....to those who say Republicans will never contest an election.....

GOP may object to ratification of governor vote
Legislative tradition poised to fall

By CHRIS McGANN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

OLYMPIA -- It's usually no more than a formality.

State House and Senate leaders who gather here next week will announce that, hearing no objection, the Legislature hereby ratifies the 2004 election.

But with the prospect that Republicans may contest the race that Gov.-elect Christine Gregoire won by 129 votes over Dino Rossi in a controversial hand recount, that tradition might become the first casualty of the Legislative session.


John Woolf of Graham attends a rally near Fort Lewis yesterday for military votes protesters say weren't counted in the governor's race. "I believe the political process has been abused, and there should be a revote," Woolf said.

House Minority Leader Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, said yesterday that unless questions are answered about the election process -- specifically about how several counties counted thousands more votes than there were voters recorded -- Republicans plan to object.

Chandler said House Republicans plan to "work with whoever wins the race," but he added that with all the unanswered questions, "we don't know who won the election, and we never will."

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said it's time to put the election behind and move forward to address the pressing issues of the state. She said election officials followed the rules. Brown said Republicans are upset because their candidate lost.

"It's not about the result," Chandler said. "The rules were not followed, and that's something the Legislature should take very seriously. ... We reserve judgment until the issues are addressed."

Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, echoed Chandler's concerns and joined a growing chorus of Republicans suggesting a new election would be the best resolution.

He said there was clearly partisan bias in administering the election. But he said it was still unclear if that bias rose to the level of outright fraud.

"One county seems to have had an overly large impact," Finkbeiner said of King County, where Gregoire picked up that vast majority of the votes that propelled her to victory.

Rossi won the initial count by 261 votes out of about 2.8 million cast, and he prevailed in the mandatory recount by 42 votes.

After the Republicans raise their objection next week, they likely would make a motion to defer ratification for a week or two, Chandler said.

Because Republicans are the minority in both chambers, they most likely will be outvoted. But Chandler said that's not a foregone conclusion.

"I don't assume much because I believe (Democratic) members, especially suburban members who are hearing from constituents as much as we are," Chandler said.

Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said lawmakers should follow the law, ratify the election and forge ahead.

Gregoire said she thinks the Republicans' threats are bad for the people of Washington. "I find it highly unfortunate that we continue to have this kind of rhetoric that I hear out there. The idea that these individuals as auditors have not performed their jobs admirably -- there's nothing further from the truth"

She implored people to reserve judgment about discrepancies between votes counted and lists of voters who cast ballots until county elections officials have time to explain.

"Calm down," Gregoire said. "Let the process take its place."

She plans to move into the governor's mansion next Wednesday.

this whole thing has been very interesting to watch unfold. during the first recount, the Republicans were saying Gregoire should just concede and in fact Dino Rossi said if he were in Gregoire's shoes, he would absolutely concede.

He lied.

The most interesting player in this I feel is the Secretary of State Sam Reed - he's a Republican who has taken great pains to be completely fair to both candidates. He went totally by the rules of the game. Now his party is calling him a traitor.

There is a big difference between asking for a RECOUNT, and asking for a REVOTE. When you ask for a recount, you're saying the votes that were cast were counted incorrectly, and should be looked at again. A revote is saying that the entire election was fundamentally invalid, and that is a much higher hurdle to leap. If there had been 200 more votes for Republicans, I don't think they'd be saying the entire election was a sham. This is not Ukraine.

This reminds me of 10 year-old kids playing football and yelling, "Do Over! D.O., man, D.O.!"

--PunkDavid

hahaha, that's exactly what Christine Gregoire was saying as she accepted the final results: "we only have do-overs in golf."

it really didn't help that the Republican Party chair had a whiney, bitchy voice on the radio; to be fair, so did the Democratic chair, but he got almost no airtime.

That kind of seems like that would be the case with most Washington elections what with King County encompasing Seattle and its outlying areas, which I believe is where the majority of the Washington population resides right?

Help me out native Washingtonians

King County does have the highest population of any county in the state.
What the current, most alarming problem happens to be is that it appears that there were 8,000 more votes cast in King than there were eligibile voters.
The complete election was a sham, a disgrace, and a distaster. I don't want a revote until they figure out how to remove their heads from their asses and get it right the first fucking time.

I agree..and I think for now let it be and let Gregoire do her thing.... Everytime they do a recount and/or revote the #'s wont match...give it up...I think most Seattlites are tired of this hoopla....Shizzle!

I think that the Attorney General should do a serious investigation into the KC Election Committee..but the AG is...Gregiore...damn..

Yes, I think it is ridiculous.

However, it is being contested based on existing law is it not?

thanks god the brasilian vote system isnt this mess

Thank you, and I feel the same about both sides doing this type of thing.

And even though you had said that republicans would never do this type of thing, I'll give you a free pass on it.

Yep. They didn't verify the votes in King County. Who gives a flying shit if they're legit when they're for your candidate!

Disgraceful. I want a revote so fucking bad I want to puke.