Kloppenburg Rejects Nuns' Ballots

JoAnne Kloppenburg and her campaign are disenfranchising nuns. NUNS!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The recount for the state Supreme Court race has come to this: Votes from nuns have been thrown out.

The twist in the race between Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg came during the recount in Sauk County. There, ballots of Cistercian nuns from the Valley of Our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac were rejected.

The nuns live a contemplative, monastic life and support themselves by baking and distributing altar breads, according to their website.

On Friday, during the recount, it was noted that witness signatures were missing from 18 absentee ballots from the Town of Sumpter, where votes from the monastery are counted.

"Eighteen applications did not have a witness signature," said Alene Bolin, assistant corporation counsel for Sauk County. "I don't think all 18 were from the monastery. I think it has turned into, there were 18 nuns but I do remember one of the ballots was not from the convent."

"They're cloistered nuns," Bolin said. "So the clerk (Donna Ziegler) dropped off an envelope with all the absentee ballots and applications with them. On the day of the election, she picked them up and dropped them off at the polling place. The absentee ballots were opened there and counted. During the recount it was discovered that there was no witness signature."

Because canvassers were unable to match the actual ballots to the voter, they took all 24 absentee ballots from the Town of Sumpter and randomly drew 18, which were then set aside and not counted. Of those ballots, Prosser had 14 while Kloppenburg had four.

The Prosser campaign made two appeals to have the ballots counted, including early Wednesday, but they were turned down by the board of canvassers, Bolin said.

Will tossing the votes of the nuns change the outcome of the election?

No, but that's not the point.

Considering the Democrats are always yapping about counting every vote and insisting that measures like voter photo ID are an unreasonable burden it looks horrible for them to reject the votes of the cloistered nuns.

Does Kloppenburg really want to be remembered for throwing out the nuns' votes?

I suppose it could be worse. I assume the nuns weren't harassed or threatened by Kloppenburg's allies, the union thugs. Their ballots were discarded but no physical intimidation took place.

The case of the Cistercian nuns from the Valley of Our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac is just another proud moment for JoAnne "I'm ecstatic" Kloppenburg.

Isn't it great our tax dollars are being spent to toss out the ballots of nuns in this idiotic recount?

Wonderful.
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UPDATE:

Statement of Brian Schimming, director, Justice Prosser's Recount Effort, regarding the disenfranchisement of votes of 18 nuns from the Valley of our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac, Sauk County:

"While we have been reluctant to make public comments during the recount period, the Kloppenburg campaign's attack on the votes of 18 nuns from the Valley of our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac is wrong at best and totally reprehensible at worst.

"This recount is costing Wisconsin taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars already. There is to date not one shred of evidence whatsoever that it will change the outcome of the election. To make this extremely costly and sorry spectacle even worse by challenging the legitimate votes of 18 nuns at a monastery is a breathtaking abuse of the recount process."

"I would simply ask Ms. Kloppenburg to act at the most basic level of decency; apologize to the 18 nuns who reside at the monastery for her campaign's interference with their right to vote, withdraw her objection and ask that the ballots be reinstated."

It's a legitimate and appropriate request.

Unfortunately, to date, Kloppenburg has not exhibited the character or the class that would lead me to believe she will do the right thing.