MONROE - Too close to call and too early for recount, the 17th Senate Democrat primary ballots will have to go through the canvassing process before the candidates Pat Bomhack and Ernie Wittwer can decide what to do next.
With all 196 precincts in the southwest district reporting, Tuesday's unofficial primary results showed Wittwer just two votes ahead of Bomhack. Wittwer gathered 3,828 votes to Bomhack's 3,826, which gives Wittwer a whispering 0.02 percentage point lead.
"It's a bit too premature for a recount," Wittwer said Wednesday.
First the ballots must go through the official vote canvassing process, which will take into account the mailed-in ballots, he added.
In a statement Wednesday, Bomhack stated, "Now we can let election officials finish counting all of the ballots cast in Tuesday's election and await the completion of the official canvassing process."
The winner will face Republican Howard Marklein, who is currently the 51st Assembly representative, but not running for re-election.
Typically, the candidate who loses an election may call for all the ballots to be counted again to assure all legal votes are counted properly, any illegal votes are not counted and that the proper procedures for conducting the election were followed by the election officials, according to the Government Accountability Board.
Wisconsin law provides that a recount request must be done by filing a sworn petition not earlier than the completion of the canvass and not later than 5 p.m. on the third business day following the last meeting day of the board of canvassers determining the result for the office.
The basis for requesting the recount can consist of a general statement that the petitioner believes a mistake or fraud was committed in a specified ward or municipality in the counting and return of the votes cast for the office. Or, more specific grounds such as a particular defect, irregularity, or illegality in the conduct of the election may be listed in the petition.
If specific defects, irregularities or illegalities are listed, the petitioner must state if this information is based on personal knowledge of the petitioner or if the petitioner believes the information to be true based on information received from other sources.
When more than 1,000 votes are cast in a race, no fee for a recount is required if the difference in the total votes cast between the leading candidate and those cast for the petitioner is no more than one half of one percent. If the difference is more than 0.5 percent but not more than 2 percent, the fee is $5 per ward. If the difference is more than 2 percent, the petitioner must pay the actual cost of conducting the recount.
With all 196 precincts in the southwest district reporting, Tuesday's unofficial primary results showed Wittwer just two votes ahead of Bomhack. Wittwer gathered 3,828 votes to Bomhack's 3,826, which gives Wittwer a whispering 0.02 percentage point lead.
"It's a bit too premature for a recount," Wittwer said Wednesday.
First the ballots must go through the official vote canvassing process, which will take into account the mailed-in ballots, he added.
In a statement Wednesday, Bomhack stated, "Now we can let election officials finish counting all of the ballots cast in Tuesday's election and await the completion of the official canvassing process."
The winner will face Republican Howard Marklein, who is currently the 51st Assembly representative, but not running for re-election.
Typically, the candidate who loses an election may call for all the ballots to be counted again to assure all legal votes are counted properly, any illegal votes are not counted and that the proper procedures for conducting the election were followed by the election officials, according to the Government Accountability Board.
Wisconsin law provides that a recount request must be done by filing a sworn petition not earlier than the completion of the canvass and not later than 5 p.m. on the third business day following the last meeting day of the board of canvassers determining the result for the office.
The basis for requesting the recount can consist of a general statement that the petitioner believes a mistake or fraud was committed in a specified ward or municipality in the counting and return of the votes cast for the office. Or, more specific grounds such as a particular defect, irregularity, or illegality in the conduct of the election may be listed in the petition.
If specific defects, irregularities or illegalities are listed, the petitioner must state if this information is based on personal knowledge of the petitioner or if the petitioner believes the information to be true based on information received from other sources.
When more than 1,000 votes are cast in a race, no fee for a recount is required if the difference in the total votes cast between the leading candidate and those cast for the petitioner is no more than one half of one percent. If the difference is more than 0.5 percent but not more than 2 percent, the fee is $5 per ward. If the difference is more than 2 percent, the petitioner must pay the actual cost of conducting the recount.