Posted on 11/10/2004 10:05:41 PM PST by ambrose
Wednesday, November 10, 2004, 09:18 P.M. Pacific
Rossi inches toward victory in governor's race
By Ralph Thomas and Keith Ervin Seattle Times staff reporters
OLYMPIA — Republican Dino Rossi today inched closer to becoming Washington's next governor after another tally of absentee ballots increased his lead over Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire.
But with an estimated 85,000 ballots still left to count — including a big stack of provisional ballots in King County — Gregoire could still retake the lead.
While elections officials continue to tally the votes, the state's political parties are going to great lengths to get their candidate's votes counted and, in some cases, to challenge votes in counties where their candidate is losing.
Only tiny Whitman County plans to tally ballots today, but 21 are scheduled to count more votes tomorrow. The race might not be decided until Wednesday, when counties must certify the vote, and an automatic recount still is possible.
State law requires a recount if the difference between the candidates is less than one-half of 1 percent of the total votes cast in the race and less than 2,000 votes.
After nearly 80,000 ballots were counted statewide today, Rossi's lead grew slightly to nearly 3,500 votes. His edge is slightly more than one-tenth of 1 percent of the 2.7 million votes cast in the race.
Gregoire got another big boost in King County, where she picked up nearly 60 percent of the nearly 21,000 votes counted today.
But Rossi held his ground by extending his lead in nearly all other counties that reported today, including Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane and Clark counties. He also pulled ahead for the first time in Grays Harbor County and now leads in 32 of 39 counties.
About two-thirds of the outstanding ballots are in counties where Rossi is leading. But a large percentage of those are provisional ballots, which are given to voters when problems or questions arise on Election Day.
Gregoire and the Democrats believe the provisional votes will fall heavily in her favor.
Both parties are contacting absentee voters who have been informed either that they failed to sign the envelope containing their ballots or that there was a question about whether their signature on the envelope matched their voter-registration signature. Elections officials are matching the signatures as part of the process in counting provisional ballots.
The campaigns are urging selected voters to verify their signatures at county election offices so their votes will be counted.
If a provisional-ballot voter wants to find out whether or not his or her vote is counted, the number on the ballot receipt needs to be matched with ballots that have been counted.
The information will be on the King County elections Web site, www.metrokc.gov/elections, or will be available by phone at 206-296-8683 (VOTE).
Dean Logan, King County's director of elections, said political parties have made similar efforts in other close contests, including the 2000 U.S. Senate race between Slade Gorton and Maria Cantwell.
In that race, Gorton led by nearly 4,000 votes on election night, but Cantwell eventually overtook him and, after a mandatory recount, won by 2,229 votes.
Nick Handy, state director of elections in the state Office of the Secretary of State, said Democratic and Republican observers at the King County elections office were disputing the standards that should be used in deciding which absentee and provisional ballots should be counted.
Because a majority of King County voters support Gregoire, Democrats want as many provisional votes counted as possible, while Republicans hope to keep the vote count down, Handy said. It is widely believed that provisional voters lean Democratic because they include a disproportionate number of college students.
Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com
WOO HOO! Full steam ahead Governor Rossi!!
That is what did in the Pubbie who lost to Cantwell. Tuco Bad (remember him, whatever the name was?) knew this, when I didn't, and predicted confidently that Cantwell would win, when the news stories said the Pubbie had pulled it out. This election has numbers almost like that race.
Advantage Gregoire. I hope I am wrong.
Go Dino Go!!!
Yeah, but Tuco Bad also said Bush would lose the election if he did not win California.
Wow, that would be fantastic if Rossi can win this.
But I really wish Washington state could tighten up on the rules for counting absentee and provisional ballots.
It's not fair to either Rossi or Gregoire to have to wait this long (and even longer) to find out whether they won or not.
Great! Finally, my county sees the light! I sure saw a LOT of Rossi signs here, and practically no Gregoire ones. Yes, GHC is Ratland, but even the silliest among us must have not had an easy time voting for Chrissie.
Go DR!!! Rock FR!!!! Woot!
A swath of ballots from King County have reduced Rossi's lead. I'm a pessimist like you but you never know. At least we got McKenna as Attorney General.
Just remember, every provisional ballot has to be individually certified as valid. Generally less than 25% are valid -- they tend to be people who aren't registered, had voted absentee or were registered in another area.
It historically was more like 75%. This year, it might be 50%, but it varies a lot by state. I suspect it will be higher in whitebread Washington.
BTT, Go Rossi!!! This waiting is killing me!!!
Go Dino! Time for CHANGE in Olympia! BTW....anybody seen Libertina lately? Or Grani?
No need to worry. If McKenna is honest and everyone I've talked to say he is, Gregoire will be going to prison.
[Rolling eyes.]
Yes, McKenna is honest. He's a man of high integrity. No, Gregoire is not going to prison.
Sheesh.
King County could wipe out Rossi's dream. Soviet Seattle is Christine Grigoire's baliwick. Stay tuned.
Before the 2000 election, no Republican had ever won election without winning the following states:
California, New Mexico, Illinois, Ohio, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
So it was perfectly reasonable to say that if Bush lost California, he wouldn't win election. There was absolutely no precedent for such an event.
Also no Republican had ever won since the McKinley/Hanna party building election of 1896 without winning:
Delaware and New Jersey.
Lastly, no Republican had ever won without winning:
Washington (except 1896, 1968 and 1988), Oregon (except 1868), Iowa (except 1988), Wisconsin (except 1924 and 1988), Michigan (except 1968), Pennsylvania (except 1968), New York (except 1868, 1968, and 1988), Connecticut (except 1888 and 1968), and Maine (except 1968).
Bush in 2000 and 2004 broke every single one of these rules except for Ohio.
In Bush/Rove's new party building elections, they are building on the southern strategy started by the party in 1928. Since 1928, no Republican has won election without winning:
Oklahoma, Texas (except 1968), Tennessee, Florida, and Virgina.
Perhaps the most telling point about the above rules are the lynch-pin elections for our party - 1860, 1896, 1928, 1968, 1992, and 2000.
1860 - establishment of the original Republican bastion -CA, OR, MN, IA, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH, PA, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME. The western states fall into this upon their admission into the union, and become locked in following the flirtation with Populism in 1892-1908.
1896 - addition of DE and NJ.
1928 - addition of TX, OK, TN, VA, FL; subtraction of MA and RI.
1968 - addition of NC; subtraction of MN, MI, NY, WA.
1988 - subtraction of OR, IA, and WI.
1992 - subtraction of CA, IL, PA, NJ, DE, CT, VT, ME.
2000 and 2004 bring us almost full circle from 1896. Bush/Rove win nearly exactly the opposite of what McKinley/Hanna had created. The Republicans are completely driven out of their traditional territory in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Great Lakes, and the West Coast, while they in turn have driven the Democrats completely out of the South, cleansing the final two holdouts of GA and WV only in 2000.
Not being a resident of Washington, my main interest is seeing the WA GOP develop a bench of potential future senatorial candidates from that state... otherwise, Patsy Murray could end up being "Senator-for-life" like our own Babs Boxer (ugh).
You might be surprised, but I won't be.
The Midwest is on the verge of flipping to the GOP.
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