Posted on 11/21/2004 3:30:39 PM PST by DBeers
SEATTLE -- The Washington Republican Party filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Saturday afternoon to try to stop King County from including certain ballots in its recount for the governor's race.
The party is asking for a temporary restraining order against hand-counting of ballots that are rejected by voting machines and hopes to have a hearing on Sunday.
The ballots the Republicans want excluded include those rejected by a machine and checked over by hand. The party calls this process "human enhancement."
State GOP Chairman Chris Vance said Saturday evening that this hand-counting of ballots violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution in a way similar to vote counting problems in Florida after the 2000 presidential election.
Vance said the problem is that hand counting is not occurring in other counties where punch card ballots were used instead of optical scanning.
Vance said the practice is also a violation of state law, but Bobbie Egan, spokeswoman for King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services, said the party is mistaken.
Egan said hand counting is necessary and legal in several instances, including torn or crumpled ballots, partially filled in ovals, ballots where a candidate's name is circled or checked, and ballots where a voter changed his or her mind and crossed out one oval and marked another.
She said all counties handle these votes in the same way.
Washington Administrative Code instructs counties to enhance or duplicate ballots rejected where votes are unreadable to ensure that the ballot can be accurately counted, the department wrote in a statement.
"My priority today and for the next four days is to administer this recount in accordance with state election laws," said county elections director Dean Logan, in a statement issued to the media.
"It is in the best interest of voters that we stay above the pressure of the political parties. If the parties believe there is a need to challenge the elections standards practiced throughout the state, the appropriate place to do so is in court," Logan said.
He said both parties are observing the recount and every enhanced or duplicated ballot is considered by a team of two people. Unreadable ballots where voter intent is not clear will be sent to the King County Canvassing Board.
Vance said the party believes this hand counting should not be allowed during a machine recount.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Judge denies request that some King County ballots not be counted
SEATTLE -- A federal judge on Sunday denied the state Republican Party's bid to force King County to stop counting some ballots in the recount of the governor's race.
In a conference call with lawyers, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman denied the GOP's request for a temporary restraining order barring the hand-counting of ballots machines reject because they can't be read electronically.
"It was a good decision," state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said. "It's good for voters because it's consistent with the standard we would like to see - that every vote be counted."
Republicans sued Secretary of State Sam Reed and the King County Division of Elections on Saturday, arguing that ballots the machines can't count should be excluded from the recount because they have to be checked by hand - a process that's not being used in other counties where punch card ballots were used instead of optical scanners.
"This constitutes a clear violation of hundreds of thousands of Washington voters' right to equal protection under the United States and Washington State Constitutions," the lawsuit stated.
GOP Chairman Chris Vance downplayed the significance of Pechman's ruling, noting it dealt with only one aspect of the lawsuit. He noted that the judge said her decision was based on King County's assurance that all ballots in question are being kept separate from the others so they can be reviewed to see if any mistakes have been made.
"We don't believe King County," Vance said. "Our observers have watched. Ballots are being altered. And we don't believe they are being set aside."
-anybody local know whats going on?
Another leftist Clinton judge.
"Judge Stays Somali Removals
On December 9, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman issued a temporary restraining order staying all deportations of Somalis pending a January 10 hearing on a lawsuit seeking a permanent ban. Pechman’s decision effectively halts the imminent deportation of at least 39 Somalis held in Immigration and Naturalization Service detention around the country, said Karol Brown, an attorney for the plaintiffs. (Seattle Times 12/10/02; Seattle Post-Intelligencer 12/10/02)"
http://www.americas.org/item_8977
I don't understand this. Optical scanners (or at least in my state) reject a spoiled ballot at the time that the voter tries to feed it into the machine, and at that point the ballot is marked "spoiled" and sealed in an envelope (so that it will NOT be counted), and the voter is given a new ballot. The voter gets three tries.
Maybe the machines in King County work differently, but it seems that if the spoiled ballots are "counted" (how - by guesswork?) this would mean that the voter in question got two and possibly even three votes.
I agree with you -let us hope this is understood at the scene
But, but I though that electronic voting was to be the cure all for the issue of "hanging" chads?
Leave it to politicians to change things to only create more issues to be a focus of "politicians' to resolve.
I worked the polls as judge in Indiana. Our optical scanners worked exactly as you explained. The machine will not accept overvotes. It will allow undervotes, but does so by first asking the voter if it is intentional. Then accepts the ballot.
There's no way that rejected ballots should be counted, because as you say, new ones were issued.
Yes - we had a Republican governor win for the first time in 20 years in this leftist state, and we want to keep it that way.
Washington went for kerry right? or am I wrong? Is this for local elections?
"-anybody local know whats going on?"
Yeah, the most liberal corrupt county in the state is trying to cheat. Par for the course. It's one of the reasons I moved out of that county.
SM
Yup -kerry got it. I think this may be local recount for governor -not sure...
I just didn't really like kerry's little comment that was on his email where he said "no matter who wins this election after the votes are counted, and they will be counted."...he's such a sleazeball...
yes -just another liberal senator from Massachusetts...
"It was a good decision," state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said. "It's good for voters because it's consistent with the standard we would like to see - that every vote be counted."
Even the ones who are not legitimate. Gotta count THOSE!
$50 says the Dems steal it from Rossi via fraud.
It would not surprise me one bit if the shenanigans in King County caused the race to flip to Gregoire.
"It was a good decision," state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said. "It's good for voters because it's consistent with the standard we would like to see - that every vote be counted."
Right! Even the illegal votes! How many voters used the county courthouse as their address?
Maybe the machines in King County work differently, but it seems that if the spoiled ballots are "counted" (how - by guesswork?) this would mean that the voter in question got two and possibly even three votes.
You got it! Observers have noted many unusual practices during the recount. Blank ballots in the same room, rather than locked up, for one thing. I can't remember them all, I just know the rats are going to do whatever it takes to steal this one.
Yeah, the most liberal corrupt county in the state is trying to cheat. Par for the course. It's one of the reasons I moved out of that county.
SM
If you were a land owner, I hope you sold it before you moved! Now, in King county (Pierce is next) they're doing a land grab on private property owners that is beyond belief!
Washington went for kerry right? or am I wrong? Is this for local elections?
Yup -kerry got it. I think this may be local recount for governor -not sure...
This is the governors race. It would be the first Republican (and Rossi is a really good man) Governor in 20 years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.