What appeared to be a narrow win for the union-backed liberal candidate in Wisconsin's hotly contested Supreme Court election has turned into an apparent victory for her conservative adversary.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said a computer error resulted in more than 14,000 votes going unreported. 

"This is not a case of extra votes or extra ballots being found," Nickolaus said. "This is human error, which I apologize for."

With the missing votes included, incumbent David Prosser now has a 7,500 vote lead over his liberal challenger, Assistant State Attorney Gen. JoAnne Kloppenburg.

"Our confidence is high, and we will continue to monitor with optimism, and believe that the positive results will hold," Prosser said in a statement.

"We've always maintained faith in the voters and trust the election officials involved in the canvassing will reaffirm the lead we've taken," he said.

The updated results could also affect the course of the new law signed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker that restricts union bargaining in the state.
    
Should the new vote total stand, conservatives on the Supreme Court are likely to uphold the law.