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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>From today’s (December 9, 2004) Spokesman Review –<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'>Court case may change governor's race results <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'>Justices to decide rules for recounting disputed ballots in
close <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place>
contest<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'>Richard Roesler<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Staff writer<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>December 9, 2004<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'>OLYMPIA</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> – As
election officials across the state tally millions of ballots in the razor-thin
governor's race, election lawyers are girding for battle before the state's
high court.<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 state Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear arguments
next week over whether county election officials should be forced to reconsider
ballots ruled invalid during the first two tallies. The hearing is slated for
Monday at 1:30 p.m. and will be carried live on TVW television, the state
public-affairs network.<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 … may commence under the rules and
procedures now in place, subject to later order by the court," Chief
Justice Gerry Alexander wrote in the court's two-page order Wednesday.<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'>So it did. This third – and presumably final –
count in the race started Wednesday in six counties. The remaining 33 begin
their recounts today. Only one county – the one with the fewest ballots
to count – reported results Wednesday. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Garfield</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>'s
tally stood unchanged: 428 votes for Democrat Christine Gregoire, 840 for
Republican Dino Rossi, and 25 for the rarely mentioned third candidate in the
race, Libertarian Ruth Bennett.<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'>But things weren't going quite so smoothly elsewhere. Benton
County Auditor Bobbie Gagner said that Day One of what's expected to be a
three-day recount there turned up a few "minor discrepancies." They
include punchcards that were punched more than once or were marked with Xs
instead of being punched. Fewer than five such ballots have been found so far,
she 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'> <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 the court filings, Democrats – whose candidate,
Gregoire, is 42 votes behind – say that election procedures and deadlines
varied from county to county in this election. They want uniform standards for
this round of counting.<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, backing Governor-elect Rossi, say that
Democrats are simply trying to change the rules of a game that they've so far
lost twice.<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'>Watching all this maneuvering closely is Erin Kolkmeyer, a
25-year-old student at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Washington</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pullman</st1:place></st1:City>. She
knows firsthand that the state's election system doesn't always work as well as
it's supposed to.<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'>Kolkmeyer, a senior studying to become a teacher, has sworn
in a court affidavit that she registered to vote in September, when she got a <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State> driver's
license. But when she went to her polling place in a local Presbyterian church,
election workers said they had no record for her. She was handed a
"provisional ballot," and was told it would be counted as soon as
they confirmed that she was, in fact, registered.<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'>"They said not to worry. So I didn't," she 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'>A week ago, she got a "Dear Voter" letter from the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Whitman</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> auditor. Kolkmeyer's ballot
hadn't counted, the letter said, because she never registered.<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'>"I was furious. I really was," said Kolkmeyer.
She'd volunteered throughout the campaign season for Democrats, putting up
signs and even registering other people to vote from a booth at the county
fair.<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 a lot of checking, she got a call from a woman at the
secretary of state's office. For some reason, Kolkmeyer's registration never
made it to the county elections office.<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'>"She said I was a victim of the system, and that mine
had simply been lost in the shuffle," Kolkmeyer said. "I understand,
but still, that's their job. I would have offered to help if I knew they were
having that much trouble."<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'>She had voted – or tried to – for Gregoire.<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 would just feel better if it was 41 votes, not
42," she said. "I just want my vote to be in the tally. I didn't want
to start a big ruckus. But I voted."<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'>Without a record of her registration, it will likely be
difficult, at best, to resuscitate her vote. But Democrats say that thousands
of ballots across the state were ruled invalid because of arbitrary deadlines
set by local county auditors, or because some counties checked registration
signatures closely. Others apparently didn't bother to check at all.<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'>"Every voter has a fundamental and equal right to have
his or her ballot fairly and accurately counted," Democratic attorneys
wrote in their brief to the Supreme Court this week. "… Prior errors
and inconsistencies in the initial canvassing and machine recount of ballots
must be reviewed and corrected."<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'>By reviewing all those rejected ballots, Democrats hope to
pick up at least 42 votes for Gregoire.<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 say that it's too late to change the rules.<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 votes have been counted and recounted," their
attorneys wrote. "Dino Rossi is the Governor-Elect of the state of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>." Trying
to change the rules five weeks after Election Day, they say, would "throw <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>'s election
system into pure chaos for this election and every close election to
come."<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'>Secretary of State Sam Reed – also a Republican
– makes a similar argument. Citing the famous 2000 Bush v. Gore
presidential election case, Reed's lawyers say that election rules cannot be
changed after the election takes place. A "recount," they say, is
precisely that – a re-counting of the same ballots that were counted the
first time. The Democrats' real complaint, Reed's lawyer say, is that they
disagree with the decisions of some county election boards when they "canvassed"
the ballots, deciding which ones were valid. Those individual decisions could
have been challenged at the time, the lawyers say, not as part of a wholesale
reconsideration of all potential ballots statewide.<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'>Reed – like a lot of election officials – was
hoping that the court would hear the case today, rather than waiting until
Monday.<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'>"But they did tell us we can go ahead with the
recount," he said in an interview. "I view that as a good sign."<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'>If the court rules for the Democrats, Reed said, it would
likely delay the results or perhaps even force a fourth count in the race. All
counties are now hoping to be done counting by Dec. 22.<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'>Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton was also surprised the
hearing won't take place until Monday. As more than a dozen workers sorted
ballots in a secured room behind her, <st1:City w:st="on">Dalton</st1:City>
said <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spokane</st1:place></st1:City>
will just continue the process as planned.<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'>"I just hope that the court is timely" with a
ruling after the arguments, she 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><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Spokane</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> will start
counting the votes for the different gubernatorial candidates on Friday. It
will be finished "a couple of days after the court order, whatever it
is," <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dalton</st1:place></st1:City>
said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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