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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Copied and pasted from today’s (November 22, 2004)
Moscow-Pullman Daily News –<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Judge denies request that ballots not be counted <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Associated Press<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>SEATTLE</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> - A federal
judge has denied the Republican Party's bid to force one of the state's most
heavily Democratic counties to stop counting some ballots in the recount of the
extremely close race for governor. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>In a conference call Sunday with lawyers, U.S. District
Judge Marsha Pechman denied the state GOP's request for a temporary restraining
order barring King County from hand-counting ballots that optical scanning
machines reject because they can't be read electronically. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Republican state Chairman Chris Vance, noting that the
lawsuit continues, said Pechman's decision dealt with only one aspect of the
case. He said the decision was based on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>'s
assurance that all ballots in question were being kept separate from the others
so they can be reviewed if any mistakes are made. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>''We don't believe <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,''
Vance said. ''Our observers have watched. Ballots are being altered. And we
don't believe they are being set aside.'' <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt praised the
judge's ruling as ''a good decision.'' <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>''It's good for voters because it's consistent with the
standard we would like to see - that every vote be counted,'' Berendt said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>After all counties reported their tallies Wednesday,
Republican Dino Rossi led Democrat Christine Gregoire for governor by 261 votes
out of some 2.8 million ballots cast. State law requires a machine recount when
the margin is less than 2,000 votes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The recount began in a handful of counties Saturday,
continued Sunday and was expected to wrap up by Wednesday. So far, <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Klickitat</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>
in southwest <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>
has been the only one to post results, giving Rossi one more vote in results
released Saturday. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Pechman agreed to rule on the lawsuit filed Saturday on an
emergency basis. The case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Ricardo
Martinez on Monday morning, and Republicans were hoping to get an afternoon
hearing, Rossi spokeswoman <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Mary
Lane</st1:address></st1:Street> said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Republicans sued Secretary of State Sam Reed and the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>'s
election division on Saturday, arguing that ballots the machines can't count
should be excluded from the recount because they have to be checked by hand. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>''This constitutes a clear violation of hundreds of
thousands of <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State> voters' right to equal
protection under the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and Washington State Constitutions,''
the lawsuit stated. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>King</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></span></font></st1:place><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> voters use paper
ballots that are optically scanned. The Republicans' lawsuit said most of the
state's 39 counties use optical scanners while 14 use the punchcard system.
Rossi got a majority of votes in 11 of those punchcard counties, while Gregoire
led in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, the lawsuit said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>King County Elections Superintendent Bill Huennekens said
the recount is being handled scrupulously, with observers from each party
watching closely. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>''In an election this close, each side has an interest in
pressuring and advancing their issues and concerns, and we have a duty ... to
conduct the recount according to law and our long-standing established policies
and procedures,'' Huennekens said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Republicans complained Sunday that Huennekens refused to
send at least one ballot to a canvassing board for review, even though the
bubble next to Rossi's name was clearly filled in, with only a small mark next
to Gregoire's name. Huennekens said the mark actually was made in the Gregoire
bubble, which made it an ''overvote'' that can't be counted toward either
candidate's total. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>A former Democratic precinct committee officer in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mason</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>,
Huennekens scoffed at Republicans' suggestion that he was letting politics
taint the process. ''I'm not a PCO anymore and I conduct elections in a
nonpartisan manner according to state law,'' he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Among other complaints, Republicans said a box of ballots
that was supposed to be sealed was found unsealed and had 201 ballots - two
more than a receipt on the box said it should have had. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Dean Logan, King County's elections director, said such
discrepancies occur occasionally, and that in any such case, the box is set
aside and counted again to make sure it has the right number of ballots.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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