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Waukesha - Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas said he would publicly call for County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus' resignation unless she handed off her election duties in the upcoming recalls to her deputy clerk.

Nickolaus chose the latter. She agreed to allow outside consultants and county staff to work with her deputy, Kelly Yaeger, to handle the election, Vrakas said.

"The county will move swiftly to examine the election night procedures in the county clerk's office and make changes as necessary to restore the public's confidence in our elections," Vrakas said in a statement late this afternoon.

In an interview, Vrakas said, "I appreciate the fact that she understands the importance of restoring confidence in Waukesha County election night reporting. Swift, detailed, orderly reporting that should be available on the Internet. When given the choice to step down or step aside, she made the right decision."

Nickolaus again came under scrutiny because her Tuesday night election efforts resulted in long delays in reporting results. Based on an agreement with the state Government Accountability Board - one that came about after she omitted 14,000 votes from unofficial totals on election night - Nickolaus was to post paper voting machine tape records outside her office as soon as municipal clerks delivered them in person. Then she was to electronically upload the memory cards of the municipal ballot machines and produce summary reports throughout the night.

Instead, the data transfer didn't work, something she said shocked her because she said the system had been tested many times. As a result, she and her staff manually typed in every number for every race in every voting district into the wee hours of Wednesday morning and then proofed the results before putting them online. Initial results came about six hours after polls closed.

Meanwhile, reporters were left to tabulate election outcomes by hand from yards of machine tapes that had been taped to walls in a county meeting room.

Vrakas said he was among those frustrated Tuesday night waiting for online results.

While Vrakas doesn't have the ability to fire Nickolaus, who is independently elected to a four-year term, his public ostracism of a fellow Republican in the same courthouse is unheard of.

"I am responsible for the efficient operation of the county," he said. "It's not easy sitting behind the county executive's desk, so when I see a part of our operation that needs attention I'm not afraid to take action. It's not just about Tuesday. It's something that has built up in past elections. It's been an issue that's been building."

Nickolaus, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, will continue to oversee other operations in her office, such as the issuance of marriage licenses. But Vrakas said, "My first concern is the recall elections in May and June" when Republican Gov. Scott Walker faces a recall and, according to polls, is in a tight race against potential Democratic opponents. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch also faces a recall election.

Supreme Court race

Nickolaus first came under blistering criticism after last year's election night fiasco. She did not disclose the omission of the Brookfield votes publicly for nearly two days. The shortfall of votes made it appear that Supreme Court Justice David Prosser had lost by a couple hundred votes to JoAnne Kloppenburg. When the final results were canvassed with the Brookfield totals included, he had won by nearly 7,000 statewide.

But the controversy brought cries of political foul play and incompetence, prompting a state investigation and a taxpayer-financed statewide recount. In Waukesha County, Nickolaus stepped aside during that recount, as well, and consultants were hired to help oversee it.

The state investigation concluded she violated state law on how she reports election results, though she was not charged. The state noted that she only provided a summary of totals in state and county races but provided no municipal breakdowns.

Tuesday night, her reporting approach was supposed to have corrected those problems.

Vrakas said, "I've instructed the Department of Administration and the full forces of county government to work with the deputy clerk to find out what issues need to be dealt with and to deal with them. We're going to start immediately. . . . Whatever it takes, inside and outside of county government."