djcubez
  • djcubez
  • Senior Member Topic Starter
14 years ago

Officials dispute reliability of Waukesha County clerk's election data system
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus' decision to go it alone in how she collects and maintains election results has some county officials raising a red flag about the integrity of the system.

Nickolaus said she decided to take the election data collection and storage system off the county's computer network - and keep it on stand-alone personal computers accessible only in her office - for security reasons.

"What it gave me was good security of the elections from start to finish, without the ability of someone unauthorized to be involved," she said.

Nonetheless, Director of Administration Norman A. Cummings said because Nickolaus has kept them out of the loop, the county's information technology specialists have not been able to verify Nickolaus' claim that the system is secure from failure.

"How does anybody else in the county know, except for her verbal word, that there are backups, and that the software she has out there is performing as it should?" he said. "There's no way I can assure that the election system is going to be fine for the next presidential election."

Cummings stressed that the voting process at local polling places is not in question. However, municipal clerks send their election night results by dial-up modem to the county clerk, where they are tabulated and stored. That prompted Cummings' concerns.

The County Board's Executive Committee is scheduled to step into the fray at its meeting Monday. The clerk's office is scheduled for a complete audit beginning in March 2011, but the County Board may seek an earlier look at the elections system, said Mark Mader, the board's chief of staff.

Mike Biagioli, the county's manager of information technology, sees risk in Nickolaus' action.

"What happens if something goes wrong on election night? We don't support her at all on election night. She was pretty clear about that. If something goes wrong, what do you do?" he said. "I would love to be able to go in and verify that everything is OK."

Nickolaus said that she has the statutory responsibility for elections "and it's my duty to make sure it's as secure as possible. The administration, IT (information technology), believes they should be able to get into it whenever they like. So whatever they decide, they make changes to the network and it affects my office."

Cummings said, "Nobody's trying to do her elections for her." He said, however, that he was troubled that Nickolaus talks about the computer equipment, software and data as if it is hers, although it was purchased with county funds.
Backup debated

The tug-of-war between Nickolaus and administration is evident in a March 8 memo from Cummings to Nickolaus in which he said hardware and software on the clerk's computers were "obsolete, not repairable and unsupportable." Without improvements, he worried that the elections system could be "inoperative and irrecoverable."

Nickolaus and Cummings both said the problem stems from when Waukesha County moved its network from an old, outdated Novell server - the processing unit that multiple personal computers tap into for shared services - to a Microsoft platform. Among other things, the conversion saved the county $500,000 a year, Cummings said.

Nickolaus' election system, however, depended on the old platform, so technicians restored a lone Novell server for her use, without a backup.

Biagioli said a major upgrade to the election system was recommended, but Nickolaus has said it's unnecessary.

In March, Nickolaus said, she moved the data off that server and into her own stand-alone system. She has a backup on a second computer, she said. In addition, she said, as she programs for elections, she does frequent backups during the day.

Nickolaus said she was a programmer for 15 years before becoming county clerk. And she said her staff knows how to operate the system, so "if I get hit by a bus, this election is going to run just fine."

Several years ago, Nickolaus discontinued reporting election results on her county website for individual municipalities, as was done under the prior clerk. She said that change had nothing to do with the problems with the county servers or with her taking her system off the network.

Rather, she said, it is not her responsibility and that local clerks can post results on municipal websites. She said she doesn't have the staff to enter all the data that's required for such reporting.



New count gives Prosser lead after Waukesha County inputting error

WAUKESHA -- Incumbent Justice David Prosser gained a 7,500-vote lead in the hotly contested state Supreme Court race Thursday after the clerk in conservative-leaning Waukesha County announced she undercounted the votes because of an inputting error.

If the new results stand, they would swing the election to Prosser after unofficial results Wednesday showed challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg was the winner with a 204-vote lead out of nearly 1.5 million votes cast.

The new totals showed Prosser with 92,263 votes in Waukesha County, while Kloppenburg had 32,758. County totals previously showed Prosser with 81,255 votes and Kloppenburg with 29,332.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said the votes from the city of Brookfield weren't reported to The Associated Press on Tuesday because of "human error."

"This is not a case of extra votes or extra ballots being found," she said. "This is human error, which I apologize for." She added that human error "is common in this process."

The missing numbers were all from Brookfield, said Nickolaus, who said she discovered the error Wednesday. Apparently, she said, she entered the numbers into the system and failed to hit "save."

Nickolaus said when she came in to upload the information for the statewide canvass, she noticed all of the fields and columns for the city of Brookfield results were blank.

She said the mistake occurred on the "day-to-day system" she uses in her office and had "nothing to do with the election software or system at all."

Confidence is high'

Before the announcement, it was assumed the race between Prosser, a 68-year-old conservative justice, and Kloppenburg, a liberal assistant state attorney general, was headed for a recount. But Prosser's lead is likely to stand if the new numbers hold up through canvassing in all of Wisconsin's 72 counties.

Prosser said Thursday night he was "encouraged" by the reports from county canvasses.

"Our confidence is high, and we will continue to monitor with optimism, and believe that the positive results will hold," Prosser said in a statement. "We've always maintained faith in the voters and trust the election officials involved in the canvassing will reaffirm the lead we've taken."

Opponents of the collective bargaining law hoped a Kloppenburg victory would set the stage for the high court to strike it down.

Open records request

Thursday night, Kloppenburg's campaign manager demanded a full explanation of how the error occurred.

Melissa Mulliken said an open records request for all relevant documents will be filed.

The count was corrected on the first day that counties were in the process of verifying unofficial vote totals reported Tuesday. The race was so close, despite 1.5 million votes being cast, that the lead flipped back and forth repeatedly on election day and in the days after as those preliminary totals were checked and updated.

Gov. Scott Walker said before details of the new votes were announced that voters will demand transparency.

"The overriding principle has got to be that every vote that was legally cast in Wisconsin needs to be counted," Walker said.

The discovery of votes that could give Prosser the win and quash any recount before it starts had liberal groups crying foul.

"There is a history of secrecy and partisanship surrounding the Waukesha County clerk and there remain unanswered questions," said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.

He added, "Her computers need to be seized and a forensic expert needs to go through them as if a crime could have occurred."

And Citizen Action of Wisconsin called for a federal investigation into the situation.

The state Government Accountability Board, which is in charge of overseeing Wisconsin's elections, will review Waukesha County's numbers to verify the totals, said agency director Kevin Kennedy.

"We will conduct our own review of issues because we want to make sure that we are tracking every entry she made into our system," Kennedy said.

Kennedy said it was unfortunate the clerk didn't double-check the data before releasing it to the press.

"Mistakes are never simple, they usually compound themselves, but these are the kind of mistakes we see happen, we just don't see them of this magnitude," Kennedy said.

History of controversy

Nickolaus has come under scrutiny before.

Last year, county officials raised objections to her practice of storing election data off the county's computer network, instead keeping it on computers in her office, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The practice, which Nickolaus said was aimed at keeping the data more secure, prevented the county's information technology specialists from verifying the system was fail-safe, the county's director of administration said at the time. Auditors later recommended Nickolaus improve security and backup procedures.

In 2001, Nickolaus was granted immunity to testify about her role as a computer analyst for the Assembly Republican Caucus, then under investigation - along with the Senate Republican Caucus and the Democratic caucuses for both houses - for using state resources to secretly run campaigns.

Nickolaus, who worked for seven years as a data analyst and computer specialist for the Assembly Republican caucus, headed up an effort to develop a computer program that averaged the performance of Republicans in statewide races by ward.

During some of that time, Prosser served as Assembly Speaker, meaning he was essentially her boss.

Prosser, who was speaker of the Assembly in 1995 and 1996 and controlled the Republican caucus, was not part of the investigation.

Nickolaus resigned from her state job in 2002 shortly before launching her county clerk campaign.

"This raises so many questions," said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha.

Barca said he was shocked Nickolaus waited 24 hours to tell people about the error.

A Democratic canvass observer said Nickolaus gave no indication anything was unusual when she arrived at about 9 a.m. Thursday morning, and she didn't find out about the error until the news conference that evening.

"There was no mention of Brookfield," volunteer canvass observer Nora Wilson said.

Madison.com 



What do you all think of this?

I personally voted for Kloppenburg even though I don't like her very much. I've just conceded to the whole "stop Walker" initiative for now.

I think the timing of finding the "error", the fact that she worked directly under Prosser, the fact that her system has come under scrutiny before and the fact that she stores important votes on her personal computer all make this a bit fishy. I'm not saying she did anything but it's hard not to scrutinize her in such a close race especially when these specific votes effectively change the result of the election.

What I don't understand is how her system is legal. How can a County Clerk be allowed store votes on her personal computer and tabulate them there before reporting them? What about this "transparency" Walker is talking about? That seems the least bit transparent to me. However I don't know much about the process so I have no other system to compare it to.

I did work at a polling place in the 2004 election when I was in high school. At one point they left me in a room alone with uncounted ballots so I've never really trusted the voting system in the first place.

It's just frustrating to see this mistake come at a time when the Wisconsin government and political spectrum is mired in controversy. Not that it's always peaceful. It's just usually not this ugly.
Cheesey
14 years ago
It was human error, plain and simple.
Even the democrat woman that was working right beside her said so. She said there was nothing fishy going on.
And to vote for Kloppenberg because you hate Walker? Really?
I guess that doesn't make sense to me. Throw out a judge that has done a great job, for an unqualified person because you hate someone else.
That's your right to do so of course. I just don't understand it.
I hope the new results hold up. If i ever had a case, i sure wouldn't want Kloppenberg as a judge. That's just my opinion, of course.
UserPostedImage
4PackGirl
14 years ago
personally, i'm happy that illinois politics aren't on the front page for once. have fun with this mess, wisconsin! 😃
Wade
  • Wade
  • Veteran Member
14 years ago

personally, i'm happy that illinois politics aren't on the front page for once. have fun with this mess, wisconsin! :D

"4PackGirl" wrote:



Well, compared to Illinois, all other states are pikers at the corruption/uselessness-of-politicians game.


Okay, maybe Philadelphia and NYC give them a run for their money as cities, but Illinois-the-state is in a class all by its own.

(Sorry, 4PackGirl, but you know it's true. 🙂 )
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
vegOmatic
14 years ago
If it's human error and the votes are legitimate, then the votes have to be counted.

And actually, this is nothing. If you follow the news, you would hear about extreme, radical, and blatant situations. They make front page news only when the election is close.

Here's some examples:

1. Election official "discovered" absentee ballots in her CAR. You know what absentee ballots are, right? Forms anyone can fill out if they have them. And they're left in a car?

2. Students from Minnesota were bussed over to Wisconsin to vote. (But we don't need voter ID).

3. A judge ruled thousands of absentee ballots from overseas personnel to not be counted because they did not arrive by the deadline. But the reason why they were delayed is because an official sat on them. You can guess who sat on them and who military folks usually vote for.

I often wish I lived in bliss.
blank
4PackGirl
14 years ago

personally, i'm happy that illinois politics aren't on the front page for once. have fun with this mess, wisconsin! :D

"Wade" wrote:



Well, compared to Illinois, all other states are pikers at the corruption/uselessness-of-politicians game.


Okay, maybe Philadelphia and NYC give them a run for their money as cities, but Illinois-the-state is in a class all by its own.

(Sorry, 4PackGirl, but you know it's true. 🙂 )

"4PackGirl" wrote:



thanks for bursting my tenuous bubble, wade.
Wade
  • Wade
  • Veteran Member
14 years ago

personally, i'm happy that illinois politics aren't on the front page for once. have fun with this mess, wisconsin! :D

"4PackGirl" wrote:



Well, compared to Illinois, all other states are pikers at the corruption/uselessness-of-politicians game.


Okay, maybe Philadelphia and NYC give them a run for their money as cities, but Illinois-the-state is in a class all by its own.

(Sorry, 4PackGirl, but you know it's true. 🙂 )

"Wade" wrote:



thanks for bursting my tenuous bubble, wade.

"4PackGirl" wrote:



That's what we economist's do, alas, break bubbles. Aren't we annoying? 😎

Of course my deciding to be annoying has nothing to do with residual anger from having my countrymen foist an Illinois politician on me as President. 🙂
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
MontanaBob
14 years ago
Man, am I glad I live in Montana. We a have a budget surplus, but oops, wait a minute. The Republican led house in Montana decided that having a surplus was unfair and wants to be like the rest of the states and have a crisis, so they are fostering cuts to Medicaid, schools, state funded veterans programs, childrens health care programs, and, as one dumb state senator said..."we will put cuts to every program we can think of. Period."

Gonna move to Switzerland.
Anyone for a Weenie Roast?
Cheesey
14 years ago
Not needing a valid I.D. to vote.......that's just not right. I know the democrats think it's asking too much to have someone show an I.D. for that......which is stupid. You need an ID for just about everything else.
But i guess it would make fraud alot easier to catch.
They can't allow that.
UserPostedImage
vegOmatic
14 years ago

Man, am I glad I live in Montana. We a have a budget surplus, but oops, wait a minute. The Republican led house in Montana decided that having a surplus was unfair and wants to be like the rest of the states and have a crisis, so they are fostering cuts to Medicaid, schools, state funded veterans programs, childrens health care programs, and, as one dumb state senator said..."we will put cuts to every program we can think of. Period."

Gonna move to Switzerland.

"MontanaBob" wrote:



You could move to France. Or Greece. Or Madison. 😛
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beast (27-Apr) : Yeah, but also some of the wording suggestions Jax only pranked called the QB, not the others... and if he had an open spreadsheet & 3 calls
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Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Cowboys 1st round pick Tyler Booker will indeed be bringing his pet turtle to Dallas with him
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : that contained all prospects info and contact
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : beast, according the Falcons statement Jax came across it on an ipad. If I had to guess, probably an open spread sheet or something
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Simmons put up an emoji with cheese.
beast (27-Apr) : Not sure anyone is interested in Isaiah Simmons... Collin Oliver might of taken his potential slot
beast (27-Apr) : I'm going with Jax Ulbrich is not telling the whole truth... he accidentally came across it? Why would a defensive coordinator have a QB #?
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : He's not that great, but final piece of the script.\
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Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Colts 1st round TE Tyler Warren also got prank called, was that Jax Ulbrich as well?
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Jax Ulbrich, Jeff Ulbrich’s son, released an apology for his role in the Shedeur Sanders prank call.
Martha Careful (27-Apr) : apparently he did not participate in practice or play on the east west shrine game nor the NFL combine. The kid was a mediocre spoiled brat
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : Yeah that one that was a super wounded duck that Sanders supporters are highlighting to prove a point
Zero2Cool (27-Apr) : Shough is the guy who missed guys at combine isn't he?
beast (27-Apr) : It's not official until I'm dead! I have a chance still! (Not really)
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : I could feel my body decomposing in real time when I read that
Mucky Tundra (27-Apr) : @MIKEYSAINRISTIL Tyler Shough will officially be the last person drafted to the NFL born in the 1900’s
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : saw the tweet, he meant the city
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : Was that for the team or the city?
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter · 3m Draft grade is in: Green Bay gets an A. The people, the city, the venue were all superb. NFL Draft’s next
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Matt LaFleur says Jaire Alexander is participating in #Packers offseason program, which has been conducted virtually during this first week
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : ✅ ...
buckeyepackfan (26-Apr) : Check
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TheKanataThrilla (26-Apr) : Sam Howell to Vikings...guess no Aaron
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : 1 round 7 min, with one extra minute if there is a trade. 2nd round 4 minutes, 3rd -3, 2 thereafter IMO
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : Agree
dfosterf (26-Apr) : Great idea imo
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dfosterf (26-Apr) : NFL comissioner wants to shorten the 2st
Mucky Tundra (26-Apr) : @jalenreagors They’re discussing if Sheduer can go back to college on NFL Network LMFAOOOOO
beast (26-Apr) : Great point Martha
beast (26-Apr) : Buddy Ryan used to say if a candy bar goes missing, there are two to blame, Rex and Rob 🤪 jk 😁
Martha Careful (26-Apr) : Bum Phillips used to say there are two ways to get better. Get better players or get players to play better. We have a new DL coach
Zero2Cool (26-Apr) : Yes. Look at the losses last year. They can win.
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bboystyle (26-Apr) : waiting for a pass rusher.
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 5 minutes between picks in the 3rd
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 3rd. Hate this phone
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 4rd
dfosterf (25-Apr) : 5 minutes in the 4
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Martha Careful (25-Apr) : Sorry to bitch, but the headline writers in that section absolutely mislead, or don't know how to read. It is maddening
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Zero2Cool (25-Apr) : Losing 2nd round pick for a one year rental, not ideal. Especially a headcase.
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