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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Looks like a “mandate” to me. Wouldn’t you
say so, George?<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'>From today’s (December 22, 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'>Gregoire by 8, Democrats say <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'>Party head says <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> recount adds up to
win over Rossi, but legal challenges loom<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'>Rebecca Cook<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'>December 22, 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><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>OLYMPIA – Preliminary recount results give Democrat
Christine Gregoire an eight-vote victory statewide in the governor's race, the
head of the state Democratic Party said late Tuesday after crunching recount
data supplied by King County.<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'>Neither <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> nor the state
Republican Party could confirm the hand recount results on Tuesday night. <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 if the Democrats' analysis is correct, the Democrat
stronghold of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> has handed
Gregoire a stunning reversal of fortune.<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 Dino Rossi won the first count by 261 votes and
won a machine recount by 42 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast. <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'>, the state's
largest, is the last to finish its hand recount.<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're confident Christine Gregoire has been elected the
governor of the state of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>,"
Berendt said. "I believe Dino Rossi should concede."<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'>Berendt and Democratic party officials concluded that
Gregoire would win by a razor-thin margin after crunching numbers supplied by <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
The county has finished recounting its 900,000 ballots, but election officials
said they still need to reconcile differences in the precinct totals.<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 are not releasing our results until (today) at 3:30
p.m.," said King County Elections spokeswoman Bobbie Egan, who confirmed
that both parties received the recount data on Tuesday.<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'>Rossi spokeswoman <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Mary
Lane</st1:address></st1:Street> said Republicans are looking at the data also
but have not drawn any conclusions.<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 just too close to call," Lane 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'>Rossi has said he may challenge the election results in
court if he loses the hand recount after winning the first two counts.<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 will keep our options open," Lane said earlier
Tuesday.<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 law allows any registered voter to contest the
election if he or she believes there were mistakes in how the votes were
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'>No one ever expected the election to be this close.<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'>Gregoire, 57, a three-term attorney general, was the
favorite going into the election against Rossi, 45, a real estate agent and
former state senator. But as the election results came in, followed by the
recount results, it became clear that Rossi's message of change had struck a
chord with independent voters.<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'>Berendt said Democrats will continue to fight to allow <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
to include 723 newly discovered ballots in the recount. The state Supreme Court
is scheduled to hear arguments in a lawsuit over those ballots this morning.<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 question before the court is whether or not <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
should be allowed to add ballots to the recount even though they weren't
included in the first two counts because of mistakes made by county election
workers.<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 <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Pierce</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> judge on Friday granted the state Republican
Party's motion for a temporary restraining order to stop <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
from counting those newly discovered ballots. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,
the state Democratic Party and the secretary of state appealed the case to the
state Supreme 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'>Unless the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Pierce</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> order is reversed,
the state Democratic Party's brief says, "Voters will be disenfranchised
through no fault of their own."<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 Republicans' brief argues the real harm will come if the
court allows <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> to include those
newly discovered ballots in the recount so long after the election: "To
achieve finality, the Legislature drew a line and Petitioners again ask this
court to erase it."<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'>Seven justices will hear the case. Three of the regular nine
justices are out of town on previously scheduled trips, and one temporary judge
will join the 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'>About 350 people gathered Tuesday to show support for Rossi
in front of the Supreme Court at a rally sponsored by KVI, a conservative
talk-radio station.<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 crowd chanted, "No more fraud!" They held
signs saying "Welcome to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Ukraine</st1:country-region>"
and wore orange, a tribute to the signature color of demonstrators in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ukraine</st1:place></st1:country-region> who
protested a fraud-marred election there.<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 need to end it here. This is becoming really
ridiculous," said Shelley Weber of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Olympia</st1:place></st1:City>,
a part-time school district worker who wore an orange hunting vest and carried
a Republican Party flag. But she said Rossi should sue if he loses the third
vote count.<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'>"He has a good case, and he needs to fight for what is
right," Weber 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 friend stopped to tell Weber the latest <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State> election joke:<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'>"Knock, knock."<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'>"Who's there?"<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'>"Orange."<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'>"Orange who?"<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'>"Orange we done yet?"<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'>With legal challenges looming, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place> may be far from done with its
governor's election.<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'>Take care,<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'>Tom “If every vote counts, count every vote”
Hansen<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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