04/06/2011 - With the largest number of local clerks of any state in the nation, Wisconsin's Balkanized system of running elections could make for an epic statewide recount, experts said Wednesday.

And with a possible legal challenge lying beyond the likely recount, any irregularities with local ballots now could feed into potential courtroom debates later.

With 1,850 elected or appointed municipal clerks who administer elections at the local level, Wisconsin has roughly one-fifth of all such clerks in the nation, said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives at the Pew Center on the States in Washington. That will complicate any effort to run down exactly how many votes were cast in each village, city and town for each candidate, he said.

"It's just the sheer number of places that need to be recounted and recanvassed and finalized," Chapin said. "These are interesting times across the country but it doesn't get much more interesting than Wisconsin these days."

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