From the diaries by Erick

UPDATE 7: Barring Democratic shenanigans (and they are still possible) I think it’s safe to say Prosser has won. This means that, as others have said, conservatives have been able to match a supposedly hyper-motivated Left blow-for-blow in a typically blue-leaning state with a strong history of progressivism and support for labor. It’s almost certain that there will be a recount, though. Justice Prosser needs your help. Head over to his website and donate to his recount fund if you can.

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I’m sure most of you remember that, according to the official results of the initial count, JoAnne Kloppenburg led the incumbent David Prosser 740,090 to 739,886, or by 204 votes. Obviously with results this close, a recount was in order.

Fortunately, things seem to be looking up for Prosser as the re-canvassing has brought more votes in for him. Many more. Hit the jump for more info.

Per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, some more Prosser votes started to trickle in from Winnebago county, netting him 244 more votes, which translates into a 40 vote lead statewide:

Winnebago County’s numbers say Prosser received 20,701 votes to Kloppenburg’s 18,887. The AP has 19,991 for Prosser to Kloppenburg’s 18,421.

The new numbers would give Prosser 244 more votes, or a 40-vote lead statewide.

An editor at the AP said the news service became aware of the discrepancy in the past hour. The AP last checked figures with Winnebago County at 10:14 a.m. Wednesday, according to the AP. The county adjusted its figures at 2:27 p.m.

The latest numbers for Winnebago County are not official.

The good news by no means ends there, though. The bombshell development that could seal this for Prosser came in the form of 7000+ votes for him that weren’t counted in Waukesha County (a Prosser stronghold) thanks to a computer error. National Review has more info:

After Tuesday night’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election, a computer error in heavily Republican Waukesha County failed to send election results for the entire City of Brookfield to the Associated Press. The error, revealed today, would give incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser a net 7,381 votes against his challenger, attorney Joanne Kloppenburg.

[...]

Prior to the election, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus was heavily criticized for her decision to keep the county results on an antiquated personal computer, rather than upgrade to a new data system being utilized statewide. Nickolaus cited security concerns for keeping the data herself — yet when she reported the data, it did not include the City of Brookfield, whose residents cast nearly 14,000 votes.

“Waukesha County officials have announced a press conference for 5:30 CST.” [Ed.- That's right now]

Things are still developing, but Randy Melchert has a great rundown of the developments in the re-canvassing at his blog. The Journal-Sentinel also has a write-up on the developments in Waukesha.

What do you think guys? Perhaps there’s some hope for us after all. Wisconsin Republicans have shown they have backbone, so I hope they fight this to the end. For now, though, things look good for us, it seems.

And yes, sometimes close recounts DO go our way. Renee Ellmers of NC-2 can tell you a little something about that.

UPDATE: See the presser here at Fox News.

UPDATE 2: Journal-Sentinel has feed of what’s going down in Waukesha here. (HT: techsan’s comment).

UPDATE 3: For a laugh, check out Michael Moore’s twitter feed. It’s what a Liberal head explosion-in-progress looks like.

Also, to help defeat allegations of election fraud, a Democratic poll watcher has called the previously uncounted votes legit, per the Daily Caller:

Democratic canvass watcher Ramona Kitzinger was also at the press conference.

“We went over everything & made sure the numbers jibed up and they did,” Kitzinger said. “We’re satisfied that it’s correct.”

Of course, I will say that Democrats do know what election fraud looks like. *cough*Minnesota 2008 Senate Race*cough*2004 Washington Gubernatorial Race*cough*.

UPDATE 4: Computer I’m at won’t let me upload media to RedState, but this picture seems particularly relevant. (HT: National Review)

UPDATE 5: John Nolte’s right: “This wasn’t FOUND ballots. A count wasn’t recorded. No way in hell that’s fraud.”

Also Liberal numbers guy Nate Silver (of FiveThirtyEight) says the ballots check out in his opinion. See here, here, and here.

UPDATE 6: Prosser has been quoted by the Journal-Sentinel as saying:

I’m encouraged by the various reports form the county canvasses….Our confidence is high, and we will continue to monitor with optimism, and believe that the positive results will hold. We’ve always maintained faith in the voters and trust the election officials involved in the canvassing will reaffirm  the lead we’ve taken.

Also, here’s another great pic for us to savor. Derek Hunter’s caption: “Check out the bottom of the screen while Hardball panel discusses how Scott Walker’s guy lost to Kloppenburg.” Poor Chrissy Matthews and company.