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It goes without saying that the outcomes of the nine Senate recall elections scheduled in Wisconsin will be of intense interest to most of the UW-Madison community.  Forecasting the outcome of elections weeks in advance is always a risky business; nevertheless, we offer the following bold prediction:

 In at least some cases, the candidate receiving the lesser of the actual votes cast — perhaps, in fact, the candidate you passionately opposed — will be declared the official victor.

Chances are, you either think we are nuts or you are already upset with the dismal state of elections in Wisconsin, if not the country.  Either way, we hope this article will change your view of  both (a) the security of the elections and (b) the ability of ordinary citizens like you to improve that security.

Here’s a second prediction which gets to the heart of the real problem:

 No one — not the Government Accountability Board, not the media, not any elected official, and most certainly not you — has the slightest hope of ever  disproving our first prediction in light of current election procedures and practices.