WHAT?!?! - Wisconsin GAB Wrote Erroneous Software For Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus

[eowyn_of_rohan]

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus was using a software program created especially for her by the state Government Accountability Board when she made the huge error in compiling results for the State Supreme Court race between incumbent David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. The special program was revealed in an email sent to other county clerks and released by the Kloppenburg campaign to buttress her claim that an independent investigation of Nickolaus’ office is needed.

Nickolaus was at the center of the huge vote-reporting error that omitted the entire City of Brookfield from county totals reported to the media. Made public two days after the April 5 election, the revelation altered the results of the State Supreme Court race in Justice David’s Prosser’s favor. The GAB, which oversees elections in the state, is currently investigating the mix-up and announced last week it would issue a final report within 60 days. Kloppenburg’s campaign asked for a special investigator, arguing the GAB works too closely with county clerks to be impartial. The GAB denied the request.

The email, by Rusk County Clerk Denise Wetzel and addressed to other county clerks in Wisconsin, including Nickolaus, was sent on April 8, the day after Nickolaus revealed the vote-reporting error in a press conference. It reads, “Please note that the program Kathy uses IS NOT the new canvass reporting program that is in the (Statewide Voter Registration System) that we all have been using as of late. It is a completely different program that was created by GAB for Kathy to accumulate her votes prior to uploading them into the program that the rest of us use.”

The Wetzel email, filed with the campaign’s request for an outside investigator, was “meant to indicate the GAB appropriately works closely with county clerks on a number of projects, and that close relationship makes it harder for the GAB to do a full and independent investigation,” says Kloppenburg campaign manager Melissa Mulliken.

http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=581616

"The GAB declined to comment"

:wow:

[SpiralHawk]

1. How conveeeeenient (R)

[RKP5637]

2. Does anyone seriously think their vote is appropriately counted in the NEW US. IMO this

is just the tip of one iceberg discovered. Of course, I've never trusted all of those counting votes manually either.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. I fully understand what you're saying, and I take heart in the fact

that this stuff IS coming to light this time. Neither Kloppenburg nor the highly energized activists around her are about to let this one go. Obviously, it goes far beyond the immediate SC Race issue.

[rurallib]

3. does this mean that the GAB may have written some software to

-uh- help one side? And why just for Nickolaus?
Boy oh boy I hope there is a full independent audit.

[GillesDeleuze]

11. are you just asserting things?

because i can't figure out how you got that out of the text.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

16. Did you read the article? Mighty strange...

Here's more:

In the press conference, Nickolaus didn’t explain, as stated in the Wetzel email, that the database was specially created for her office and not used by any other clerk in the state. Neither Nickolaus nor the GAB has offered any explanation why she was given a special software program, but she had a history of prior "errors" (emphasis mine) in compiling voting results.

In 2005, results from a ward in the county were counted twice in a state Assembly race by her office. Nickolaus attributed the mistake, which was caught during canvassing, to one of her employees hitting “the wrong button.”

And in 2006, computer malfunctions and other problems resulted in her office briefly listing the wrong winner in another Assembly race. Nickolaus said at the time data had been recorded incorrectly and skewed the results until the error was corrected.

Kloppenburg’s campaign has also questioned how the clerk calculated turnout in 2004. According to news stories, she said then that turnout in the general election that year had been 97.6 percent and possibly a national record. The campaign’s complaint says that is “a level of turnout so extraordinarily high as to raise questions as to its validity.”

[PeaceNikki]

4. I'm glad we'll be hand-counting the votes here in Waukesha.

[robinlynne]

25. how will you know those are the real ballots? they were "secured" by the exact same person.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

33. one of my biggest worries too -nt

[Poboy]

5. R'd

[Eddie Haskell]

6. Software like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1thcO_olHas

[xchrom]

8. Recommend

[eowyn_of_rohan]

9. GAB has refused to provide details on the computer program

On top of it being poorly written.... Since this software is property of the state of Wisconsin, the GAB should publicly post the source code for it, which of course they haven't done..

[GillesDeleuze]

10. Um, GAB is a highly transparent agency created at the bequest of common cause and WDC

its staffed by elections experts, especially at the county level

[eowyn_of_rohan]

12. Supposed to be, I know.

This doesn't look very good to me, however.

[onethatcares]

15. then there will be no problem

showing the code and explaining how it works or worked for only one person.

That's the great thing about America, when things go wrong, they get corrected speedily. Right?

[gkhouston]

13. I wonder who wrote and tested the software. n/t

[eowyn_of_rohan]

14. Yeah, why would it be "erroneous" if it has been tested...

Or, why would they give her untested, erroneous software? They need to come clean about this, and answer all the related questions.

[gkhouston]

17. "Erroneous" can simply mean they didn't plan for a big enough idiot.

Or a big enough crook. If they wrote a piece of software assuming their target audience would consist of competent county clerks acting in good faith, that alone would be erroneous, IMHO.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

18. Even though they knew well that she's made numerous "mistakes" in the past ?

i don't think so, imho...

[Snoutport]

19. kick

[Poboy]

20. r'd

[high density]

21. Votes tabulated in an Access 'database'

Can none of these places attract decent IT staff and software developers? I wouldn't even trust Access to track the number of dumps I take in a day.

[hayu_lol]

22. Probably a program just for her so that she could continue to...

use her non-standard puter with the state program on the county puters.

Nope. Nothing here even slightly suspicious.

Maybe this should be sent to all those Regent University grads still in the 'justice' dept.

[JoshieR]

40. You need a database...

to track your bowel movements?? O.O

[AndyTiedye]

23. Isn't That Special?

k/r

[eowyn_of_rohan]

24. kick

[glinda]

26. Well this is an odd stand out fact. Ouch!

[Ellipsis]

27. Let's see how this "bakes out" in the next few days. If this doesn't get clarified...

...by next week, I'd be surprised. If it isn't, I'll poke my nose into the mess to find out what the skinny is ... guaranteed.

[Rex]

28. Why did they write her special software, just for her?

Why can't she use the standard software used by all county clerks or do they all have different third party software? If the GAB picked JUST her out of everyone else, I would also like an explanation as to why for what reason how come?

[suffragette]

29. Seems to me the designer of a special program might have a bias

toward finding that program performed correctly.

Joining you in your
:wow:

[crickets]

30. Ouch. K&R

[emcguffie]

31. Has the recount started?

When will we start hearing results? Anybody know?

Thanks.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

32. It starts this morning at 9:00 - Statewide - Getting ready now.

I know of at least 5 DUers (self included) who are taking part as recount observers for Joanne Kloppenburg. We have all printed out reams of documents - Official GAB Recount and recount observer guides, Canvass results for all wards in the county we will work in, recount tally sheets, and misc. other papers. We have not had time to absorb much from them as they were delivered via email last night.

Trying to find red, green and purple pens since black and blue aren't allowed. Recharging my camera and cellphone batteries for use on-site. Lots of odds and ends we need to bring.

It is intense and exciting... Flashing back to the Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004 recounts, having watched them on TV for days on end...

Wish us luck! We'll do the very best we can. THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!
:dem: :patriot:

[disillusioned73]

34. Kick...

Best wishes for truth, good luck to you eowyn_of_rohan

[MaeScott]

35. This stinks like a dead catfish. nt

[cascadiance]

36. Makes you wonder if this program was "talking" to other precinct "personal" laptops...

And helping send to them how many extra votes are needed to be added in other areas where they wouldn't be under as big a microscope as Waukesha was anticipated as being. If Kathy knew that she was "holding back" these 14,000 votes (and the 7,500 vote margin) that it had, up until the end the previous night they'd know how many "manufactured" votes in other precincts were needed for the intentionally "late" release of the one city's votes to provide the needed non-automatic recount triggering 7,500 vote margin would be obtained. And if those votes were in counties that could be somehow "removed" from a state recount, or that the tabulating software were messed with so that they would get extra votes if there weren't a hand recount of them, then these "extra votes" elsewhere wouldn't get noticed even with a selective "hand recount" of the more visible districts around the state.

I suspect that Waukesha numbers are accurate, but that other districts are the ones that are causing the problem. This program and other software she has on her laptop (if she's not wiped the relevant one already) should be checked to see what kind of communications it was sending to other voting precincts.

[reggie the dog]

37. I love Rusk county

i have been going there for vacation since i was a little kid, our family had a trailer in the woods that got upgraded to a chalet when grandpa won the lotto. it is a beautiful place where the farms end and the northwoods begin. thankfully they have the internet too.

[myrna minx]

38. K&R n/t

[spanone]

39. the system is broke, corrupt and nationwide.

[Enthusiast]

41. They stole yet another election.

Filthy Republicans.

[DFW]

42. If this isn't enough to warrant a federal takeover of the investigation, what is?

A biased program used by a biased State elections official and is refused investigation by a biased board.

This stands about as much chance of being set straight on its own as Little Rock Central High School stood
of being integrated in 1957 without Federal intervention. Holder has no business staying out of this one.