7/13/11 – The Waukesha County clerk will use new-and-improved bags to secure election ballots, after the use of poorly-sealed bags was questioned during the recent Supreme Court recount. Kathy Nickolaus said the bags are made from stronger plastic – and they have adhesive tape that shows if they’ve been tampered with. Other counties plan to use them, after Nickolaus showed off the new bags at a convention of county clerks in Rusk County last week. She said many of the clerks liked what they saw. Nickolaus said most clerks who use plastic bags will switch to the more secure ones starting in next spring’s elections. The bags became an issue in Waukesha County during the statewide recount, in which Justice David Prosser barely defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. Kloppenburg’s supporters said gaps in the bags were signs of tampering, while others said workers just had a hard time closing bags that were over-stuffed. Waukesha County’s recount was under the biggest microscope, after Nickolaus forgot to include Brookfield’s votes in her Election Night tally. It eliminated a 204-vote lead for Kloppenburg, and gave Prosser an edge of over seven-thousand votes – which he never gave up during the recount.
