Election observers and members of the media watch as the Racine County board of canvass members and tabulators count ballots in the Racine County Courthouse on June 20. Monday's final tally from the Racine County clerk's office reaffirmed that victory with 35,539 votes for Wanggaard and 36,358 for Lehman - a slightly tighter, 819-vote difference. Credit: Associated Press

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Madison - As Democrats celebrate a recount that reaffirmed state Senate candidate John Lehman's recall victory Monday, the campaign for Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard is considering a court challenge.

Republicans hold a 17-16 majority in the Senate, but the Racine County victory will put control in Democrats' hands once Lehman is sworn in. A legal challenge would be unlikely to change the results, but would delay the transfer of power until the court rules.

The Wanggaard campaign initially called for the recount after Democratic challenger Lehman netted an 834-vote victory in the 21st Senate District's June 5 recall election. Monday's final tally from the Racine County clerk's office reaffirmed that victory with 35,539 votes for Wanggaard and 36,358 for Lehman - a slightly tighter, 819-vote difference. Both candidates gained votes in the recount, in many cases because improperly filled out ballots that could not be recognized by voting machines were added by canvassers when they recounted the votes by hand.

Wanggaard has yet to concede.

"Unfortunately, rather than clarify the myriad of issues that surfaced on June 5, the recount uncovered even more suspicious activity," Wanggaard said Monday in a statement. "As with my decision to pursue the recount, I will spend the next couple of days reviewing the evidence, speaking with voters, supporters and my family before deciding my next step."

Last week, the Wanggaard campaign raised the possibility of a lawsuit, identifying issues with voters falling to sign or signing the incorrect poll book. Since then, questions have been raised about improperly sealed ballot bags, as well as allegations of absentee ballots that were pre-signed by local election officials in violation of state law.

Wanggaard campaign legal counsel Jonathan Strasburg criticized the city's election procedures in a news conference, saying the recount turned up 168 blank ballots with poll workers' initials on them and suggesting that there had been "tampering" with ballot bags.

Racine County Clerk Wendy Christensen could not be reached to comment on the allegations Thursday.

The Wanggaard campaign is still considering pursuing a court case, Strasburg said, but, "We'll wait for the dust to settle and make a decision down the road."

Lehman said that if Wanggaard's campaign does go the route of legal challenge, "that would be a waste of time."

According to Lehman, the recount identified "minor clerical irregularities . . . but in terms of their message of poorly conducted elections and voter fraud, that's an insult to the people of Racine and the election clerks."

"(Republicans) are making mountains out of molehills," he said.

The accountability board must wait five business days before officially certifying Racine County's election results, and Lehman cannot be sworn in until the votes are certified.

A victory for Democrats in Racine County will likely be short-lived because new legislative district maps drawn by Republicans last year have put Lehman in a more heavily GOP district. In addition, 16 of the 33 Senate seats are up in the November election under the new legislative districts more favorable for Republicans, meaning their party could pick up enough seats to regain the majority.

If Wanggaard chooses to file a court challenge, he must do so by the end of the day July 10.