Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who failed to include more than 14,000 votes from the City of Brookfield in the April 5 Supreme Court election, had criminal charges dropped Wednesday by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.
This decision brings an end to the controversy surrounding the April 5 Supreme Court election that pitted Justice David Prosser against Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg.
An independent investigation report by former Dane County prosecutor Timothy Verhoff found that Nickolaus, who failed to include more than 14,000 votes from the city of Brookfield, did not do it intentionally, and will not face criminal charges.
""I am pleased that the investigation confirmed the reporting error in the April 5th spring election was an honest mistake,"" Nickolaus said in a statement.
The report said discrepancies occurred when the voting results were saved in the wrong file on Nickolaus' computer. She then sent the incorrect numbers in for the official count.
Nickolaus responded to complaints about the mistake and the calls for her resignation by saying she will serve the remainder of her term.