Election integrity in Fitzwalkerstan

I wish this was a joke, but the close Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice race has now begun to evoke memories of earlier election theft, like in Florida in 2000. The Wisconsin Democrats aren't willing to stay silent on today's suspicious developments:

Statement from state Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D):

The way Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus revealed her discovery of 14,300 previously uncounted votes raises disturbing questions, particularly in light of her past partisan history. She has been the subject of multiple complaints from other Waukesha officials on how she handles elections and keeps public information to herself outside the official county system where others can verify it.

The new Supreme Court race vote totals she “discovered” during canvassing not only swung the election but also put the race just barely past the amount needed to trigger a state-financed recount.

It is especially troubling that she waited more than 24 hours to report the startling discovery and then did so at a press conference and only after she verified the results. This makes it all the harder to challenge and audit the integrity of the vote.

The partisan, political history of Ms. Nickolaus and the serious concerns about the quality of her performance found in an audit raises the question of whether an investigation is warranted. The public deserves to know that the votes were counted properly.

Statement from state Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D):

It stretches the bounds of credibility to think that over 14,300 votes were somehow "overlooked" until two days after the election.

Based on the partisan, political history of Ms. Nickolaus and the serious concerns that have been raised, by other Waukesha County officials, about the quality of her election administration and the possibility for fraud, an independent investigation of her conduct and the county's election results is not just warranted but urgently demanded to protect the integrity of our electoral system in Wisconsin.

Ms. Nikolaus, who used to work for Judge Prosser, insists on maintaining election records on a stand-alone computer to which only she has access. Perhaps we should heed the lesson of Florida 2000, and not allow this recount process to be dominated by anyone with an interest in suppressing democratic freedom in Fitzwalkerstan and other places. This time we may need to call in observers from the U.N.