Posted on 03/02/2005 8:56:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge
OLYMPIA, Wash. - A task force has found that public trust in Washington state's election system was damaged by last year's tight gubernatorial race that took two months to resolve, and it recommended a package of reforms.
The task force, created by Gov. Christine Gregoire in the wake of her razor-thin victory, recommended moving the primary date to earlier in the year, requiring voter identification at the polls, and color-coding provisional ballots so they won't be counted before voters' registration is confirmed.
In a 23-page report obtained by The Associated Press, the task force declared that imperfections and mistakes in the election system shook public confidence and were "clearly unacceptable."
Holding primaries a month earlier would give counties more time to distribute general election ballots. The task force also recommended mandatory audits of local election systems by the secretary of state's office and improving voter registration records.
The report was scheduled for release at a news conference with Gregoire in Olympia on Thursday.
The issue of reform jumped quickly to the forefront after Gregoire, a Democrat, won the governor's race by 129 votes after a hand recount of nearly 2.9 million ballots from the Nov. 2 election. The result was not certified until Dec. 30.
Supporters of Republican opponent Dino Rossi — who led after two earlier tallies — have gone to court seeking to void the results, alleging widespread problems and voting irregularities, including illegal votes cast by felons and dead people, and provisional ballots that were illegally tallied without being properly checked.
The task force, co-chaired by Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, and former state Sen. Betti Sheldon, a Democrat, held five public hearings around the state in recent weeks.
"No way are we going to excuse (problems) away or whitewash the situation," Reed said Wednesday. "There were very serious problems. Illegal votes are unacceptable."
The report comes as the state Senate gets ready to vote on several election reform bills, including some that address the task force's recommendations.
Gregoire, who was in Washington, D.C. at a meeting of the National Governors Association, said in a statement that the recommendations "are timely and have great merit."
fyi
Executive Director Of Milwaukee Election Commission Resigns
"...Artison came under fire after the Nov. 2 election because the Election Commission could not verify the addresses of about 10,000 voters..."
Federal investigators join probe into Milwaukee voting problems
"...The Milwaukee County district attorney, the U.S. attorney and Milwaukee police joined the FBI in investigating reports of fake names and addresses for voters, double-voting and inaccurate voter registration lists on Election Day..."
Thanks for the Wisconsin info.
Is President Bush still ahead in Ohio? ;-)
ping. YEAH, I'll just BET they are trying to get their little recommendations out before Bob Williams gets his out tomorrow.....today, Williams talked about getting a grand jury to take a look at what's going on here......and the band plays on.....
Hint to AP....it ain't resolved yet! Stay tuned.
However vote fraud is definitely not. Every vote should count, especially when there are thousands of more votes then voters in Democrat heavy counties.
Please pass me the stupid stick, I need to hit my head a few dozen times more to be dumb enough to swallow this load of bleep.
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