I haven't been around much - been really busy.
This week and next have included hard choices: volunteer time to the statewide Kloppenburg recount or to the final push on the last 2 recall efforts (Lazich and Grothman). I decided to split my time between them.
To summarize these events:
8 Republican State Senators are recallable and petitions for 6 of the 8 are already in with an overwhelming overabundance of signatures which virtually guarentee that they will be required to stand for election again in several weeks. 2 more remain recallable and the organizers have until May 2 to submit the petitions. Both are in very Republican districts.
The Kloppenburg recount, which nobody saw coming before the election, started this week. With 100% of the vote in Wednesday morning, JoAnne Kloppenburg was ahead by 204 votes. In a surprize announcement late in the afternoon on Thursday, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nichlaus (R-Wingnuttia) announced that she "forgot" to enter resultsfrom the largest city in the county, the City of Brookfield. Those "forgotten" votes in a very Republican area gave Prosser a 7500 vote lead.
Kloppenburg campaign officials demanded an explanation and filed for all records from Waukesha County. While it was feared that the "error" had given Prosser enough of a margin to avoid a recount, the final tally put the vote difference less than 0.5% and eligible for a statewide recount at no cost to the requesting candidate. Prosser has insisted that Kloppenburg accept the results as is to avoid costs to the state. I always wondered if he would have felt the same if his vote totals were behind.
Kloppenburg did request the recount as well as an investigation into the Waukesha Prosser Miracle from historically error-prone Kathy Nichlaus. That recount is being done now.
This week I've been at the Milwaukee County recounts and this weekend I'll be working on the final push to recall State Senator Mary Lazich. I took today off to rest my joints for a full weekend of canvassing (normally I canvess very little because my bad back and knee from over 30 years of nursing don't allow such activities for long), so tomorrow, armed with a bottle of aspirin and a boatload of determination, I'll be out there collecting signatures door to door.
The recount has been interesting. In Milwaukee County, we're hand counting the actual paper ballots and not feeding them through the Diebold machines. 2 election workers handle the ballots for each ward while a volunteer from each of the campaign watch and take notes. Here's the procedure for anyone interested:
Step 1 - Verify the number of voters.
Each ward has 2 identical "books" (actually they are loose leaf binders) listing the registered voters in that ward. When voters come to the polls, they check in with 2 poll workers who locate the name in their own book and list the voter number next to the name (voter numbers are assigned in order as people come to vote).
For the recount, the number of voters is counted alphabetically with the number of voters with last name starting with "A" counted, moving to the "Bs", etc. Each election worker does this independently and when they are finished, they compare their numbers. If there is a discrepency, both recount that letter and rectify any differences. Once the number of voters per last name letter is verified, the election workers total the number of voters and again compare.
Once the number of registered voters who voted is verified, the election workers move on to verifiy the number of voters who registered to vote at the polls (we have same day registration here). Appended to the back of both of the poll books is a list of those new voters. Those are counted and added to the total of registered voters to give the number of all voters.
Step 2 - Counting ballots
The ballots are now brought in by a staff member of the Milwaukee County Elections office. Those ballots are in a bag which is secured in a plastic tag with a number on it. The number of the tag as well as the names of the poll workers who placed the Diebold Machine ballots in the bag are written on the front of the bag. Observers like myself take down that number for future reference. The tag must be cut off by one member of the elections office who is solely responsible for that task, keeping records of the tags cut off, as well as issuing, documenting, and signing the new tag which will be placed on the bag after the recount.
The actual ballots are then reviewed one by one and placed in one of four piles by the election workers: votes for Kloppenburg, votes for Prosser, no vote for either candidate, and write-ins. Both the Prosser observer and I were given the opportunity to inspect any ballot. The election workers made sure that extra attention was given to us to inspect any "no votes" or write ins. At times, the Prosser observer and I were asked to "make a call" about voter intent. We tended to agree on each of them, including a write in where "Klopenberg" was written in.
Once the sorting is finished, each pile is counted in "stacks" of 25 with one worker counting and the other recounting for verification. The number of stacks is again counted and the number of left-overs (remaining ballots less than 25) are added to the number. When each pile is completed, the total is generated and compared to the number of voters. Any descrepency between the number of ballots and the number of voters is then resolved.
Step 3 - Finish
Once everything has been rectified, the "tag lady" is once again called over to reseal the ballot bag with a new plastic tie with a new tag number and to sign the front of the bag.
My job as an observer is to keep records on the old and new tag numbers, the number of voters, the number of ballots and the numbers for Kloppenburg, Prosser, no votes, and write ins. It is also to verify that procedure is followed, inspect every ballot as it is counted, and make a judgement call in cases where a ballot might be unclear. If there is anything amiss or a discrepency that can't be resolved, I am to call it to the attention of one of the Kloppenburg attorneys who are available at all times. I've had to do that once.
It's long, tedious work requiring intense concentration. We can get through about 5 or 6 wards each day depending on the number of voters/ballots and the number of discrepencies that are uncovered and need resolving. The recount goes slowly and is scheduled from 8 AM until 6 PM until it is completed. Since Milwaukee County is the largest one in the state, the recount here will likely take the longest.
Additionally, outside of the election workers who we are observing, there is to be no contact with anyone from the elections office. While election workers have unrestricted access and full use of the facility being used for the recount, observers are under very different rules. The two worst ones: we cannot bring a purse inside (I had to hide my inhaler in my jacket pocket) and we cannot use any of the facilities (this means using the Port-A-Potty outside in the cold). In order to access the counting area which is gated, we must go completely around the area and enter a gate guarded by a Deputy Sheriff. To get to the Kloppenburg volunteer desk and the people in charge, we must exit the same way and go all around. Ditto the Port-A-Potty (nightmare even on a nice day, horrendous on a very cold and rainy day).
I decided to take today off to rest and get a few things dones here, get ready for the Lazich canvass this weekend, and then spend next week on the recount. Abscentee ballots will be the last ones counted because of how they are stored. I expect that to be very, very interesting.
Thanks for your interest and support.
Update: Added Clarity Edition: Just clarified the title a bit. While I'm adding information about both, my main point is that these are going on at the same time making volunteers face tough decisions on the best use of their time.