Politics & Government

County Clerk Glides Through First Election Night, Just One Minor Hiccup

Kathleen Novack's first countywide election went smoothly, but then again this is Waukesha County. City of New Berlin provided inaccurate totals in the State Supreme Court election – however it did not alter overall election night outcome.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathleen Novack coasted through her first countywide election Tuesday with final results being reported shortly after 10 p.m. in the low-turnout election.

However, this is Waukesha County, and seemingly every election has its twists and turns. 

Results from communities throughout Waukesha County started coming in shortly after 8 p.m., which helped make for a quick reporting turnaround.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are thrilled by that,” Novack said while waiting for the very last units to report Tuesday night.

However, it was revelead Wednesday morning that the City of New Berlin provided inaccurate totals in the State Supreme Court election – however it does not alter the overall election night outcome.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Novack provided the following information via a news release:

The City of New Berlin has advised the Waukesha County Clerk's Office that the election night totals reported to the County last evening contained a reversed count for State Supreme Court candidates Vince Megna and Ed Fallone. The updated unofficial totals for these candidates are 1,425 for Vince Megna and 5,221 for Ed Fallone - a net change of 573 votes for each candidate's total.

The revised vote numbers have been posted on the County Clerk's website and the GAB has been advised of the change.

Kathleen Novack, the new Waukesha County Clerk, stated that adjustments to election night counts in situations such as this are the precise reason for the County Canvass system which issues the official election results.

The canvass for this primary is scheduled for next Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the Waukesha County Clerk's Office.

From Alderwoman to Clerk

As a City of Pewaukee alderwoman, Novack’s been on the waiting side – anxiously watching the results come into the courthouse. So Tuesday was a different view for her.

“I am glad that it is almost, almost, almost under us,” Novack said. “Everyone has been great – all the staff has been great, all the municipal clerks – so it has been a lot of fun, actually.”

Novack was elected to the post in November during the presidential election. The previous county clerk faced significant criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for election night blunders, such as not reporting the entire City of Brookfield results to the Associated Press during the April 2011 election and having delayed results being reported via the machine tapes.

Novack said she’s learned a few things in the primary election that she plans to use in the future, such as working with the printing company to order ballots. Entering results from the various wards and communities can take significant work, especially when elections involve only certain wards in communities – like the 98th Assembly District.

“The spreadsheet of all the ballot types is really complicated,” said Novack, gesturing to the staff members in her office. “These guys put in a lot of time and do a lot of work.”


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