"Wisconsin Court Electon Courts Disaster"

I have just written this opinion piece for Politico. It begins:

With a razor-thin 204-vote lead, Democratic state assistant attorney general JoAnne Kloppenburg has declared victory over Republican incumbent David Prosser in the race for Wisconsin state Supreme Court justice.

A recount in this race, which some view as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union policies, seems inevitable, and it is not clear who will ultimately take the seat on the Wisconsin bench. But if this expensive and nasty race ends up in protracted litigation, it could undermine public confidence in both the judiciary and Wisconsin's electoral process, especially if, as I expect, supporters of Prosser raise ugly allegations of voter fraud.