Kathy Nickolaus, the Waukesha County clerk at the center of the disputed state Supreme Court election, is no stranger to controversy. Nor is her former boss, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, whose candidacy got a boost Thursday when Nickolaus revealed the results she gave to The Associated Press on election night failed to include more than 14,000 votes from the city of Brookfield.

The new total puts Prosser — who appeared to be losing by a minuscule 204-vote margin — ahead in the election by about 7,500 votes.

Nickolaus did not return email and phone messages for comment Friday. Prosser campaign manager Brian Nemoir said he learned of the discrepancy around 5 p.m. Thursday, just before Nickolaus' press conference.

In 2006, Nickolaus, who was elected Waukesha County clerk in 2002, was criticized for posting election returns that temporarily skewed results of a Republican primary for the 97th Assembly District. At the time, Nickolaus told reporters some returns from the city of Waukesha were entered in the wrong column.

And last summer, the Waukesha County Board ordered an internal audit of her office, citing concerns Nickolaus was secretive and refusing to cooperate with the county's technical staff in a security review of the computerized election system.