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A Wisconsin Supreme Court election that turned into a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing proposal restricting union rights remained too close to call Wednesday as a little known prosecutor tapped into voter unrest to mount a serious challenge to the incumbent tied to Walker.
Wisconsin's election chief says he expects the unofficial vote totals in the state Supreme Court race to change as local election officials verify the counts.
Kevin Kennedy said Wednesday that there will be changes in the totals because "this is a very human-driven process. We expect mistakes."
Little-known attorney JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory over incumbent state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser with just a 204-vote margin out of nearly 1.5 million cast.
Kennedy says the earliest he would expect a recount request to be able to be made would be late next week. As long as there is no court challenge along the way, Kennedy says he expects the recount would be completed by May 15.
The race reflected the divide in the state over Walker's collective bargaining law, which would strip public workers of nearly all their union rights. The issue, which could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, propelled the relatively unknown Kloppenburg into prominence and heightened voter interest in the election.
A small number of pro-union demonstrators picketed outside the state Capitol Wednesday.
John Kamerling, a Madison resident, held a sign that said "We will never go away!"
Kamerling said he was glad Kloppenburg held an apparent edge in the race. "We know there will be a recount, and it will take a long time," he said. "But it's better to be on the upside then the downside."
Residents across the state flooded into polling stations on Tuesday to express strong opinions about Walker's policy initiatives. The voters helped boost turnout in many places to twice the level of a typical spring election, sending some clerks scrambling for extra ballots.
"The surge in turnout is not only remarkably large, but also remarkably balanced between the two sides," said Wisconsin Madison professor of political science Charles Franklin, who was following the results Wednesday morning via computer. "We saw both an incredibly activated electorate that is also incredibly polarized and exactly evenly divided."
In Neenah, Wis., people waited outside nearly 20 minutes before a polling place opened at 7 a.m.
"People have been calling the office and asking, 'Where do I vote, where do I vote?'" Jacqulynn Conrad-Cotter, co-chairwoman of the Roosevelt Elementary School polling site in Neenah, said Tuesday. "We've been steady; non-stop."
Arnold Shober, an assistant professor of government at Lawrence University in Appleton, said politics is about symbols, and that fact was clear Tuesday.
"I think there's a lot of symbolism going on with this particular election that we will feel repercussions from in the next couple of weeks," Shober said.
Walker's plan to limit public worker bargaining powers while requiring them to pay more for benefits drew a firestorm of protests in Madison and spurred recall efforts for state senators from both parties.
Walker supporters mobilized behind Prosser, a former Republican lawmaker, while opponents embraced Kloppenburg. Although officially non-partisan, the seven-person court is split 3-3 between liberals and conservatives. The winner of the current election could determine the fate of the union law.
Appleton, Wis. City Clerk Cindi Hesse said polling places were much busier than she anticipated.
"Twice as much as a normal spring election," Hesse said. "Everybody is riled-up over everything here, and different people are voting for different reasons, but everyone is concerned."
Joe Reidel, chief clerk at the Maplewood Middle School polling site in the Town of Menasha, said the events in Madison kept voting "steady all day."
"The state is pretty well divided, or upset, the way things are going," he said.
Voter Steve Shanke of Neenah wasn't surprised by the turnout.
Shanke said voters wanted to send a message.
"Removing those collective bargaining rights is a union-busting move," he said.
Dustin Heimerl, 23, of Neenah said he hadn't heard of Prosser before the election campaign, and said if the events in Madison hadn't occurred he probably wouldn't have voted.
But he registered and cast a vote for Prosser on Tuesday.
"I felt that the budget reform makes it fair for everyone else because they have to pay their fair share," said Heimerl, who works in customer service.
Under Wisconsin election law, a candidate has three days after the official results have been tallied to request a recount. The candidate must specify a reason for the request, such as a belief a mistake was made in the counting or some other irregularity.
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