***** Polls Open for Wisconsin Recall Vote ***** LiveBlog *****

[L. Coyote]

Post news of the day here.

August 9 recalls:

    District 32 (La Crosse area): Sen. Dan Kapanke vs. Rep. Jennifer Shilling

    District 14 (Central, north of Madison): Sen. Luther Olsen vs. Rep. Fred Clark

    District 18 (Fond du Lac area): Sen. Randy Hopper vs. Jessica King

    District 10 (Northwest Wisconsin): Sen. Sheila Harsdorf vs. Shelly Moore

    District 8 (North of Milwaukee): Sen. Alberta Darling vs. Rep. Sandy Pasch

    District 2 (Green Bay area): Sen. Robert Cowles vs. Nancy Nusbaum 

===================
NYT: Polls Open for Wisconsin Recall Vote
By MONICA DAVEY
August 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/politics/10wisconsin.html


SAYNER, Wis. — Polling stations opened Tuesday morning in Wisconsin as voters cast ballots to decide whether to remove six Republican state senators, the latest chapter in what has been one of the most polarized, vitriolic political years in the state in memory.

Republicans hold a 19-to-14 advantage in the State Senate, so the election could tip the balance in favor of Democrats in the upper chamber, but the vote is being more widely seen as a referendum on the policies of the state’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, and as a potential preview of the 2012 presidential election in Wisconsin, which is expected to be a crucial swing state.

The recall campaigns — against six Republicans on Tuesday and against two Democratic state senators next week — have drawn frenetic get-out-the-vote efforts by local and national groups .......

=============
Republican control at stake in Wisconsin recall elections
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-wisconsin-recall-elections-20110809,0,3813899.story
By Michael A. Memoli Washington Bureau August 9, 2011


It's decision day in Wisconsin, where the results of a half-dozen recall elections are being closely watched by national observers looking for a measure of voter angst.

Six Republican state senators risk losing their seats in the recall effort, which was spurred by controversial budget reforms undertaken by the state's new GOP governor, Scott Walker. Over the objections of Democrats and their allies in labor, new Republican majorities in the Legislature teamed up with Walker to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

If Democrats can win four of the six races on the ballot today, they'll retake control of the state Senate .....

================
Handicapping the Wisconsin Recall Elections
Badger State Democrats are trying to win at least three recall races on Tuesday. What are the odds?
—By Andy Kroll - http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/handicapping-wisconsin-recall-elections
Aug. 8, 2011


Never before in American politics have voters recalled more than two state legislators in a single year. That record could be broken on Tuesday, when Wisconsinites vote to decide the fate of six Republican state senators who voted for Gov. Scott Walker's conservative, anti-union agenda. Democrats need to win three of these recall races (and defend two more in another round of recalls next week) to reclaim a majority in the state Senate and throw a wrench into Walker's political machine.

Publicly, Wisconsin Democrats are oozing confidence. ...........

[L. Coyote]

1. Payback Time: Polls Promising as Wis. Unions Ready for GOP Recall Elections

Payback Time: Polls Promising as Wis. Unions Ready for GOP Recall Elections
Aug 1, 2011 - By Roger Bybee - http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11764/as_8_recalls_draw_closer_labor_and_dems_showing_momentum/


Heading toward eight remaining recall elections, Wisconsin labor and Democrats gained critical momentum on July 19 as they scored an overwhelming 66-31 percent victory in Green Bay against GOP efforts to punish Democratic State Sen. Dave Hansen, a friend of labor. ............

Over the past two months, Republicans’ claims to be guided solely by budgetary concerns and taxpayer needs have been tainted by their participation in a set of undemocratic measures, including partisan gerrymandering of state legislative districts, and what Common Cause of Wisconsin director Jay Heck called “the most restrictive, blatantly partisan and ill-conceived voter identification legislation in the nation” (details on these measures below).

But labor and progressives feel encouraged by the most recent polls on the recall races, especially in the context of Gov. Walker’s 59-percent disapproval rating reported July 13. ......

===================
Tue Jul 26, 2011 at 08:47 AM PDT
Wisconsin Recall: New polling shows Democratic lead in one race, two more races tight
by David Nir for Daily Kos Elections - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/26/999005/-Wisconsin-Recall:-New-polling-shows-Democratic-lead-in-one-race,-two-moreracestight

Last month, we polled three GOP-held state Senate recall elections in Wisconsin, showing that we have a path to victory. We also said we planned to conduct additional polling on the recalls. Here's the latest on the other three Republican Senate seats. .........

Taken in concert with our last round of polling (conducted a month ago), PPP shows Democrats with a big lead in one race, narrow leads in two races, and trailing by five points or less in three races. In this newest batch, Democratic state Rep. Fred Clark has a small edge against Luther Olsen, which makes this race one of our three best pickup opportunities. Clark's own internal polling (PDF) confirms this, showing him ahead as well (by an even larger margin).

The other two freshly polled races here are, as you can see, also very tight. ............

========================
Mon Aug 08, 2011 at 09:57 AM PDT
Wisconsin recall: Democrat Jessica King leads Randy Hopper in new GOP poll
by Chris Bowers - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/08/1004516/-Wisconsin-recall:-Democrat-Jessica-King-leads-Randy-Hopper-in-new-GOP-poll


It is extremely close in district 18, and I remain confident Jessica King will prevail. When she does, we will need to find only one more win in the remaining four campaigns. Fred Clark and Sandy Pasch are the best Democratic hopes for that third win.

There was never going to be a Democratic rout in the Wisconsin recalls, as people on the ground and campaign insiders always knew. One of the more seductive dreams for participants in populist movements is a sudden shift in mass consciousness that rapidly and decisively overthrows the existing order. However, the truth is that it just doesn't happen that way very often, and the odds of it happening were virtually nil in six state senate seats which Republicans managed to win during the Democratic wave of 2008. ..............

[L. Coyote]

2. Mon Aug 08 = Wisconsin recall elections: Too close to call

Mon Aug 08, 2011 at 08:10 AM PDT
Wisconsin recall elections: Too close to call
by David Nir for Daily Kos Elections - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/08/1004363/-Wisconsin-recall-elections:-Too-close-to%C2%A0call


Daily Kos commissioned Public Policy Polling to conduct a final round of surveys over the weekend (8/5-7) to see where things stand. We polled in four races: the first three we tested back in June (Senate Districts 32, 18 & 10), and the widest-open race of the three we checked in on two weeks ago (SD-14). Here's what we found:

SD-32:

    Jennifer Shilling (D): 54 (56)
    Dan Kapanke (R-inc): 43 (42)
    Undecided: 3 (3)
    (MoE: ±3.4%)

SD-18:

    Jessica King (D): 48 (50)
    Randy Hopper (R-inc): 49 (47)
    Undecided: 3 (3)
    (MoE: ±2.7%)

SD-10:

    Shelly Moore (D): 42 (45)
    Sheila Harsdorf (R-inc): 54 (50)
    Undecided: 4 (5)
    (MoE: ±2.7%)

SD-14:

    Fred Clark (D): 47 (49)
    Luther Olsen (R-inc): 50 (47)
    Undecided: 3 (4)
    (MoE: ±2.8%)

The bottom line: This is too close to call. We need three wins to thwart Scott Walker, and one race is looking pretty good. But our other targets are going to be TIGHT. And there's an important caveat: Voters in Wisconsin have started getting tons of robocalls urging them to vote, and some have started just ignoring their phones altogether. Since PPP also uses automated calls, this makes it trickier for us to poll and introduces a greater element of uncertainty than usual into these numbers. So things, for all we know, could be even closer still.

That's why we need to focus on getting out the vote like crazy. ..............

[L. Coyote]

6. Mother Jones: Final WI Recall Poll: GOPers Have the Edge

Final WI Recall Poll: GOPers Have the Edge
—By Andy Kroll | Mon Aug. 8, 2011 9:25 AM PDT - http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/08/final-wi-recall-poll-gopers-have-edge


The day before Wisconsin's six GOP recall elections, a new poll shows Republicans with the narrowest of advantages in two key districts that could determine whether Democrats wrest control of the state Senate or fall just short.

The poll, which was conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by the liberal website Daily Kos, shows GOP Sen. Randy Hopper leading by one percentage point and GOP. Sen. Luther Olsen ahead by three. And while the margin of error in both of these races is about three percentage points, potentially wiping out both senators' leads, the latest data ratchets up the suspense ......

[L. Coyote]

3. WP: Wisconsin recall elections explained By Rachel Weiner

Wisconsin recall elections explained
By Rachel Weiner - 08/04/2011 - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/wisconsin-recall-elections-explained-on-the-fix/2011/08/04/gIQA5W5JuI_blog.html


eight Wisconsin state senators will face recall elections that have major implications for the state and for 2012. Here’s what you need to know.

* Why is this happening? ...............

* Who is eligible for recall? ...........

* When are the recalls? .........

* Is this the first time this has happened? ........

* Why does it matter? .............

Recall elections are on the rise nationally, and these high-profile races will likely only accelerate that trend.

[L. Coyote]

4. The Day of Reckoning in Wisconsin Recall Fight = Tea Party Blackmail in the GOP!

HILARIOUS! The GOP is using the Tea Party to blackmail votes from their own members.

QUESTION: If the Mainstream GOP can use the Tea Party as a blackmail tool, who actually controls the Tea Party.

ANSWER: The GOP, of course. So much for the stealthy rebranding of Bush politics!

===============
The Day of Reckoning in Wisconsin Recall Fight
By Abe Sauer - Aug 9 2011, 7:30 AM ET - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/the-day-of-reckoning-in-wisconsin-recall-fight/243273/


Outside groups, finger-pointing and acrimony have nearly eclipsed the original reason six state senators face voters today

..... outside parties are waterboarding Wisconsin voters with cash as wild accusations become the norm and the entire state devolves into a Tennessee Williamsian dysfunctional family.

On Thursday, Republican Senator Dale Schultz leveled a shocking allegation that Governor Walker had dry-gulched him into missing the vote on the budget bill that eliminated collective bargaining, where, Schultz claims, he had planned to offer a compromise amendment. Schultz, a moderate, avoided recall earlier this year, even though he faced an outraged constituency.

That came just a week or so after a Green Bay business leader came forward with a tale of other Walker shenanigans. The businessman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that recalled Republican Senator Robert Cowles had confided that the only reason he voted for the bill was because "the governor's office told us if we didn't give them our support, they would run a tea party candidate against us." ............

[L. Coyote]

5. BIG $$$$$ = "...interest groups that have a near monopoly on campaign spending."

Spending on Wisconsin recall elections breaks record in 5 districts, with more to come
SCOTT BAUER , Associated Press - http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/126838378.html
August 5, 2011 - 5:01 PM
92 comments

MADISON, Wis. - Spending in five Wisconsin recall elections shattered the previous record ......... five of the nine recall races have exceeded the 11-year-old legislative race record of $3 million.

The Democracy Campaign estimated total spending on all nine races to be what director Mike McCabe called an "absolutely jaw-dropping" $31.5 million. That's nearly as much as the $37 million spent in last year's governor's race won by Republican Scott Walker.

"Candidates are barely being heard from," McCabe said. "They're being outspent on the order of 5-1 by interest groups that have a near monopoly on campaign spending."

Of the total, only about $5 million was spent by the candidates. ...........

[L. Coyote]

7. Citizens to conduct exit polls in Wisconsin recall elections

Citizens to conduct exit polls in Wisconsin recall elections
Judith Davidoff on Monday 08/08/2011 4:03 pm, (10) Comments


Related Files:
Wis GAB letter to EDA 071811.pdf = http://www.thedailypage.com/media/2012/08/08/Wis%20GAB%20letter%20to%20EDA%20071811.pdf

About 20 Wisconsin volunteers got coached in the ways of citizen exit polling in a telephone conference call Thursday night led by Sally Castleman, chairperson of the Election Defense Alliance, a nonpartisan national group that monitors elections. ...........

Some 200 volunteers from Madison and across the state are expected to conduct citizen exit polls in the recall elections ..... says Adam Porton, an organizer with Wisconsin Wave. The grassroots group, a project of the Madison-based Liberty Tree Foundation, is recruiting volunteers for the task along with the Election Defense Alliance.

Volunteers will also be out Aug. 16 ...........

The purpose of citizen exit polling, say organizers, is to monitor the "integrity" of elections that rely on computerized machines to tally votes. Concerns about the validity of electronic voting machines in the 2004 elections, as well as the mishandling of some 14,000 ballots by the Waukesha county clerk in the recent Supreme Court race, have brought the issue to the fore in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

The ultimate goal, says Jonathan Simon, cofounder of the Election Defense Alliance, is to "draw attention to, expose and change our vote-counting system, which is at the very least vulnerable to manipulation."

.............

[L. Coyote]

9. Wisconsin's Election Snafu was a National Wake-Up Call

Wisconsin's Election Snafu Is a National Wake-Up Call
* OPINION
* APRIL 18, 2011
By JOHN FUND - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703551304576260653672631890.html


It's been over a decade since the Bush-Gore recount in Florida was supposed to spur a wholesale modernization of our election systems. But a stunning mistake made by a Wisconsin county clerk in a nationally watched state Supreme Court race reminded us of how far we have to go.

Wisconsin voters went to the polls on April 5 in an election that could have flipped the state Supreme Court's majority from conservative to liberal. On the morning of April 6, liberal challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory by a margin of some 200 votes. But the next day Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced that she had excluded some 14,000 votes from the city of Brookfield when she gave her final tally to the Associated Press on election night. The revised tally put conservative incumbent David Prosser more than 7,000 votes ahead of Ms. Kloppenburg, and he has since been verified the clear winner.

Ms. Nickolaus's error could have been easily avoided through transparency. She had ended the prior clerk's practice of reporting election results for individual cities because it was "not her responsibility" and she didn't "have the staff to enter all the data"—an absurd statement given that many smaller counties post such data on their websites. Many states, such as Kentucky, offer user-friendly websites to track returns statewide.

Not so in Wisconsin—and if we don't view this month's mess as a wake-up call, we'll have only ourselves to blame if next year's presidential election turns into a rerun of Florida 2000. Americans know it could happen: The Brookings Institution reports that in a 2004 poll of 37 nations, Americans were more likely than citizens of any country save Russia to say that their elections are "very dishonest."

..............

from Tue Apr-05-11 07:35 PM:
I'm declaring the winner in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x821883

[L. Coyote]

51. Exit Pollsters Shut Down Again in Waukesha

By Brad Friedman on 8/9/2011 6:17pm
Exit Pollsters Shut Down Again in Waukesha
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8661


The polls in Wisconsin closed moments ago. So far, so good in the state's unprecedented recall elections today, at least according to the bulk of media reports throughout the day. Turnout was reportedly very high, nearing or even exceeding rates from the 2008 Presidential election in some areas. "It's astronomically high," according to Matt Rothschild, Editor of The Progressive in Madison, ......

....

Deja Vu All Over Again

During the Democratic primary elections for the Wisconsin state Senate recalls last July, as we reported at the time, Exit Pollsters from the election watchdog group Election Defense Alliance (EDA) were disallowed from conducting their surveys inside the 100 feet barrier where "electioneering" is specifically disallowed by state law.

Exit Pollsters, however, according to Wisconsin statutes, are allowed to conduct their work as close as 10 feet from the polling place exit, as needed to get the high participation rate required for such polls. Such clearance for exit polling is even explained on the website of the WI Government Accountability Board ....

Sally Castleman said that this time around, things were going wel, but for what happened at a polling site in the Village of Butler. She says that when their group of pollsters arrived at the opening of polls at 7am, the police "seemed to be kind of lying in wait."

The volunteer pollsters were told by the officers that they would not be allowed to poll within 100 feet, ..........

[Ohio Joe]

8. K&R - nt

[L. Coyote]

10. MAP graphic of county 2010-2011 vote shifts:

Positive is blue shift, negative is red shift.

[sabrina 1]

11. Thank you so much for this thread, L. Coyote

I am so nervous about this but excited too. The people of Wisc and all those who have helped them are awesome.

It's hard to believe the races are so close though. What is wrong with people? Can they not see what is happening in this country?

Keeping fingers crossed, and I will keep this kicked when I check in!

:kick: Go Wisc Dems!

[sabrina 1]

12. How soon before we have any news on how things are going?

Keeping everything crossed for victory for the Dems!

[Ellipsis]

13. Polls close @ 8:00pm central

[L. Coyote]

14. Journal Sentinel = August 9 recall election results

August 9 recall election results
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/127331193.html

Coming soon. "Check back after 8 p.m. for results."

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Since ye are closer to the ground

any good pizza shop that will deliver to people working on this OUTSIDE Madison?

[L. Coyote]

16. Early Results

State Senate - District 2 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:03PM CT
Wisconsin - 60 of 90 Precincts Reporting - 67%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Cowles , Robert (i) 	GOP 	15,047 	59%
	Nusbaum , Nancy 	Dem 	10,533 	41%

State Senate - District 8 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:06PM CT
Wisconsin - 12 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 15%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	5,111 	55%
	Pasch , Sandra 	Dem 	4,266 	45%

State Senate - District 10 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:06PM CT
Wisconsin - 71 of 114 Precincts Reporting - 62%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Harsdorf , Sheila (i) 	GOP 	18,822 	58%
	Moore , Shelly 	Dem 	13,401 	42%

State Senate - District 14 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:06PM CT
Wisconsin - 61 of 126 Precincts Reporting - 48%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Olsen , Luther (i) 	GOP 	10,974 	55%
	Clark , Fred 	Dem 	9,058 	45%

State Senate - District 18 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:03PM CT
Wisconsin - 9 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 8%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	3,680 	52%
	King , Jessica 	Dem 	3,395 	48%

State Senate - District 32 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:06PM CT
Wisconsin - 31 of 119 Precincts Reporting - 26%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Shilling , Jennifer 	Dem 	2,641 	51%
	Kapanke , Dan (i) 	GOP 	2,556 	49%

Another interface here: http://www.channel3000.com/election-results/28817276/detail.html

[L. Coyote]

17. Results: Live Updates From The Badger State = 1st winner is Republican

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/wisconsin-recall-election-results_n_922826.html

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports: In District 32, Jennifer Shilling (D) now extends her lead over incumbent Dan Kapanke (R) to 53-47 with now 37 percent reported, according to JSOnline.com. The first bit of good news for the Democrats in a while.

Today 7:15 PM AP Declares Cowles Winner @ sbauerAP : AP declares Republican Sen. Rob Cowles winner in 2nd District. First winner of the night.

=======================
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/127331193.html

State Senate - District 2 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:16PM CT
Wisconsin - 73 of 90 Precincts Reporting - 81%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Cowles , Robert (i) 	GOP 	18,718 	58%
	Nusbaum , Nancy 	Dem 	13,292 	42% 

[L. Coyote]

18. 9:22 PM AP Declares Incumbent Sheila Harsdorf Winner In District 10

State Senate - District 10 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:16PM CT
Wisconsin - 82 of 114 Precincts Reporting - 72%

	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Harsdorf , Sheila (i) 	GOP 	23,125 	58%
	Moore , Shelly  	Dem 	16,499 	42%

[L. Coyote]

19. District 32: 9:24 PM Dem Still Leading

Dem Still Leading In District 32

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports:

The District 32 race, up near LaCrosse, sees Democratic challenger Jennifer Shilling continue to open up a lead. She is ahead 54-46 percent over Dan Kapanke (R) with now 43 percent of the vote in, according to JSOnline.com.

State Senate - District 32 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:16PM CT
Wisconsin - 51 of 119 Precincts Reporting - 43%

	Name 	Party 	  Votes 	Vote     %
	Shilling , Jennifer 	Dem 	7,127 	54%
	Kapanke , Dan (i) 	GOP 	6,135 	46%

[L. Coyote]

21. 9:34 Shilling (D) still leads 53-47 with 80 of 119 precincts reporting (67%)

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports:

According to the LaCrosse Tribune, Jennifer Shilling (D) still leads Dan Kapanke (R-inc.) 53-47 with 80 of 119 precincts reporting (67 percent).

[L. Coyote]

26. 9:59 PM Dem Shilling 54% w/ 82% precincts in

State Senate - District 32 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:53PM CT
Wisconsin - 97 of 119 Precincts Reporting - 82%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Shilling , Jennifer 	Dem 	19,399 	54%
	Kapanke , Dan (i) 	GOP 	16,298 	46%

[L. Coyote]

20. District 18: 9:29 King and Hopper now are even with 19 percent of the votes

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports:

And boom, just like that King and Hopper now are even with 19 percent of the votes in, according to JSOnline.com. It's a 96-vote lead for King with almost 15,000 cast.

State Senate - District 18 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:29PM CT
Wisconsin - 21 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 19%
	Name    	      Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	King , Jessica 	        Dem 	7,464 	50%
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	7,368 	50%

[L. Coyote]

25. 9:50 Hopper (GOP) 51% w/79% precincts reported

09:50PM CT
Wisconsin - 85 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 79%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	22,788 	51%
	King , Jessica 	Dem 	22,212 	49%

[L. Coyote]

22. District 8: 9:40 Pasch (Dem ) has 56% w/ 29% of precincts reporting

State Senate - District 8 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:35PM CT
Wisconsin - 24 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 29%

	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Pasch , Sandra  	Dem 	10,691 	56%
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	8,424 	44% 

[L. Coyote]

23. 9:45 Pasch still has 56% w/ 39% of precincts reporting

State Senate - District 8 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:41PM CT
Wisconsin - 32 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 39%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Pasch , Sandra 	Dem 	12,032 	56%
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	9,447 	44% 

[L. Coyote]

30. 10:17 Pasch (Dem ) has 51% w/ 63% of precincts reporting

887 vote margin is 2.2 % of their vote tally.

District 8 - 52 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 63%
	Name            	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Pasch , Sandra  	Dem 	20,562 	51%
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	19,675 	49%

[L. Coyote]

24. District 14: Looks like another Republican winner, Olsen, 54% w/ 95% precincts reported

sbauerAP : Republican Sen. Luther Olsen has lead in 14th District, but precincts not yet in from Dem Clark's hometown of Baraboo

State Senate - District 14 - General
August 09, 2011 - 09:41PM CT
Wisconsin - 120 of 126 Precincts Reporting - 95%
Name Party Votes Vote %
Olsen , Luther (i) GOP 23,868 54%
Clark , Fred Dem 19,995 46%

[L. Coyote]

27. AP declares third Republican winner = August 09, 2011 - 10:02PM CT

District 2  - 83 of 90 Precincts Reporting - 92%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Cowles , Robert (i) 	GOP 	23,615 	58%
	Nusbaum , Nancy 	Dem 	16,771 	42%

District 10 -  - 98 of 114 Precincts Reporting - 86%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Harsdorf , Sheila (i) 	GOP 	27,784 	58%
	Moore , Shelly   	Dem 	20,457 	42%

District 14 - 123 of 126 Precincts Reporting - 98%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Olsen , Luther (i) 	GOP 	25,358 	53%
	Clark , Fred    	Dem 	22,326 	47%

With three Republican wins already established, Democrats will have to win the remaining three races in order to have a shot at taking over the Wisconsin State Senate.

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports:

It's a 54-46 margin for the third consecutive GOP victory tonight, according to JSOnline.com. Dems have to now go 5-0, to use sports parlance, to win back control of the Senate.

[L. Coyote]

28. AP declares first Dem winner, Schilling in District 32 = 9.3% victory!!

District 32 - 98 of 119 Precincts Reporting - 82%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %

	Shilling , Jennifer 	Dem 	19,928 	55%
	Kapanke , Dan (i) 	GOP 	16,537 	45%

[L. Coyote]

29. District 18: now 50:50 w/87% reporting

This is a 0.28% DEM lead of 137 votes of 48,779 tallied.

Patch's Matt Schroeder reports:
.... 18th District race is practically a dead heat with 87 percent of the votes in. Jessica King (D) leads Randy Hopper (R-inc.) by just 137 votes out of almost 50,000 cast. It's 50-all.

SDistrict 18 - 94 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 87%

	Name    	     Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	King , Jessica  	Dem 	24,458 	50%
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	24,321 	50%

[L. Coyote]

31. 10:34 King (Dem) has 2.2% lead with 97% precincts in.

District 18 -  105 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 97%

	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	King , Jessica 	Dem 	27,123 	51%
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	25,951 	49%10:31

[L. Coyote]

32. District 8: 10:37 Pasch (Dem) has 3.8% lead with 67% of precincts reported

District 8  - 55 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 67%

	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Pasch , Sandra 	Dem 	23,451 	52%
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	21,713 	48%

[L. Coyote]

33. AP declares second Dem winner, King in District 18 = 2.26% victory

This is a 2.26% victory! EXCELLENT!!!

108 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 100%

		               Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	King , Jessica  	Dem 	28,188 	51%
	Hopper , Randy	        GOP 	26,937 	49% 

[L. Coyote]

34. 10:57 PM Pasch-Darling Race Comes Down To Menomonee Falls

Dem Pasch holds a 2.4% lead

8:54 PM Pasch-Darling Race Comes Down To Menomonee Falls

Patch's Joe Petrie reports: .... only municipality still out is Menomonee Falls.

Menomonee Falls Patch's Carl Engelking reports: ... Menomonee Falls ... is the biggest community in the 8th Senate District, and has been dark red for a long time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/wisconsin-recall-election-results_n_922826.html

District 8  - 10:57PM  - 56 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 68%
	Name            	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Pasch , Sandra   	Dem 	23,804 	51%
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	22,693 	49%

[L. Coyote]

35. District 8: 11:01 Waukesha's website updated all but one precinct. 52.3% Darling (R)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/09/1005103/-Wisconsin-recall-liveblog-thread-#14
9:01 PM PT: Waukesha's website (PDF) just updated all but one precinct. It's now 52.3 Darling - 47.7 Pasch.

This is a big shift in votes for a small shift in the total:
11:13 http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/127331193.html

District 8 -  - 65 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 79%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	30,394 	52%
	Pasch , Sandra  	Dem 	27,766 	48%

11:15  - 66 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 80%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	31,404 	53%
	Pasch , Sandra  	Dem 	28,296 	47%

Now a 5.2% R lead.

11:25PM  - 67 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 82%
	Name 	              Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	32,569 	53%
	Pasch , Sandra     	Dem 	28,741 	47% 

[L. Coyote]

36. BREAKING: Dem accuses Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus of "tampering" with votes

Tue Aug 09, 2011 at 9:10 PM PT: Wow. Via WhitefishBayPatch:

"BREAKING: Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Graeme Zielinski calls a press conference and accuses Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus of "tampering" with votes for Menomonee Falls. He said she is "sitting on" the votes, and he will be back with more details."

Tue Aug 09, 2011 at 9:14 PM PT: It's now 47.74% Pasch, 52.26% Darling. 4 precincts left in Ozaukee, 1 in Waukesha, and 12 in Milwaukee.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/10/1005104/-Wisconsin-recall-liveblog-thread-#15

[L. Coyote]

39. VIDEO: Dem Spokesman Accuses Clerk Of Sitting On Votes "dirty tricks afoot"

VIDEO: Dem Spokesman Accuses Clerk Of Sitting On Votes
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x607943

Whitefish Bay Patch has posted video of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Spokesman Graeme Zielinski accusing Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus of 'sitting on' Waukesha County results in 8th Senate District recall race.

[L. Coyote]

37. Chair Mike Tate, Democratic Party of Wisconsin: "Waukesha County Tampering:"

August 10, 2011
Waukesha County Tampering
http://www.wisdems.org/news/press/view/2011-08-waukesha-county-tampering



MADISON-Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate following evidence of election tampering in the 8th State Senate District race.

"The race to determine control of the Wisconsin Senate has fallen in the hands of the Waukesha County clerk, who has already distinguished herself as incompetent, if not worse. She is once more tampering with the results of a consequential election and in the next hours we will determine our next course of action. For now, Wisconsin should know that a dark cloud hangs over these important results."

[L. Coyote]

48. This page has been removed from their web site.

Someone feeling embarrassed yet?

[L. Coyote]

38. @news3jessica Jessica Arp = Milwaukee final numbers: Darling (R) 13580 Pasch (D) 22225

@news3jessica Jessica Arp = Milwaukee final numbers: Darling (R) 13,580 Pasch (D) 22,225

[L. Coyote]

40. VIDEO: Pasch speaks to packed house "too close to call"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x607944

[L. Coyote]

41. District 8 stuck at 82 percent of precincts reported

However, other outlets are reporting Darling the winner, awaiting a Pasch concession. Daily Kos has "Four losses, two wins" in their blog now.

[L. Coyote]

42. 12:00AM CT = 83%

August 10, 2011 - 12:00AM CT  - 68 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 83%
	Name 	               Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	33,920 	54%
	Pasch , Sandra 	        Dem 	29,346 	46%

Updates On Darling-Pasch Results
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/wisconsin-recall-election-results_n_922826.html

Patch's Carl Engelking reports: Actual results from Menomonee Falls: Alberta Darling 9,052, Sandy Pasch 4,567. 65 percent of voters turned out in the Falls today.

Patch's Joe Petrie reports: According to Patch's totals, with all but a handful of wards in Mequon reporting, Republican Alberta Darling is leading with 36,081 votes to Democratic challenger Sandy Pasch's 32,382. These numbers differ from the AP's totals of Darling with 32,500 votes to Pasch's 28,700 votes.

[L. Coyote]

45. 12:12AM CT - 84%

12:12AM CT - 84%
		               Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	34,840 	54%
	Pasch , Sandra 	        Dem 	29,821 	46%

[L. Coyote]

53. Vote reports

% precincts	votes reported	R % of report 	R % of total

79			                       52.3%

80	        1,540	        65.6%	       52.6%

82	        1,610        	72.4%          53.1%

83       	1,956   	69.1%          53.6%

84      	1,395   	65.9%          53.9%

99      	8,906   	52.0%          53.7%

[L. Coyote]

43. 10:08 PM Pasch Will Not Issue Statement Tonight

10:08 PM Pasch Will Not Issue Statement Tonight
sandyforsenate @ sandyforsenate : Neither Sandy or the Democratic Party will issues any statements tonight. Thank you very much for your support tonight.
http://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=sandyforsenate

[L. Coyote]

44. Wisconsin's Katherine Harris

August 10, 2011 - http://www.politico.com/blogs/davidcatanese/0811/Wisconsins_Katherine_Harris_.html
Wisconsin's Katherine Harris


MADISON, Wis. -- It's down to one race for control of the state Senate in Wisconsin and Democrats are accusing a GOP county clerk of holding up the ballot count.

GOP incumbent Alberta Darling is leading Democratic Rep. Sandy Pasch 52 percent to 48 percent with nearly 80 percent reporting.

But before 10 of 11 precincts had reported in Senate District 8's Waukesha County, Democrats began taking aim at clerk Kathy Nickolaus. .......

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. SO...what will happen to this treasonous county clerk?

Will she be arrested yet? This is the 4th time she has done this. How many times is she going to be allowed to get away with this shit?

[L. Coyote]

47. FINAL: Republicans 4, Democrats 2

District 8  - 81 of 82 Precincts Reporting - 99%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Darling , Alberta (i) 	GOP 	39,471 	54%
	Pasch , Sandra  	Dem 	34,096 	46%

================

District 2 - 08:46AM CT
Wisconsin - 90 of 90 Precincts Reporting - 100%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Cowles , Robert (i) 	GOP 	27,543 	60%
	Nusbaum , Nancy 	Dem 	18,039 	40%

District 10 - 114 of 114 Precincts Reporting - 100%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Harsdorf , Sheila (i) 	GOP 	37,099 	58%
	Moore , Shelly 	Dem 	27,250 	42%

District 14 - 08:46AM CT
Wisconsin - 126 of 126 Precincts Reporting - 100%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Olsen , Luther (i) 	GOP 	26,554 	52%
	Clark , Fred 	Dem 	24,365 	48%

District 18 -  - 08:46AM CT
Wisconsin - 108 of 108 Precincts Reporting - 100%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	King , Jessica 	Dem 	28,188 	51%
	Hopper , Randy (i) 	GOP 	26,937 	49%

District 32 - 119 of 119 Precincts Reporting - 100%
	Name 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
	Shilling , Jennifer 	Dem 	33,192 	55%
	Kapanke , Dan (i) 	GOP 	26,724 	45%

[L. Coyote]

50. Over $125 spent for ever voter in 8th District = Waukesha.

"... in the tiny 8th District where Waukesha saw a record-shattering $8 million dollars flood into the push to keep Darling's seat? This represents over $125 spent for ever voter."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/MSNBC-Recalls-Maddow-Li-by-Gustav-Wynn-110810-45.html

[L. Coyote]

49. MSNBC "Recalls" Maddow, Live Anchors as Results Delayed

August 10, 2011 at 04:18: - By Gustav Wynn
MSNBC "Recalls" Maddow, Live Anchors as Results Delayed
http://www.opednews.com/articles/MSNBC-Recalls-Maddow-Li-by-Gustav-Wynn-110810-45.html


..... Rachel Maddow signed off after 80% had been counted and there had been an acutely abrupt turnabout, with 75% of the votes going for Darling, or three Republican votes for every Democratic vote. This ratio exceeded the most disparate margins, even in the most conservative districts.

Just before midnight locally, a spokesman for the WI Democratic Party chair Mike Tate was alleging vote tampering such as 'sitting on ballots', before the election was called. Perhaps a bit rash without concrete evidence, his subsequent retraction is even more ponderous, pledging the party will not question the results, apparently not even after having an opportunity to analyze the ballot data.

Even if Tate was making it up, this would still be news, but it was also interesting that candidate Sandy Pasch announced she would not be conceding tonight, or making any statements until more was known.

Why was the extreme lateness of the reporting in Waukesha County ...........

===========================
A tweet by the Weekly Standard's John McCormack:
@McCormackJohn
GOP source: with 98 percent in, it's Darling 30,868 to 28,170
http://twitter.com/#!/McCormackJohn/status/101139153302986752

The early, leaked result above,

================
"came more than 40 minutes before McCormack's later tweet reporting "with 96% of the vote in, News 3 is calling District 8 for Incumbent Sen. Alberta Darling".

So who had inside knowledge of the Menomonee count before the press or public?????

[L. Coyote]

52. BradBlog phoned Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nicholaus

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8662

......

11:54p CT: I just spoke with Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus to ask her why there was one outstanding reporting unit still unreported (Village of Menomonee Falls, Wards 14, 15 & 21) in her posted results (reposted here ).

She told me: "They were absentee ballots, I just got it in, I'm just printing it. The municipal clerk just faxed it to me 5 minutes ago."

I asked why they were so late in coming, she said: "They were so busy they didn't get their absentee ballots done during the night, so they had to get them done after that."

..........

[Amerigus]

56. Waukesha "explains"....

The $8 million spent on Darling's seat was a historical US record, the most ever for a state senate seat...

On local radio in Milwaukee yesterday, they said the reason for the lateness in the 8th was that they had an higher than expected number of absentee ballots. I wonder if anyone has a comparison to other districts to see if this excuse holds up. And why so many absentee ballots in the 8th where so much was spent?

[L. Coyote]

54. VIDEO: Anti-Union Law Fuels Massive Voter Turnout For Historic Wisconsin Recall

Anti-Union Law Fuels Massive Voter Turnout For Historic Wisconsin Recall
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/8/10/anti_union_law_fuels_massive_voter

Republicans have retained control of the Wisconsin State Senate following a series of historic recall elections organized in response to their support of Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting bill this spring. Democrats needed to win three of the six Republican seats up for grabs in order to gain a majority, but four incumbents prevailed. Independent video producer Sam Mayfield spoke with voters at polling stations in the contested districts of Republican State Senators Alberta Darling and Luther Olsen in southern Wisconsin. She filed this report for Democracy Now!.

[L. Coyote]

55. VIDEO: WI Recall Marks Labor Win; Election Money Raises Question of U.S. as "Democracy or Dollar-ocr

WI Recall Marks Labor Win; Election Money Raises Question of U.S. as "Democracy or Dollar-ocracy?"
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/8/10/wi_recall_marks_labor_win_election


For analysis on the Wisconsin recall vote, we go to Madison to speak with John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine. Although Republicans hold on to a slim 17-to-16 majority after the election, Nichols says the Democrats’ pick-up of two seats, coupled with the moderate stance of Republican State Sen. Bill Schulz, amounts to a new "pro-labor majority" in the Wisconsin State Senate. "Gov. Scott Walker took a hit last night," Nichols says. "Even though Democrats didn’t win, progressive politics made a real advance." Some $30 million was spent by outside groups on the Wisconsin recall. Looking forward to the 2012 national election Nichols says the “biggest message from Wisconsin” is that “we are going to see absolutely unprecedented amounts of money coming into our politics and have to ask ourselves the question, do we have a democracy or a dollar-ocracy?