Democrats: King Ukraine County recount puts Gregoire on top
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSBerendt called Rossi's initial 261 vote lead a "tie", then Gregoire called his second 42 vote lead another "tie". Now they're calling an unconfirmed rumor of an 8 vote lead a victory?OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Democratic State Party Chairman Paul Berendt says recount results from King County give Democrat Christine Gregoire an eight-vote statewide victory over Republican Dino Rossi in the governor's race.
The report is very preliminary, and neither King County nor the Republican party could confirm the hand recount results on Tuesday night.
But if the Democrats' analysis is right, it's a stunning reversal of fortune in the closest governor's race in Washington history. Rossi won the first count by 261 votes and won the machine recount by 42 votes.
The only thing stunning about all of this is the Democrats' unmitigated gall.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 21, 2004 09:06 PM | Email This
dino's spokesperson says he will only accept
the results if he wins. they will consider
all options. like i have told many people
the man will not go down without fight.
so you dems hang on its far from over!!
Posted by: phil spackman on December 21, 2004 09:11 PM listen you need to understand that vance is
in big time trouble and he knows it.dino has
not endorsed him for reelection.believe me when
i tell you that has vance and his crowd very
worried and it should.
had some things been done differently
by the state gop leadership we wouldnt
even be in this postion.you can include
king gop leadership as well in this mess.
for now i will leave it at that
Posted by: phil spackman on December 21, 2004 09:26 PMJust ask the resident trolls. This election was as honest as the day is long.
(Fitting, wasn't today the shortest day of the year?)
Posted by: Julie on December 21, 2004 09:27 PMIf this stands, I can't imagine it doesn't come back to bite the Democrats in '08.
Posted by: Tuxmelvin on December 21, 2004 09:28 PMGregoire is NOT my governor, she and her entire party are frauds, and I just hope that Rossi will not take any idiotic results after the 9 x of adding ballots in King co. alone...
I'll bet Dustin is really really proud of his stinking party now....conjuring up this "tie" for their canidate...
way to go....way to protect the American way of life with your thievery....
Posted by: lee on December 21, 2004 09:33 PMA gentleman from Spokane said that when Spokane did the reconciliation, it changed it two or three votes.
Either way, this can not fly.
maybe you didn't see the canvass worker, counting ballots, with "go Gregoire" written on his gloves...
maybe you don't understand that they took ballots that in every other election would be ignored for some rightful reason and READ INTO THEM WHAT THE INTENT WAS...
nope....the Democrat party is stealing this election...
they are evil frauds who are similar IMO to communists who try to silence any opposition....
Posted by: lee on December 21, 2004 09:49 PMWhat's wrong Shark, getting soft?
The people of the State of Washington have spoken. Mr. Rossi, do the right thing and concede!
I mean seriously folks. This was your line the last time. How does it feel?
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 09:52 PMThe 723 disputed ballots will probably be factored in tomorrow after the Supreme Court rules that King County can count them.
The Republican Party: If disenfranchising voters is what it takes to win, that's what we'll do. As long as we win.
Sorry, Stefan & Co. I guess it's your turn to feel this way: we already did it four years ago. Welcome to the club.
Posted by: Jenny on December 21, 2004 09:58 PMC'mon gang! There are plenty of arguments and anecdotal evidence for voter suppression in the red counties. Just look at all the people who joined the recount suit.
And like Shark said, there's no evidence of "orchestrated" fraud.
You want to look at those rejected ballots now?
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 10:01 PMWell let see, I have two degree's (one in Math) run a business have a very educated knowledge of the election process.
So to asnwer your questions 100% I believe it, I hope this will show the nation the tragedy of 2000, where a more accurate recount would have given us a President Gore (See USA Today study). Yes in most elections, Dem voters are hurt by poor equipment etc, so any election that is even close to tie, is usually a big DEM win.
Posted by: rog on December 21, 2004 10:01 PMShark may disagree with me, but I stick by my assertion that this race is a "statistical tie"... too far within the margin of error to confidently determine the winner. I do believe that each count has been more accurate than the previous one, but none have been accurate enough.
I believe that you believe that you were wronged. I just hope you understand that if the election had gone (or eventually does go) the other way, Gregoire supporters would be just as passionate in their belief that they were wronged.
I don't necessarily expect you all to accept my words in the spirit in which they are intended, but given the rancor of this election, I felt it necessary to say them nonetheless.
Posted by: David Goldstein on December 21, 2004 10:03 PMObviously, you don't believe in the rule of law. If you guys want to contest the election go ahead it's within your rights.
Of course you will because winning is all that matters to you.
I mean what harm can the tobacco suit lady do? There's a very slim majority in the leg. You got old Tim still fired up and agitatin'. It's not the end of the world is it?
Look at Montana for cripes sake!
I know real estate operators. I've seen them in action. I don't want one in the Gov's mansion.
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 10:12 PMStarting last Thursday, any ballot that was marked in any way that might be construed pro-Gregoire or anti-Rossi was sent before the 2-1 (Democrat to Republican) King County Canvassing board. Most of these ballots had little more than a dot in a bubble. Ruling 2-1 many of these ballots may have been subjectively overturned for Gregoire when the machines would have objectively chosen the candidate with the clearly filled in bubble. This is why so many of us harped that machine were more accurate than humans. Machines don't get subjective because they would really like to see their candidate win.
It's a shame that King County could be so blatantly partisan. I can understand those of us on the sidelines and the players on each team being highly partisan, but the refs are supposed to be objective.
Hopefully the election will be contested again. There is no way that Washingtonions will be satisfied with this result knowing that King County canvassing made at least 9 (Two Democrat to One Republican) decisions that have swayed the outcome of this election.
Posted by: Jeff B. on December 21, 2004 10:16 PMRossi won the two most accurate counts, and he may still have won this less accurate hand count. In order to get close the Democrats had to introduce ballots that have not been secured constantly since election day.
They also had to 'enhance' ballots by 'divining' voter intention. Funny, the Democrats don't seem too interested in Divinity until it can help get their candidate in office.
Does anyone REALLY think an 8-vote difference would fly after the story of the 'Christine Rossi' ballot a few days ago? The GOP lawyers can introduce 80, if not 800, suspect votes to the Supreme Court.
It ain't over yet, folks.
Posted by: Larry on December 21, 2004 10:17 PMrog...could care less if you have 3 degrees in Math...you apparently are low on common sense, if you can't see that this so called "recount" was nothing of the sort..
disenfranchising voters?...how about every military ballot that oh so conviniently just didn't get sent out in time...
Gregoire is a fraud..and the fraudulent Democrat party put her there....
you will sow what you reap....
from now on, every election will be contested, because now we know that for some time now, the Democrat strong hold of King co. has been counting ballots illegally....
yep, you will get your just rewards, some way, some how....
Posted by: lee on December 21, 2004 10:19 PMWhy don't we ALL think independently, like we used to in this state, instead of taking our cues from cheerleaders like Vance or Berendt? Instead of you Republicans always knee jerking on command from the White house, why not think for yourselves?
So, what to do? Listen to Ralph Monroe (hey, he's a Republican - with some experience in these kinds of things) - - - let's run the election over again. Everyone will get their chance to trash the other side, which you guys seem to really enjoy. So what are we waiting for? 42 votes or 420 votes - - - Rossi would never be my governor anymore than Gregoire would be yours.
It's time to play it again Sam!
As an aside, it's interesting that the Democrats chose to announce this before the official announcement. Perhaps they were just excited... but I imagine it's a strategic move to solidify the "win" in voters minds as long as possible, before the GOP contests the results.
Posted by: Tuxmelvin on December 21, 2004 10:21 PMI feel my vote has been thrown away...
but then again, we're unimportant where I live....
Democrat party is the party of fraud!
Yeah right! Diebold, Sequoia and ESS machines are the fairest machines money can buy!
Jeff you're making a lot of assertions. Ok do you know where these ballots came from? Who picked out the pro-G and anti-R ballots? Did he/she have a name tag?
You're so bi-partisan. Are we just all supposed to take your word for it?
And didn't Reed say they discovered ballots in the red counties? Nine times? Big deal. King is the most populous county. More stuff will happen.
Look on the bright side. This whole thing has gotten a lot of scrutiny. That is a good thing. We've been taking this vote counting thing for granted for too long. Bring up your data before the courts. It's within your rights.
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 10:28 PMIn North Dakota John Thune lost in 2002 when incredible returns were recorded from the western counties, and in 2004 he knocked off Tom Daschle.
The shennanigans in King County have not been well received by the State's voters. An elected Democrat has told me that if the Democrats manage to change the outcome of this election it will have negative consequences for them for 25 years.
Cantwell will not be re-elected in 2006. Gregoire will not be "re-elected" in 2008.
As an aside, it has been said that Dan Evans had 75 appointments to make, but there are now approximately 1,200 patronage appointments available to the Governor.
Posted by: Terry J on December 21, 2004 10:29 PM thats right we are all a bunch of robots
who cant think for themselves.i just love
you dems, you accuse us of being exactly what you
are.
I guess when you don't have the truth
on your thats all you can.wake and realize
that no matter what happens your party
has done irepareble demage to itself.
I would hope that in addition to acknowledging that having the results overturned is indeed difficult for those of us who want Rossi to win, that you would also acknowledge that forwarding 320 votes that were objectively deterministic by machine to human recanvassing is a highly partisan, highly subjective act, that most Washingtonions (as shown by several polls) regard as improper.
Posted by: Jeff B. on December 21, 2004 10:33 PMThis is a problem on national, not just local levels, of course. Which is too bad, really. It's no fun winning when your opponents are incompetent (and it's even worse losing!)
Posted by: Tuxmelvin on December 21, 2004 10:35 PMI predict that this will be the beginning of a shift away from the democrat party. To what degree I don't know. But people see this for what it is. We all knew that Dino would never survive the corruption and cheating that went on here in Ukraine County. He COULD have survived an honest count with no rule changes whatsoever, and I include those provisionals from way back in Nov.
Posted by: Michele on December 21, 2004 10:41 PMHE COULD WIN THE US SENATE SEAT IN 2 YEARS BY A LANDSLIDE.
Posted by: LIZA on December 21, 2004 10:47 PMYeah and Abe Lincoln was a lawyer. Chris G. is so evil that she stole all that money from the Tobacco companies - the same folks who added ammonia to cigarettes so that they became more addictive and then did everything they could to hide that little trade secret.
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 10:52 PMYou were not there. I was, and so were many others who post here. Since you ask, I will explain. Bipartisan teams were asked by Logan and Huennekens to begin forwarding all ballots that had even the slightest mark beyond their obviously filled in vote bubble to canvassing. What would happen in practice is that either the Democrat Counter with a Green Tag or the Republican Counter with a Purple Tag would notice a ballot that had a small dot or mark on it. They would then confer with each other, and the ballot would be sent on to a special canvassing box that was being guarded by a King County Sheriff.
Those ballots were then presented to a canvassing board today that is 2-1 Democrat to Republican. In many cases, (see many other posts at this site) ballots that were either obviously for one candidate or the other were flipped to the opposite candidate, or were thrown out as overvotes, etc. Please read about Ballot 81 for more info.
I can't make this stuff up because what I saw was so blatant that it was surreal. It's unbelieveable that this partisan act it allowed in the obejective process of counting ballots.
Stay tuned, the Supreme Court should have some interesting words for the Dems tomorrow.
Posted by: Jeff B. on December 21, 2004 10:53 PMDoes it mean that the state taxpayers get to pay for King County's shenanigans?
Does it mean that She's really going to be the Governor?
Let's all just go fill some stockings with coal and call it a night. Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.
Posted by: Snake on December 21, 2004 10:59 PMWhat you saw had a lot of witnesses then. If you're so sure of what you saw then, yes, if I were in your shoes I'd bring it up in front of the courts.
Be careful of what you wish for. I'm sure Dems observed certain practices in other counties as well.
Daylight, transparency. It's a good thing, no?
Posted by: John on December 21, 2004 11:06 PMIs it wishful thinking to think this is DEMO spin, so when they loose tomorrow they can say their 8 vote win was stolen? Why announce now?
Posted by: Tina on December 21, 2004 11:11 PMReed will argue before the Supreme Court tomorrow that the Republicans are incorrectly interpreting the law and that 700+ votes should be counted.
Could it be he's right and not part of a conspiracy and that Gregoire has fairly won the election?
-Erik
Posted by: Erik on December 21, 2004 11:27 PMInstead, any recall effort should be focused on the people who enabled the election to be stolen. Hell, start with Ron Sims, it's his county and has been for years. Any election problems should be directly laid at his doorstep.
As I said in a post on Monday, thank god Alaska's problems don't rise to the level of yours. Used to live on the Eastside, went to college in Walla Walla and like to visit. But to live there--not any more.
Posted by: Grey on December 21, 2004 11:44 PMIt may be possible to contest this election in the legislature or in the court system. However, it is not possible to recall Gregoire, unless she does something illegal after she takes office. The procedure also requires about 730,000 signatures. If recall actually worked, then Brad Owen would be acting Governor until the next November general election following the recall election.
I would suggest a more practical remedy. Get an initiative on the ballot to abolish the state sales tax (the 6.5% portion charged by the state). This should pass, adding the votes of almost all of Rossi supporters, with those of some other folks who just think the sales tax is unfair. Let Gregoire govern for the last 37 months of her term with $6.5 billion less in tax revenues on an annual basis. This will cause far more Democrats in state government to lose their jobs, than would have been the case if Rossi had been elected.
Posted by: Richard Pope on December 21, 2004 11:52 PMMy hope was that Rossi would be able to bring some fiscal responsibility to our state and lead from the center. He would of done that I believe.
King Counties illegitimate child - Christine Gregoire. yippie.
Posted by: Mike on December 22, 2004 12:03 AMAhem, back to my point--- imagine what it feels like to live in any other county in this state than King. They have GOT to feel that it is never possible to overcome King County's corrupt grasp on the state. But I believe that day will come. If not now, someday. Maybe sooner than we think.
Posted by: Michele on December 22, 2004 12:50 AMWhen it's all said and done, a lot more is said than done. This is especially true of blue state Republicans. Couldn't you see this coming for more than a week? Where were your people on television comparing King County to Cook County. In Ohio, we have jackass Democrats saying that tabulated results that don't agree with early morning exit polls are obviously wrong. I didn't hear a single Republican so much as complain on national television when the verified signitures after the vote, much less when they filled in blanks for voters who had neglected to do so.
Don't expect an orange revolution. If you aren't willing to go to court today, just start learning to say Governor Gregoire.
Posted by: Carl on December 22, 2004 05:05 AMThankful that my mother, born in Tacoma, ended up being raised in Ohio.
I am glad to be but an observer of this farce in three acts (with more to follow), and not affected by it.
Rog - I have three degrees (including one in math, and a Ph.D.); what does that level of math knowledge have to do with the accuracy of two mechanical processes?
Your post at 9:39 hit the nail on the head, albeit unintentionally. The hand recount is "more accurate", because the state legislature says so. (Well, it says it's definitive, at least, so it's more accurate in the sense that it supersedes the other counts). However, take that with a grain of salt: the Indiana state legislature once decreed that pi was equal to 4. Just because they say so doesn't make it true.
Posted by: Snowy Owl on December 22, 2004 07:15 AMWho wants to bet my vote didn't get counted? I signed my name on the envelope as per the instructions, ensured I made no stray marks, etc. etc. I voted for Mr. Rossi, though I am Libertarian.
How would I go about ensuring that my vote, which I once gaurded with my life, counted?
Posted by: Aaron on December 22, 2004 10:48 AM