently, attorney Randy Nash has never heard of Judge Dennis J. Barry or his prior recount that swung the margin in that election by roughly 800 votes, thus giving Barry the victory. Where is this guy Nash from anyway? If his only role is to contest all challenges made to a ballot, doesn't that seem a little pre-emptive in nature? If the ballot is clearly defective, then he shouldn't he be concurring in the challenge? Did this guy even take a state bar oath before a certified court officer? Sounds like the Dems sent in a quasi-professional HACK to Hoffa!
Doesn't it upset the lefties that the Dems waste their money so foolishly?
morninmist
4:00 am on Thursday, June 21, 2012
Seems the Wanggaard camp is exaggerating --at least according to this story.
1978 recount cited in candidate press release was closer than Senate race
http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/recount-cited-in-candidate-press-release-was-closer-than-senate/article_a2bc3648-bb2e-11e1-9874-001a4bcf887a.html
...In a press release, Wanggaard said a voter who supported a recount reminded him of a past race where “Judge Barry was once down on election night by 700‐some votes, and asked for a recount. In the end, Judge Barry won.”
But Wanggaard’s challenger, former state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said Wanggaard had his numbers wrong from that race.
In the 1978 Racine County district attorney race between Michael Piontek and Barry, Piontek was leading by 258 votes the day after the election, according to The Journal Times’ archive. But as more results came in Piontek’s lead was reduced to 133 votes the Friday after the election when a recount was requested, according to a Nov. 11, 1978, Journal Times article. Then after a recount, Barry ended up winning.
In contrast, going into the recount Wednesday, Lehman led Wanggaard by 834 votes.
James R Hoffa
6:01 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
@morninmist -
Funny how that article doesn't state what the difference was the night of the election, instead only referencing that "Piontek was leading by 258 votes THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION."
I know that you're reading and comprehension deficient, but Van clearly stated that Barry was "once down ON ELECTION NIGHT by 700-some votes,...."
There's a big difference between "election night" and "the day after the election," isn't there? A whole 24 hours by my understanding of what a day constitutes; or did liberals change the definition?
Good heavens, you guys voted for a candidate that doesn't even understand the difference between two distinct time periods? And Lehman was a public school teacher? And you're proud of this guy?
On the NIGHT OF THE ELECTION, as Wanggaard qualified, the margin separating Barry and Piontek showed Piontek up "by 700-some votes" - this is true, and if the Racine J/T had any journalistic integrity at all, they'd tell the full truth here!
But spin away, as that's what you liberals do!
dee50
11:44 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
@Hoffa
You say "Doesn't it upset the lefties that the Dems waste their money so foolishly?"
Who is paying for the Recount and who requested it?
dee50
11:54 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
@Hoffa you made this statement below on June 7th:
James R Hoffa
3:53 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012
@dee50 -
In the last two years, it has been your side that has constantly demanded recounts, not conservatives. Kloppy, Nielsen, etc. have all requested recounts in the last two years. Meanwhile, you can't name a single conservative in the state that has requested a recount during this time frame.
Why you ask?
Answer:
Conservatives are gracious losers, while liberals find it hard to accept the reality of their losses. Proof in the pudding was MSNBC's night of denial coverage that was so obvious, even Stewart of the Daily Show couldn't resist the opportunity to make fun!
Once the canvass is completed and the results certified, if it shows Lehamn won - that's great.
Hoffa:
You must feel pretty foolish about now, but of course you will spin it anyway you can to TRY to justify your OWN words...HA!
James R Hoffa
12:24 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
@dee50 -
I don't need to spin anything - I have fact to justify this recount.
1) Fraud so rampant that even the Racine County Sheriff is investigating.
2) The Judge Dennis J. Barry recount that flipped the results of that election by a margin of roughly 800 votes. The County has obviously had some tabulation issues in the past. Best be sure here under the circumstances.
3) Van at least had to contribute $685 towards the cost of the recount, and either he or his activists may end up covering it all eventually. I'm in the process of organizing a collection to cover the costs myself. Can any of the libs that requested recounts honestly say the same?
Try again!
mau
12:20 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Why wasn't Randy Nash saying this about million dollar recall of legitimately elected officials. "I'm here to say that when the Republicans take issue with a vote not being counted that they are wrong," he said. "I think this is a complete waste of taxpayers money, especially with the margin being way over 800 votes."
The same day registrations are the first thing that should be checked.
dee50
1:08 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
@Mau
I totally agree. Why are the same day registrations not being checked first and do they plan on checking them??
dee50
1:38 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
There have been a handful of substantiated cases of individual ineligible voters attempting to defraud the election system. But by any measure, voter fraud is extraordinarily rare.
Allegations of widespread voter fraud, however, often prove greatly exaggerated. It is easy to grab headlines with a lurid claim (“Tens of thousands may be voting illegally!”); the follow-up — when any exists — is not usually deemed newsworthy. Yet on closer examination, many of the claims of voter fraud amount to a great deal of smoke without much fire. The allegations simply do not pan out.
It is more likely that an individual will be struck by lightning than that he will
impersonate another voter at the polls. The voter fraud phantom drives policy
that disenfranchises actual legitimate voters, without a corresponding actual benefit.
BUT then you have Election Fraud. Different than Voter fraud:
Recall Election Fraud in Wisconsin? You Betcha!
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/06/07/recall-election-fraud-in-wisconsin-you-betcha/
Diebold voting machines easily hacked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_exVfvC-cI
(I even included a link from Fox-proving this is something that both R’s and D’s should be very concerned)
Researchers Hack Voting Machine for $26
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/30/researchers-hack-voting-machine-for-26/
James R Hoffa
3:34 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Recount results from the Township of Dover completed: Wanggaard: 1,156 vs Lehman: 597.
Canvass certified results were Wanggaard: 1,154 Lehman: 598.
Already, Van is picking up votes and Lehman is losing votes - margin of loss decreased by 3 votes! Let's hope the trend continues!
thisismyusername
4:25 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Van is wasting county money and used a campaign contributor to crawl through a dumpster to justify it. This is the police and fire commission all over again.
morninmist
4:41 am on Thursday, June 21, 2012
Yup. The TeaGOP and their fans are always crying about Dems wasting tax $ and then waste $
.....Officials say the recount will cost taxpayers more than $7,000. Wanggaard had to pay $685 to conduct the recount, and taxpayers will end up fronting the rest. The incumbent senator says the recount is worth it to make sure there were no voter irregularities on election night........
http://fox6now.com/2012/06/20/racine-recount-lates/
James R Hoffa
1:26 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
@morninmist -
Actually, there's a group of Wanggaard supporters that have started to raise money to reimburse the County the full actual costs of the recount. If this effort is successful, then this recount will have cost the taxpayers absolutely nothing.
We're still waiting for the liberals to offer to do the same for the Kloppy recount and all of the frivolous recalls that you guys put the state through over the last year and half. So, when are you guys going to man up? You can organize and raise money for the recount and recalls, but for some reason, you can't do the same to reimburse the taxpayers for the crap that you guys insisted upon!?!? There's something wrong with the mental process of those on your side!
Just goes to show that conservatives are responsible stewards of the public treasure and exercise personal responsibility while liberals are nothing but moochers!
dee50
4:53 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
@Hoffa
Really there is a group of supporters that started raising money.....Really, and where would one go to donate for this re-count...
You have an answer for everything now don't you Hoffa! You Republicans are such gracious losers and givers.......Too funny
James R Hoffa
5:44 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
@dee50 -
Yes, there is, as I'm helping to organize it. Once we get the fund legally set up, we'll do a press release so you'll know where to go to contribute towards it.
It's called taking personal responsibility, which is probably a foreign concept to you, so may want to do some research on this!
BTW - When is your side going to offer to pay back the state and affected localities for the Kloppy recount and all the frivolous recalls?
What's that I hear... nothing but crickets from the libs when asked to put their money where their mouths are - typical!
Marilyn
7:50 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I just heard on WISN radio, that 116 out of 160 same day registration voters in the second ward, did NOT sign the election book before receiving their ballot! There are possibly THOUSANDS in Racine who did not sign the book. This is procedure according to the new voting law. Those votes should NOT be counted, but they can't trace who they voted for. Wendy Christianson, the Racine county clerk, should be fired!!! We should have poll watchers, watching for this in the next elections, so that van loads of people from Chicago can't be trucked in again!
dee50
4:08 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
"We should have poll watchers, watching for this in the next elections, so that van loads of people from Chicago can't be trucked in again!" That is a ridiculous statement!
Same day registration voters are most likely Dem you are correct with that....Therefore, how many of those people that voted were not counted..Read the article again Marilyn! It says "Even though those voters didn't sign the poll books, it appears their votes still will be counted." The key word in that statement is "IT APPEARS"....Wow, no that's some proof!
Republicans will do anything to win elections! Anybody remember the FAKE Dems on the ballots, just as one example!