If everyone would just calm down, we’ll all be fine. We are having a historic gubernatorial contest, the closest in the nation’s modern history, with 42 votes separating Republican Dino Rossi and Democrat Christine Gregoire. Watch it and enjoy. On Friday, Dec. 3, after much hand- wringing by nervous editorial pages, much fulminating by Republican hypocrites, and some clever PR by Gregoire (“Count them all or not at all!”), the state Democratic Party came up with the necessary $730,000 deposit toward the cost of a statewide, hand recount of the 2,883,342 votes found so far. Sometime around Dec. 23, this count will be completed, but there already is a legal battle under way, with Democrats seeking state Supreme Court intervention in deciding what ballots to include and which to reject. Republicans, meanwhile, are seeking to block that litigation, arguing that it’s simply a Democratic plot to overturn the results. (Which, of course, is true.) Says a GOP brief filed Tuesday, Dec. 7: “To accomplish this goal, petitioners make allegations of wrongdoing against various county auditors and the secretary of state and criticize manual recount guidelines that are in substance the same as the previous machine recount guidelines to which they did not object. Since Christine Gregoire did not win the machine recount, apparently ‘new ballots’ are necessary so she might win the final hand recount.” This might be the appropriate moment to point out that among the enduring fairy tales of the 2004 election is the Republicans’ claim that they wouldn’t seek a re-recount if Rossi, instead of Gregoire, had “lost.” Sure, and Dixy Lee “Nuclear” Ray was a liberal. Who more than Republicans appreciate the benefit of preventing a recount? George W. Bush was ushered into the White House by a U.S. Supreme Court that said it was illegal to precisely count every ballot in Florida.
Without the first Washington recount, the gubernatorial vote would have officially left Rossi a winner by 261, which wasn’t true; now the difference is 42. Is that true? Does every vote count or not? What’s the problem with a third and final tally, as provided by law, especially when the Dems are paying for it with a million-dollar economic boost to the state? If disputed ballots and processes end up in court, so be it. This is why we have election laws. They are being tested, prodded, and pushed to their limit, and so far they are holding up. If it takes a few court rulings to clarify some votes or toss out others, so much the better. That’s what this marvelously haywire election system has brought upon itself. The ongoing hand recount is supposedly less reliable than one done by machines because humans tire and make mistakes. Attention, hand-wringing county auditors: Bring coffee, offer breaks, change workers—it’s your job, deal with it. (And ask yourself: If your vaunted machines were really trustworthy, would we be in this mess?) One more thing: Don’t worry about an arbitrary date on a calendar. If a winner hasn’t been decided by the day Gov. Gary Locke leaves office next month, we promise, you won’t notice the difference. GEORGE HOWLAND JR. AND RICK ANDERSON
