Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (90625)	12/14/2004 2:44:21 PM
From: Alan Smithee	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793743

Seattle PI Story on the decision. Supreme Court rejects Democrats' recount lawsuit By REBECCA COOK ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously turned down the Democratic Party's request that previously rejected absentee and provisional ballots be included in the hand recount of the governor's race. Republican Dino Rossi won the Nov. 2 election by 261 votes and held a 42-vote lead over Democrat Christine Gregoire after the first, machine recount. In a brief written opinion, the high court said that under Washington law, "ballots are to be 'retabulated' only if they have been previously counted or tallied" - thus excluding those that had been disqualified by county canvassing boards. The decision does not affect the 561 uncounted ballots in King County that were discovered Sunday to have been wrongfully rejected because of mistakes by election workers. Those ballots go to a canvassing board Wednesday for verification. King County is Gregoire's biggest stronghold, so those ballots could tip the delicate balance of the election her way. "The most likely outcome is Dino wins the hand recount, but we continue to worry about what's next in King County," said state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance. He praised the Supreme Court's ruling. "We thought all along we had the law on our side, but it's good to see it actually happen," Vance said. "It would have created complete and utter chaos if they had gone the other way." Officials with the Democratic Party and Gregoire's campaign did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. The state Democratic Party filed its lawsuit with the Supreme Court the same day it demanded a hand recount, which began last week. The lawsuit sought to force officials in Washington's 39 counties to reconsider ballots that had been rejected - most notably in King County. Some weren't counted, for example, because the voter's signature on a mail-in ballot didn't match the signature on file and the voter didn't correct the record by the deadline. Chief Justice Gerry Alexander wrote for the court, "We are mindful that King County rejected a higher percentage of signatures than did other counties, but the record before us does not establish the reason for that disparity, and it could be for factors other than the standard employed." The hand recount is expected to take until at least Dec. 22 to complete. The inauguration for governor is scheduled for Jan. 12.