MONROE - Green County Clerk Mike Doyle is preparing for the state-wide Wisconsin Supreme Court recount that starts today, but he doesn't plan to follow other counties in the state that are hiring extra staff to complete the job.
Counties must bear the cost of the recount under state law, and Doyle said on Tuesday that he plans to comply.
But while many counties are hiring extra "tabulators" Doyle said he doesn't plan to have any extra staff on board, beyond a pair of canvassers.
The reason, he says, is cost. As is, the recount is expected to cost Green County more than $3,000, he said. And while that's not anywhere near the $500,000 that Milwaukee County is expected to spend, Doyle said it is more than 10 percent of his budget - and he's not happy about it.
"It's easy for the state to make the rules and they don't have to pay for it," he said. "This is not cheap."
With roughly 11,000 ballots currently in locked storage and set to be recounted, Doyle said he is confident he can get the job done for Green County by the May 9 deadline.
The recount starts at 9 a.m. today across Wisconsin.
Doyle also questioned the need for a recount, given the vast difference in vote totals between the two candidates, Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Final county tallies show Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead, a margin that grew from an initial spread in the hundreds immediately following the election April 5.
"I just don't think it's necessary," he said.
Kloppenburg won Green County with 5,860 votes, compared to Prosser's 4,883, according to online election results
- Gary Mays
Counties must bear the cost of the recount under state law, and Doyle said on Tuesday that he plans to comply.
But while many counties are hiring extra "tabulators" Doyle said he doesn't plan to have any extra staff on board, beyond a pair of canvassers.
The reason, he says, is cost. As is, the recount is expected to cost Green County more than $3,000, he said. And while that's not anywhere near the $500,000 that Milwaukee County is expected to spend, Doyle said it is more than 10 percent of his budget - and he's not happy about it.
"It's easy for the state to make the rules and they don't have to pay for it," he said. "This is not cheap."
With roughly 11,000 ballots currently in locked storage and set to be recounted, Doyle said he is confident he can get the job done for Green County by the May 9 deadline.
The recount starts at 9 a.m. today across Wisconsin.
Doyle also questioned the need for a recount, given the vast difference in vote totals between the two candidates, Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Final county tallies show Prosser with a 7,316-vote lead, a margin that grew from an initial spread in the hundreds immediately following the election April 5.
"I just don't think it's necessary," he said.
Kloppenburg won Green County with 5,860 votes, compared to Prosser's 4,883, according to online election results
- Gary Mays