In an article by Chris McGann of the Seattle After-intelligence Post-Intelligencer, a subtle lapsus calami reveals much:

Borrowing the rhetoric from the Democrats, Rossi says it's all about having every legitimate vote be counted.

"Whether your signature was mistakenly challenged or whether you're a member of the military who didn't receive your ballot on time, your vote should count," Rossi said in statement Thursday.

Republicans say they have roughly 300 signed affidavits from registered voters who said their votes were not counted.

It all comes down to the definition of legitimate.

Democrats and Reed contend that the 1,718 additional votes that turned up statewide during the manual recount were counted because they were discovered within the time period established by state law.

But now that all of Washington's 39 counties have certified the results of their manual recounts, Reed and the Democrats say it's too late for the Rossi votes in question.

The story concludes with a mind-bending aside from Gregoire quoted earlier:

Gregoire said Thursday that she has "every confidence" in Washington's election system.

"I think we have been a model to the rest of the nation and the world at large about how an election system, as close as this one is, can be done with the highest of quality... This is the biggest display of democracy I have ever seen and I am proud of it and I think it's an inspiration."

Of course it's still a tie, by her own definition.