Posted on 01/04/2005 12:37:46 AM PST by nickcarraway
GOP calls on counties to explain a discrepancy of nearly 8,500
Thousands of "mystery voters" in the counties of King, Pierce, Snohomish, Clark and Kitsap appear to be Republican Dino Rossi's best prospect for challenging the legitimacy of the closest and most contentious gubernatorial election in the state's history.
The state Republican Party yesterday called on county election officials to explain what the GOP says is a nearly 8,500-vote discrepancy between county vote tallies and the number of people credited with actually voting in the election.
"People ask me what would fraud look like? It would look like this," said state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance.
County auditors and election officials say Republicans have based their conclusions on there being many more votes than voters on preliminary lists, and they say much of the deviation would be accounted for as voter lists are updated.
But they do not dispute that the numbers don't add up.
And most agree they never will.
"At the end of this, it's never going to match one to one given the volume," said Dean Logan, elections director of King County, which counted about 900,000 votes.
The current number is "larger than I'm comfortable with," Logan said. But based on historical data, he expects the reconciled lists to include 1,000 to 1,500 more votes than voters accounted for even after the lists are reconciled.
Logan said those unaccounted-for votes would likely be from military voters who cast federal write-in ballots and the 76 people in King County who participate in the Address Confidentiality Program.
"I think this is sort of the issue du jour," Logan said. "There has been no evidence of any voter fraud. The differences on the lists are not, in and of themselves, indication that there was."
Vance said that's outrageous.
"You simply can't have more votes counted than you have voters," Vance said. "The counties have to come up with a plausible explanation for this and if they don't this election is invalid on its face."
And Secretary of State Sam Reed again said that this issue could be used to contest the election.
Throughout the process, both parties have scrutinized even the smallest inconsistencies.
Democrat Christine Gregoire became governor-elect when a hand recount of nearly 2.9 million votes put her ahead of Rossi by 129 votes. Rossi had come out 261 votes ahead after the first machine count and 42 votes ahead after the mandatory mechanical recount.
Last week Republicans demanded that King County explain how its tally of votes counted exceeded the number of people listed as voting by 3,539. This week they found similar disparities in other populous counties.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said he thinks that 553 of the 1,005 vote-to-voter discrepancy there will be accounted for when the list of inactive voters -- those who have not participated in recent elections -- is reconciled with those who did in fact turn out in November.
But he has no plans to try to account for 452 extra poll, absentee and provisional votes.
"It would be a huge task," Kimsey said. "You are looking through 121,679 absentee ballots, affidavit envelopes and through poll books where 50,598 voters cast their ballots.
"The controls that are in place in the election process ensure that only registered voters are going to receive a ballot. While I understand the concern that comes from seeing two different numbers, the controls are at the front end."
Republicans contend that serious questions arise when results are certified before the voter lists are reconciled with the number of votes counted.
The counties say they don't because law does not require it.
Reed said that in each election, counties have a statutory requirement to record the names of all voters who cast ballots. He said that reconciling that list with the list of votes cast is an important quality-control measure.
Significant discrepancies could be of grave concern, he said.
"This is an issue that could potentially be used to contest the election," Reed said. "You'd have to make the point to the judge that it actually made a difference."
Carolyn Diepenbrock, Snohomish County elections manager, said the deviation in her lists is 388, not the more than 1,700 as the Republican's contend.
"We believe that the majority of those 388 are poll voters who signed in the poll book but actually voted a provisional ballot," Diepenbrock said.
She said the county would likely be able to update records as early as tomorrow.
King County officials said they would release completed lists Friday.
Pat McCarthy, Pierce County auditor, said she couldn't say how much the two lists deviated but she knows it's by less than the 1,640 Republicans contend.
She said that if the number were that big "it would have been a problem."
Rossi's spokeswoman Mary Lane said there's no excuse for certifying the election before these lists are reconciled. Otherwise, "we can't be certain that the number they certified is valid," Lane said.
"If someone wanted to commit voter fraud, this is one of the ways they could do it. When you have a number this huge, in an election this close, we need to have the answers and the counties need to provide those answers -- and the onus is on them right now."
One high-profile Republican, former Gov. Dan Evans, joined the chorus calling for a new election with an online essay published Friday.
"Democracy may be messy, but its principles are why it still serves us best," Evans wrote for the Web site www.revotewa.com. "If we screw up the implementation, let's go back to the principles. The voters' will is paramount."
He proposed a special election next month. Yesterday, Evans said his appetite for a revote depends heavily on how King County answers questions about the 3,500-vote difference between voter rolls and certified ballots.
"If they can explain that and there are no other significant errors, in spite of the fact of a close election, it's time to say 'OK, we'll accept it,' " Evans said.
How do you figure?
You're not actually asserting that Republicans are "owed" votes, are you? Because that would be laughable and would make you look foolish. And we certainly don't want that.
They must have poured some "Miracle Grow" on those ballots! They seem to be multiplying day by day! LOL!
**Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said he thinks that 553 of the 1,005 vote-to-voter discrepancy there will be accounted for when the list of inactive voters -- those who have not participated in recent elections -- is reconciled with those who did in fact turn out in November.
But he has no plans to try to account for 452 extra poll, absentee and provisional votes.**
Time to elect a new auditor!
The Secretary of State for WA is a Republican who others on these threads have vouched for as a person of honor and integrity. But if that is so, I have to ask, why, in the face of this strong evidence of a fraudulent election, did he certify the results? Is it simply a case of being a robot, a rubber stamp, where one has to simply bend over and certify a patently fraudulent election? Is there not any personal integrity involved in the decision to affix one's signature to a document that certifies a fraudulent election as being valid?
I don't buy the "it's the law, he had no choice" argument. Because he could have resigned his office in protest, to show that he would not be a willing participant in the blatant attempt to defraud the citizens of his state. That would take some measure of courage and a willingness to give up the office one has fought an election battle to attain, and, as an outsider, one could correctly argue that it's easy for me to tell someone else what they should give up. But there comes a time when, one way or another, we are all called upon to make the decision as to which master we are going to serve. Choosing the way of courage and moral responsibility and doing the right thing is often difficult when it's easier just to roll over for the tyrant. But it is a path that leaders often must tread.
Actually, Sanchez IS Loretta's maiden name. Her married name was "Brixey", which she conveniently dropped for obvious reasons when she first ran for Congress.
I'd still trade Clark County for Multnomah County! At least Washingtonians voted to reduce their car license fees a few years ago. Not as low as Oregon, of course, but then the citizens here keep boasting about the low rates here and about not having a sales tax, paying no attention to the income tax rates and property taxes. The "sin taxes" are also high here.
Some days I think about moving to Tonopah, Nevada. Not because I want to live there, especially, but because it would be cheap and I like to say the name, "Tonopah". Which I have probably misspelled.
Has the gubernatorial inauguration been postponed in Washington State? I'm beginning to wonder if Dino Rossi is really being smart to push this like he is.
Big Ben for Mayor! Time for a real man at the helm to fix the 'burgh. Enough of the girlie-man, metrosexual, sMurphy!
You do what you gotta do!!
Knowing Loretta's penchant for creating fictional voters, can you be sure this "Brixey" character is real? This Sanchez is the beneficiary of one of the more remarkable recent frauds.
In the Mexican milieu she has it easy, as recent hispanic immigrants are well known for playing fast and loose with ID.
Thank you for your e-mail about the Washington governor's race. Like you, I am very frustrated with the inconsistencies and mistakes we've seen in this election. Votes in some counties were given more weight than others, ballots were lost, found and enhanced, and -- perhaps worst of all -- many members of our military serving oversees received their ballots too late to be counted.
While we as lawmakers can fix many of these problems for the future, we cannot change the fact that we will really never be able to accurately determine who really won this election. Not only could this problem-plagued process harm a new governor's ability to lead, it has seriously undermined many people's confidence in our electoral process.
As your legislator, here is what I can do to help bring some fairness to this race and restore confidence in its outcome. On Jan. 11, the Legislature will be asked to ratify the results of the Nov. 2004 election. If these troubling issues stand unresolved on that day, I believe it would be wise to defer ratification of the governor's race. That would then clear the way to conduct a new election as soon as possible.
These are serious actions that the Legislature should not take lightly. But this is a very serious issue, and one that has caused many people to question the legitimacy of our voting system. Under the circumstances, a new election seems to be the only way to ensure a credible outcome of this race and restore confidence with citizens.
Please keep in mind that Democrats will be under tremendous pressure to vote against such a move. Since that party currently controls both the state House of Representatives and the Senate, it may be very difficult to deny ratification and get a new election. Tremendous public outpouring of support for the idea of a re-vote, however, could make the difference.
Thank you again for your message. I encourage you to stay involved with this issue. As a citizen, you can contact other lawmakers, write letters to the editor, and make your voice heard. I am aware that there is a petition going around, if you are interested. The address is: www.revotewa.com.
Please contact me if I can be of further assistance to you this legislative session. I appreciate your feedback.
CARY CONDOTTA 12th District Representative P.O. Box 40600 Olympia, WA 98504-0600 (360) 786-7954
Thanks for the reply.
Governor Rossi and the people of Washington State must fight this coup d'etat.
bttt
"This is an issue that could potentially be used to contest the election," Reed said.
"Play it again, Sam."
That is why that crooked shyster and her gang of democrat party criminals will fight tooth and nail to keep their coup d'etat's momentum going. They will do everything under their power to allow an honest, free election in Washington State.
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