November Timeline

The SoundPolitics.com Timeline of Events in the Washington Governor's Race

Compiled by Brian Crouch

 

November 2004

Nov. 2: Election Day. Gregoire leads by 7,000, less than 0.6% votes -- with about 88% counted. Many combat troops ballots were not counted: Washington was the last state to mail military ballots.

Nov. 3: Hundreds of "provisional ballots" cast in Seattle precincts given out improperly to voters without valid ID. The vote tally vacillates wildly.

Nov. 6: Gregoire's lead narrows to less than 4,000 votes.

Nov. 8: SoundPolitics.com calls the race for Rossi, after a day of wild fluctuations.

Nov. 9: Rossi closes gap, pulls ahead by 2,123 votes.

Nov. 10: Rossi ended the day up by 3,492.

Nov. 12: A crying Paul Berendt and the Dems sue King County to violate privacy of voters whose provisional ballots might be disqualified. Ignoring ethics and GOP protests, Democrats turn in more than 400 “signed” affidavits. Vote tally spreadsheet.

Nov. 14: The WSRP fights back.

Nov. 15: The vote count gets even screwier. Dean Logan says “voter-signed documents” delivered by a political party equal to in-person or mailing.

Nov. 16: 10,000 Magical Mystery Ballots appear. “Distributed vote fraud” discussed. Rossi up by 19.

Nov. 17: Rossi wins by 261 votes. State law triggers recount.

Nov. 19: Before machine recount begins, “a recount recount is likely,” Berendt says, if not the whole state, at least individual counties that they think merit a closer look.

Nov. 20: The risks of third-party affidavit gathering are outlined.

Nov. 21: GOP files federal suit against King County and the Secretary of State: election workers were “enhancing” ballots themselves. Judge denies request for a temporary restraining order based on King County’s assurance that 1) ballots are not being irreparably altered, and 2) “enhanced” ballots are segregated and available for later review. Vance calls the situation in King County “a mess:” Ballots clearly marked for Dino Rossi are not being counted, and are not being stored securely.

Nov. 22: Recount results in Rossi leading by 42 votes.

Nov. 23: King County vote counters surgically enhance 710 previously rejected ballots. Snohomish County discovers 224 brand new magical mystery ballots. The Democrats call it a "tie."

Nov. 24: Recount finishes with Rossi ahead by 42. Gregoire says: "We want to have confidence that the person who is sworn in in January is the person who was elected.”

Nov. 25: "I think the machine count is going to be more accurate than a manual count," said Dean Logan, the elections director. "You introduce another human interface into the process. There's a margin there for errors to be made." Berendt adds, wiping away tears: "This is a Karl Rove-driven operation in this state [that went for Kerry]. We are not going to let the… Republicans steal this election from Chris Gregoire."

Nov. 26: Amid calls for a recount, 336 mystery ballots appear. The WSJ takes notice.

Nov. 30: The secretary of state certifies the result of the machine recount, making Rossi the winner by 42 votes. Gov. Dan Evans explains why a hand recount results in more errors. Dems hold Candlelight Vigil. When asked “Who died?” they respond, “Democracy.”

Posted by Brian Crouch at November 30, 2004 11:59 PM | Email This