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Recount sought in Wis. Supreme Court race

MADISON, Wis., April 20 (UPI) -- The trailing candidate in a closely watched Wisconsin state Supreme Court race refused to concede Wednesday, asking for a recount instead.

The statewide recount will be the first in more than two decades, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

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Justice David Prosser has a 7,316-vote margin over Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. While experts say a recount is unlikely to change the outcome, state law gives candidates the right to ask for one if the two candidates are separated by less than .05 percent of the total vote.

The race got national attention because it was seen as a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's policies. The state legislature passed Walker's bill stripping public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights after weeks of demonstrations.

Both Kloppenburg and Prosser promised to be neutral non-partisan judges. But Prosser was backed by Walker's supporters and Kloppenburg by union members and Democrats.

Prosser declared himself the winner Tuesday and a top aide said a recount would be a waste of taxpayer money.

Kloppenburg also called for the Government Accountability Board to authorize an investigation into the "actions and words" of Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who failed to count more than 14,000 votes until the day after the election. After those votes were counted, Kloppenburg's initial lead of 204 votes disappeared and Prosser came out on top by more than 7,000 votes.

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