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Friday, April 08, 2011

Justice David Prosser: 'I'm not conceding, and I'm not congratulating. And I'm not claiming victory '

Classy versus tacky is how I see the reactions by the two candidates for the WI Supreme Court seat that is presently held by David Prosser.

Long story short, after the canvassing process which is meant to verify and confirm initial election results as well as correct any errors, was concluded, Justice David Prosser took a 7,500+ vote lead against JoAnne Kloppenberg, who prematurely declared victory before the canvassing had begun when it was reported she held a 204 vote lead.


Kloppenburg, before the canvassing and verification process when she believed she had a 204 point lead:

“We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service. Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the State, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our Courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work Wisconsin residents elect Supreme Court justices to do.”


Prosser, after partial canvassing had been done during which he has taken a 7,500 vote lead, tells Fox News:

"I like to think that I have survived a nuclear firestorm of criticism and attack and smear. As far as I'm concerned, if these results hold up, I will be the winner."

"I'm not conceding, and I'm not congratulating. And I'm not claiming victory"


Below is a video from Huffington Post showing Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus making the public announcement, calling the new totals a result of the canvassing process meant to catch any errors and Ramona Kitzinger, a Democratic member of the county board of canvass, backing Nickolaus up on her announcement.



(The reason for bold print above the video is because many left leaning sites and news outlets are conveniently leaving out the little fact that a Democratic representatives was witness and part of the canvassing process and is verifying the human error aspect of what happened.)

Despite the hyperbole on the web at the moment with Democratic supporters implying some type of foul play and initial reports from both sides about voter fraud, the final numbers are still not in and verified.

Left leaning statistician Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight is trying to insert a little logic into the emotionally charged issue.

There are, of course, suggestions in some liberal-leaning blogs that Ms. Nickolaus (who has worked for Republicans in the past) is attempting to steal the election. But a look at the turnout estimates in Waukesha County, before and after the problem was corrected, suggest that her mistake was probably an honest one. The original turnout figure was somewhat lower than what might have been expected statistically, and the revised one is more in line with reasonable expectations.


Good luck with that Mr. Silver, you will need it.

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