HisssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Posted on 12/30/2004 7:10:24 PM PST by highlander_UW
Washington Governor's Election Certified, Showing Win by Democrat; Opponent Seeks New Vote
OLYMPIA, Wash. Dec 30, 2004 — After three vote tallies and nearly two nerve-racking months of waiting, Democrat Christine Gregoire was declared Washington's governor-elect on Thursday. But her Republican rival did not concede and wants a new election.
"Less than two weeks from today I will take the oath of office as your next governor of the great state of Washington," an ebullient Gregoire told supporters at a Capitol news conference.
The Republican candidate, Dino Rossi, said he was exploring whether to contest the election in the courts or in the Legislature.
Rossi and the state GOP said they have discovered a discrepancy of more than 3,500 votes in strongly Democratic King County, the state's largest, possibly pointing to fraud or mistakes that could have swung the ultra-close election.
Democrat Declared Wash. Governor-Elect Congress to Work on Tsunami Victims' Aid Powell to Lead U.S. Delegation to Asian Tsunami Region "I think we need to examine what's right and what's wrong and let's expose it and see if we can correct it," he said at a news conference from his campaign headquarters.
Gregoire congratulated Rossi for running a strong campaign, and said it was up to him to decide when and where to concede. But she ruled out a brand new election.
"Do-overs" occur only in golf, and only during practice, she said. "This is not golf and this is not practice."
Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, certified Gregoire, the three-term attorney general, as the winner of the closest governor's race in state history. She won a statewide hand recount by a scant 129 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast.
Rossi won both of the earlier counts the initial tally following the election and a statewide machine recount.
While there were mistakes, Reed told a news conference, "at this time there is nothing that appears fraudulent."
"I saw serious mistakes being made. I saw them being corrected," Reed said. "That's part of the process. The system itself has worked well."
Rossi, a former state legislative leader and real-estate investor, said the election was hopelessly flawed and that the Legislature should authorize a new election.
While noting that he could contest the election, Rossi said a legal challenge could drag on for months. The better way to clear up the mess, he said, would be to ask lawmakers to pass a bill calling for a special election as soon as the state Legislature convenes in early January for the 2005 session.
After the election, more than 700 ballots surfaced in King County, which includes Seattle. The additional votes allowed Gregoire to stretch her lead from just 10 votes in the hand recount to her triple-digit advantage. A legal challenge would have to be filed by Jan. 22, 10 days after Gregoire's scheduled inauguration.
For King County, Rossi received a list of 895,660 people who voted while the county certified 899,199. But Reed said there are probably innnocent explanations for the discrepancy.
The county hasn't finished updating its list of voters who cast ballots. Reed also noted that the identities of perhaps 1,000 battered women must be shielded because they are in the state identity protection program.
"We have no reason to believe votes were not properly cast," he said.
Most telling is the following:
For King County, Rossi received a list of 895,660 people who voted while the county certified 899,199. But Reed said there are probably innnocent explanations for the discrepancy.
Ok, kids. I agree, the rest of the nation does not give a hoot (anything West of NYC's 7th Ave doesn't count) about Washington State Rats stealing the Governor's election. Even our big hero Drudge is yawning (speaking of jumping the shark).
So we are on our own. Orange ribbons in down town Seattle. Plaster the place. Over passes, doors. Where ever!
Get in Lib's faces. Make them sweat. Stop apologizing, damn it. Sit down and be civil disobedient. Get on the news. We must do this truely like the Ukie's did.
That is the only way I can think of getting national attention and some legal action against the F.L's (Hint: one of the letters stands for Liberal)
We will not go away!
soundpolitics.com
Dec. 30, 2004 | Olympia, Washington -- After three vote tallies and 58 days of waiting, Democrat Christine Gregoire was declared Washington's governor-elect on Thursday. But her Republican rival did not concede and wants a new election.
Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, certified Gregoire, the three-term attorney general, as the winner of the closest governor's race in state history. She won a statewide hand recount by a scant 129 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast.
While there were mistakes, Reed told a news conference, "at this time there is nothing that appears fraudulent."
"I saw serious mistakes being made. I saw them being corrected," Reed said. "That's part of the process. The system itself has worked well."
But Republican candidate Dino Rossi, a former state legislative leader and real-estate investor, said the election was hopelessly flawed and that the Legislature should authorize a new election. He won both of the earlier counts.
Rossi also held open the possibility of contesting the election in the courts, and Reed said he was fully within his rights to continue to research a possible further challenge.
Gregoire's campaign rejected the idea of a new vote and said Rossi should accept the newly certified tally.
"This ain't golf. No mulligans allowed here, folks," Gregoire's spokesman, Morton Brilliant, said Wednesday. "It's irresponsible to spend $4 million in taxpayer money on a new election just because you don't like losing this one."
A revote would have to be approved by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.
"The uncertainty surrounding this election process isn't just bad for you and me -- it is bad for the entire state," Rossi said, reading from a letter he said he sent to Gregoire. "People need to know for sure that the next governor actually won the election."
An unprecedented statewide hand recount had put Gregoire ahead for the first time, by just a tiny fraction of 1 percent.
Rossi, a real estate agent and former state senator, won the initial tally last month by 261 votes, triggering an automatic machine recount. He won that count, too, by 42 votes.
While noting that he could contest the election, Rossi said a legal challenge could drag on for months. The better way to clear up the mess, he said, would be to ask lawmakers to pass a bill calling for a special election as soon as the state Legislature convenes in early January for the 2005 session.
Asked what he would do if Gregoire rebuffed his request, Rossi said his campaign would take a close look at election data it has requested from King County and go from there. GOP leaders have spent the last several days weighing whether to proceed with contesting the results.
After the election, more than 700 ballots surfaced in the heavily Democratic county, which includes Seattle. The additional votes allowed Gregoire to stretch her lead from just 10 votes in the hand recount to her triple-digit advantage. A legal challenge would have to be filed by Jan. 22, 10 days after Gregoire's scheduled inauguration.
Gov. Gary Locke said he strongly disagreed with Rossi's call for another election. "The people have voted, and all votes properly cast were counted," said Locke, a Democrat who's retiring after two terms.
Amid the weeks of uncertainty, both Gregoire and Rossi have maintained transition offices, appointing teams to work on a state budget, Cabinet appointments and an agenda for the upcoming Legislature.
Rossi had been using the title "governor-elect," and his family even toured the Governor's Mansion.
HisssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
What a flamingly hypocritical dimocrat. It takes her 3 recounts to win...and only with 3500 bogus votes, and then has the audacity to say no do-overs! So is she ready to concede then based upon her loss on the first count?
I think everyone is missing the main point in this whole thing. As of now we have figured out a way to make elections much more efficient. We simply do away with the bothersome, nasty old voters and just allow the King County election board to select a winner. This is cheaper, faster and is going to happen anyway.
Conservatives should be happy to see democrats searching for ways to make government smaller, and eliminating elections will go far toward that goal.
WHY is it the Rats NEVER concede a legit Election loss--
Why is it the Counties/ communities where the Jacki rule
NEver can count all the vote--But after they lose they
suddenly discover truckloads of uncounted ballots in
Democratic districts-that must be counted --so some Jennie
can give a speech about bringing the State together as a
mandate for governance when the freakin' commies have to
cheat Lie, and Steal an election to declare a victory.
AND WHY TO THE USESFUL IDIOTS IN THE RINO PARTY ALWAYS
ROLL OVER AND PRETEND IT'S OVER LETS GET ON WITH LIFE.
RIGHT NOW I DON'T LIKE EITHER POLITICAL PARTY BUT I WILL
NEVER EVER VOTE FOR A JACKASS.
This has been a game of showdown poker and King County has been allowed to pick through the deck to assemble a winning hand after the other players have shown their hands. In the future, all counties should hold their vote count until the very last minute which will prevent King County from manufacturing the necessary votes - King County will always win if they know what they have to beat.
Shades of Gore's thugs in FL in 2000. Doesn't anyone remember the "book" that the RATS have that gives them step by step procedures to take to keep recounting until they win?
That is one "UGLY" cheater. Republican Party in Washington needs to expose the "fraud" and then go public. Take out ads in the newspapers.
Ahem....I don't think we are "rolling over." Wait and see.
Not worth commenting on!!! The Pubbies in Washington state rolled over from day one!!! When you don't fight fire with fire, you usually come up short. This one is over!!!
Let the assorted little Marxists in Seattle cherish their theft; I daresay Mr. Rossi will be odds-on to oust Cant-do-anything-Well in 2006, if he chooses to.
"Doesn't anyone remember the "book" that the RATS have that gives them step by step procedures to take to keep recounting until they win?"
They obviously used every technique in the book in Washinton. We are somehow supposed to believe that recounting always changes the vote tally in favor of the Democrat. Florida 2000, Ohio 2004 and Washington 2004 are all examples.
RATS
Ohio didn't and will not change the result, unless you call a margin of .0058 significant.
Ohio went to Bush. Period. Step off.
Boy, I feel sorry for those Oregonians.
They can't get rid of those DemoRATS even when they defeat them at the polls!
From a new subscriber in MN... Don't give up... Fight on... Revote... Contest... Whatever it takes! Any concession only lends an aura of legitimacy to the RATs attempt to steal the election in Washington. The RATs rarely if ever urge concession on anything! I wish I knew why some wussy RINOs always seem to think that things will be different in the next election 2-4 years from now. Don't Concede! In the words of Winston Churchhill... Never, Never, Never, Never give up!
Ps. Sam Reed is a RINO-RAT who betrayed his oath of office by certifying this fraudulent manual recount. I sent him him two blistering emails on it.
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