From the Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2004 issue

News

Down With the Count

Both Sides Need to Calm Down and Let the Votes Fall Where They May

by Sandeep Kaushik

On Monday afternoon, the South Seattle facility where King County gubernatorial ballots were being recounted, a buzzing beehive of activity, doubled as the center of the state's political universe. In one room, despite a self-serving Republican lawsuit questioning the fairness of the recount, the tabulating went on with smooth efficiency. Dozens of elections staffers sat at tables working their way through stacks of ballots, enhancing those where voter intent was clear so they could be read by the optical scanning machines, and putting aside questionable ones for review by a three-person canvassing board.

In the next room, suspicious and sometimes jumpy election observers from the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties stood at plate-glass windows and watched the count proceed. Standing to one side, King County elections head Dean Logan patiently answered technical process questions from a steady stream of press. Outside in the parking lot, Democrats and Republicans held impromptu, back-to-back dueling press conferences before the TV cameras.

So was it a madhouse fraught with pro-Dem partisan shenanigans by liberal activist election officials, led by Logan, as the Republicans screechily contended?

Not at all. The conduct of Logan over the last two weeks, as he picked his way through partisan demands form both sides, has been exemplary. Republican efforts to win an emergency restraining order halting the recount have been rejected--twice. Their effort to throw out hand-enhanced ballots in King County--about 710 such ballots are in dispute--will get a hearing in U.S. District Court, but not until November 30, after the recount has been completed.

While the Republicans' intention in going to court was to stop the ballot enhancement process in King County, where Dem Chris Gregoire was crushing Republican Rossi by a 3 to 2 margin, they cast their lawsuit as an issue of fairness. Only counties that used optical scanning machines, like King County, were enhancing ballots, while punch-card counties were not, Republican Party chair Chris Vance said. "There is real concern about the practices going on in that building," he added. "King County is deliberately searching for these votes. We are not seeing that situation in any other county," Republican attorney Diane Tebelius (incorrectly) chimed in.

But their argument doesn't wash. Logan is no wild-eyed partisan. He took over King County Elections after serving as state elections director under Secretary of State Sam Reed--a moderate, fair-minded Republican known for his integrity. Reed's office has indicated that it has no problem with how Logan is conducting the recount in King County. And last week, it was the Democrats who sued, contending that Logan was unfairly protecting the names of more than 900 King County voters whose provisional ballots were not being counted. (Logan argued that federal law required him to keep the names private, but the Dems won in court, and Logan promptly released the names).

"I feel very confident with the fact that we've shown them we've not done the counting in a partisan manner," Logan said with respect to the Republican lawsuit. "Everything has been done in a transparent manner." As Logan points out, he has simply been following procedures set out in state law as he has overseen the recount. And a large number of other counties, including many won by Rossi, were utilizing the same procedures, including enhancing ballots.

Vance's attacks on the integrity of the King County recount may have been unfair, but Republicans did make one good point. "All we have heard from Christine Gregoire and the Democratic Party is that they intend to count this again and again until they get the result they want," Vance said at his Monday afternoon press conference.

On Tuesday afternoon, Dems signaled they will ask for a full hand-recount, which could take weeks and cost $750,000. But Vance is right: As of press time, the manual recount was not yet complete, but if Rossi does come out ahead (as appeared likely), it will be time for Gregoire to concede. Dems have been countering the Republican claims by contending the current recount is being conducted fairly. If Rossi wins it, they should abide by the outcome. It's only fair.

sandeep@thestranger.com