Even former Gov Dan Evans endorses the ReVoteWA!!!
REVOTE: ENDORSEMENTS
Statement of Governor Dan Evans - December 31, 2004
revotewa.com
When Washington’s Democrat Senator Henry Jackson died unexpectedly in 1983, Republican Governor John Spellman appointed me to fill the seat. Due to recent changes in election laws, there was a heated debate about when the voters should be able to have their say as to who should remain in the seat for the full term. Democrats, obviously, wanted an election right away. I felt the voters were entitled to settle the issue at the earliest time possible.
In a special session of the Legislature, which the Democrats controlled, the Governor and I lobbied in favor of letting the voters speak as soon as possible. I don’t recall the Democrats complaining of cost, but I do remember they acted swiftly. A special primary election was held, and the whole matter was settled in just over 60 days from Scoop’s passing.
What, really, is different now?
Then, there was no question that the process used to appoint me to serve was done properly. There was, however, a political question of the true will of the voters, and for John Spellman and me, that became the driving principle. After the voters agreed with the Governor, no one ever questioned that I was the rightful representative of the people in that office. We all moved on to more important matters.
Now, there are many questions, but there is also the same principle: both the officeholder and the voters need to know the voters’ will has been done.
The fact is, we don’t know that now. We do know that in King County alone, a number of irregularities or questions exist. For example:
Elections workers “enhanced” more than 55,000 ballots, but contrary to state law, they permanently obscured the original marks on many, preventing a review of their decisions.
Poll workers fed some provisional ballots directly into counting machines, commingling them with legal ballots and circumventing the process of keeping them out of the count if they proved to be illegal.
There are numerous reports of military personnel either never receiving their ballots or getting them too late to vote.
King County has counted 3,539 more votes than they can provide voter’s names for.
The County “discovered” additional ballots to be counted on nine separate occasions. Questions exist about whether those ballots were always secure, as required by law.
These and the perception of other problems have created a real crisis of confidence about this election. A majority of voters do not accept the outcome of the hand count as legitimate. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to govern in this situation.
What should we do?
I say take a page from our own history and hold another election. And I’m not the only example. While I was Governor, an Adams County commissioner race was extremely close and questions were raised about the security of the ballots. The election was contested. Our Supreme Court decided the best way to resolve the contest was to vote again. And just this week, North Carolina decided to re-vote a statewide position.
Democracy may be messy, but its principles are why it still serves us best. If we screw up the implementation, let’s go back to the principles. The voters’ will is paramount. We must believe our elections are legitimate.
Some would have the contest ‘judged’ by our state legislature while others suggest it go to federal court. The first would only tie up Olympia when legislators should be taking care of business, while the second would likely turn into a Bush/Gore-like legal circus.
This legislature, like the one in 1983 that acted so swiftly, is controlled by Democrats. The democratic principles at stake are the same. The circumstances are very similar, with one major exception: they now hold the office at stake. Will they risk power for principle, as the Republicans did, and let the voters settle it? Or is power simply too important to them?
The right thing, a re-vote, is really very straightforward. There is a regularly scheduled election in early February in many jurisdictions around the state. If the Democrats were willing, they could pass this in a day and order the re-vote in time for the February election. And if “Governor” Gregoire were to sign the bill, she’d certainly boost her standing with the voters.
If you agree, please join me in the effort to make a re-vote happen. Go to revotewa.com and register your support for a new Governor’s election. Let’s work together to re-establish democratic integrity in Washington. |
