Welcome back to Wisconsin where up is down, progressive means regressive, and apparently "Don't open the bag." can easily be misunderstood as "Never mind me I'm just a lawyer for the Kloppenburg Campaign"...
"At around 2:15pm, we were ready to open the bags for Delafield. There were three bags total. Bags 1 & 2 were fine. The numbers all matched up. When we got to bag 3, we found out that the bag # was NOT RECORDED ON THE INSPECTOR'S statement...! The Republican canvass person said we could assume that the clerk forgot to write the # down on the inspector's statement and we could proceed. Of course, this is a break in the chain of custody!..."
So Bill (volunteer lawyer) objected. I got my phone out and went to call the campaign. The sheriff wouldn't let me out the back door (even though I went out that door to use the restroom earlier) but made me go around everyone to the front door (front door is for reps, back door is for public). I had to get past the guy sitting out front wanting to know if I was leaving for the day, what my name was...
I called the campaign and they said to tell Bill to tell the judge that we are considering making an objection and want to have legal counsel. They said DO NOT open the bag. I raced back into the room and found Bill. He said the bag had already been opened..."
There were absolutely no problems up until this point... That is if you don't count the first bag of ballots...
The state Supreme Court recount got off to a wobbly start here Wednesday.
After more than a half-hour of meticulous instructions and ground rules relayed by Waukesha County's chief canvasser, retired Judge Robert G. Mawdsley, questions were raised about the very first bag of ballots to be counted, from the Town of Brookfield.
As canvassers and tabulators compared a numbered seal on a bag with the number recorded for that bag by a town election inspector who prepared the paperwork on election night, the numbers didn't match.
"What a great way to start," one official tabulator said.
Looks like ca democrat tried to warn of this very possibility last night. I was busy watching "The Office".Updated by PvtJarHead at Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 12:47 PM CDT
It would appear that this subject was broached last night by Giles Goat Boy... I must have missed the update.
Updated by PvtJarHead at Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 12:57 PM CDT
Okay, what I really want to know is... Why did they open the 3rd bag (the one in question) first? Why was there a rush to open this bag and force the issue?