Ex-prosecutor looking at election misconduct claim

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WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A former prosecutor has been named to look into a complaint that accuses the Waukesha County clerk of misconduct in carrying out her duties during the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

The complaint against Kathy Nickolaus was filed with Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board by campaign officials for JoAnne Kloppenburg, who lost the April 5 election to Justice David Prosser.

Kloppenburg’s campaign manager told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that Tim Verhoff informed the campaign that he’d be investigating. The former Dane County deputy district attorney is now a defense lawyer. Neither he nor the board would comment.

Initial election night returns showed Kloppenburg, a little-known state attorney, upset Prosser by about 200 votes. Two days later, Nickolaus said she didn’t report 14,000 votes, which gave Prosser a 7,300-vote lead.

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

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