Waukesha County explores new tallying procedure for clerk's office

Anyone have any thoughts about this model? Word is it's a significant upgrade from what they have now.

And while we're at it, let's all take note of how far some counties (Waukesha, Milwaukee, looking at you) have to go in terms of compiling and reporting election results online. If Waukesha County made precinct-level results available online instead of a crappy PDF summary, this error would've no doubt have been found on election night.

In spite of this particular error, all of this chaos could be improved easily if Wisconsin would take steps towards the 20th century and begin running elections at the county level instead of the municipal level. From a bureaucratic standpoint, Wisconsin's existing setup is a fine example of having too many cooks in the kitchen.

What's that I hear?

It's the sound of a so-called movement quietly dying...

Stevens Point — One by one, they stepped up to the lectern.

And one by one, they ripped Gov. Scott Walker's proposed two-year state budget as they testified before the Legislature's budget committee.

"I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony. I know what I'm supposed to do - I just don't know where to start," said Bill Hettler, the former director of health services for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

In an interview after he testified, the 67-year-old Park Ridge resident blasted Walker's plan for cutting education, transit and family planning efforts. He said the tax policies in the budget put corporations and the wealthy above middle- and low-income people.

The hearing at UW-Stevens Point drew hundreds of people - far fewer than the thousands many said they expected after protesters filled the Capitol for weeks over a measure to eliminate most collective bargaining for public workers.

Must be the same hundreds that only managed to drive David Prosser from 55% to 50% after spending a month accusing him of being a pedophile protector and a clone of Scott Walker. Take out the self-interested voters of Dane County and the numbers are even less impressive.

You mean the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites really don't give a s@#$ about collective bargaining? I'm stunned...

Prosser leads 51-49...

... and there are unconfirmed reports that, seeing the count, Bill Kramer is frantically trying to close the roll.

I didn't make a prediction on this one because I have no idea how it's turning out. Turnout in spring elections is hard enough to model as is, let alone when both sides dump a couple million bucks into lying and distorting the records of candidates who are running for a job that many people can't accurately describe.

But unlike the last few competitive races, at least both candidates seem reasonably qualified.