Your state, Washington, has an interesting law that make cheating very favorable. Specifically, if the election is within a small %age (I do not know the exact number but like .5%), then it is an automatic recount. If, after the recount, it is still within a certain %age, then it is recounted again, automatically. After the second recount the results are final and no further requests for recounts will be accepted.
Gregoire lost the election by a few thousand votes resulting in an automatic recount, with some lost ballots retrieved.
Gregoire lost the recount but was within margin requiring an automatic recount and more lost ballots retrieved. Gregoire won with no recounts possible.
very handy.
I remember it well. After Rossi won twice with a diminishing number of votes each time the Demoncrats demanded a hand recount. I don’t remember the vote total after the machine recounts but the last one was vey close. I wrote down my prediction after the last recount, Gregoire winning by 192 votes. The final tally had her winning by 129.