Although the state Government Accountability Board promised to release a detailed report of its April investigation of Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus’ election operation by late June, it’s unclear now when or if the report will be coming.
Reid Magney, spokesman for the board, said that because a formal complaint was filed with the board by the JoAnne Kloppenburg campaign, accusing Nickolaus of election law violations, new confidentiality restrictions apply under state law.
While he could confirm that a complaint was filed – one already released publicly by the Kloppenburg campaign – Magney said he couldn’t comment on whether there is an investigation, or when an investigation might be complete.
In any investigation, the Government Accountability Board decides whether to make the results public, he said.
A day before the complaint was filed on April 20, the accountability board staff issued a news release and brief report explaining the extent of an ongoing investigation of Nickolaus’ office and some initial findings.
State elections staff members spent four days after the April 5 Supreme Court election reviewing records and procedures and conducting interviews in Nickolaus’ Waukesha County offices.
They were trying to ensure initially that numbers certified as official by the Board of Canvassers indeed reflected the numbers certified by poll workers on election night, Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the state board, said at the time. They also were checking that original election materials were properly secured.
The investigation also was intended to be a review of Nickolaus’ business processes related to election night results, disseminating the information to the public and preparing for the official canvass, he said.
… In announcing initial results of the investigation April 19, state elections officials said they had found a few anomalies between the county canvass report and municipal poll workers’ records, but no major discrepancy was found.
Concerns from the public raised other issues, however, from Nickolaus’ failure to provide municipal results on election night – she provided only a summary total – to vote reports on her website from prior elections.
Full Article: Board mum on Nickolaus election inquiry – JSOnline.