Ever since the fiasco that was the Prosser/Kloppenburg Wisconsin Supreme Court election – and specifically because of the shenanigans of Kathy Nickolaus, Waukesha’s County Clerk – my friend and I have been watching the election process much more closely. And when I say “election process”, I mean starting with voter registration all the way through final results. Every step, every process, every exchange of information especially as it relates to the act of voting, we’re looking into it. We have different questions about the process, and we have different opinions about many things (for best friends, we sure can “discuss” loudly! :), but we are both trying to get at the same thing: making sure our votes count. Well, today she got something that has put a new twist on things...a scanned copy of HER ballot.
Several weeks ago, I came across an email string between Mary Magnuson, Kathy Nickolaus, and Kevin Kennedy (Director and General Counsel, GAB), wherein Kennedy states:
"Voted ballots may be copied or viewed under the public records law."
I found that to be rather interesting; how can we get a copy of our ballots if our ballots are supposed to be secret? It seemed to me and my friend that this was – at face value – a load of crap, but once we started
really thinking about it, it did seem possible.
First, we realized that when we voted, the first thing they did was give us a number on a piece of paper. We gave that piece of paper to the person at the next table, who found our names, wrote the number on the paper next to our names, and had us sign the poll book. We then took the piece of paper to the next table and the process repeated. We were then given ballots, filled them out, and put them into the machine – noting the number on the voting machine. These numbers, in our minds, indicate which number voter we were to ask to vote, and which number we were to actually vote. (The two sets of numbers aren’t the same because people who are registering at the polls or updating their registration are in a different series of numbers.) So, we figured that between the two numbers we had concerning our votes, it might actually be possible that a specific ballot could be found. After doing some research and consulting her bible – the Wisconsin Constitution – she decided to put it to the test and request her ballot.
The first two times she requested her ballot was after the June 5th recall election, and she did so both in person and via email, stating how they could identify it. Her request met with resistance from the clerk’s office, and she was flat out told “No.” In writing. Ballots are secret, they said. But she didn’t give up; between Kevin Kennedy's words and Wisconsin’s Constitution - and the fact that our votes are essentially numbered - she felt confident that they would eventually relent and give her a copy of her ballot - as was her right to get it. So, when it came time for the August primary, she decided to ensure her ballot was unique by writing her name on it as a write-in. After the August election, she again requested a copy of her ballot via email (again stating how they could identify it), making sure to recount that she'd asked and been denied twice before. More than a week passed without a response, but today she got an email with a copy of her ballot attached.
Well, isn’t that special.
(Okay, I must admit, I’m a bit jealous! How many people do YOU know who have a copy of a ballot they cast?)
Anyway, the minute she got it (and the minute I found out), we both thought the same thing: So much for secret ballots! If we can get a copy of a specific ballot - write-in or no write-in - they can’t be all that secret, and if they’re not all that secret, how can we trust what happens behind the scenes? Because as long as they can find a specific ballot, they can take those votes away (and/or give them to someone else). Tell me it’s not possible and I’ll tell you you’re a fool.