[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

I didn't watch the returns, but I do remember that Slade was in the lead going into the absentee ballot count. Because convention wisdom says absentees usually favor the Republican, I figured he'd squeak by, but I thought it was a big batch of King County absentees that put Cantvotewell over the top. I wasn't aware of her winning absentees in counties that she lost at the polling booths. My first impression is that massive vote fraud with our absentee ballots would take a lot of effort.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Take Whatcom County where the county clerk is in liberal Bellingham. Whatcom County went something like 55% for Slade over all but 60% of the final batch of absentee's went for Maria. I have no inside info but records exist for who voted and for who requested absentee ballots. It might be possible to slip in ballots supposedly representing an absentee voter whose ballot has not showed up or mark voters who didn’t show up at the polling place as having requested an absentee ballot. Whatcom County was not the only county to show similar results but it is the one I remember.