Dec 21, 2004
Governor's Race Goes to Supreme Court, but the Saga Will Continue
By Rebecca Cook
Associated Press Writer


OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A busy day beckons in Washington state Wednesday, with the state Supreme Court hearing arguments on the extremely close governor's race and officials in a key county expected to finish their hand recount.

But whatever happens, the drama will probably not be the end of the epic 2004 governor's election - just the beginning of a new chapter.

If Republican Dino Rossi loses the third count - after winning the first two - he may challenge the election in court. Republicans are already preparing for a possible legal challenge.

Democrat Christine Gregoire has promised to concede if she loses the recount. But on Tuesday her spokesman said if the Democrats lose the state Supreme Court case she may appeal to the state Legislature or challenge the election under state law.

"If we're in that situation we'll talk about it," Gregoire spokesman Morton Brilliant said. "Throwing out ballots until you win is not the way to become governor."

The question before the state Supreme Court is whether King County should be allowed to add to the recount 700-plus ballots that weren't counted originally because of mistakes made by county election workers.

Rossi won the election by 261 votes, and won a machine recount by 42 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast. Democrats paid for a hand recount, which currently has Rossi 49 votes ahead of Gregoire.

King County's recount of 900,000 ballots could flip the results, even without the extra 723 newly discovered ballots - potentially making the state Supreme Court case moot.

But if Rossi is ahead after King County reports on Wednesday, the Supreme Court's decision will be very important. Though the 723 ballots haven't been counted, it's believed they would give Gregoire a boost larger than the current 49-vote margin.

A Pierce County judge on Friday granted the state Republican Party's motion for a temporary restraining order to stop King County from counting those newly discovered ballots. King County, the state Democratic Party and the Secretary of State appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.

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.

About 350 people gathered Tuesday in front of the Supreme Court to show support for Rossi at a rally sponsored by KVI-AM, a conservative talk-radio station.

The crowd chanted "No new votes!" and "No more fraud!" They held signs saying "Welcome to Ukraine" and wore orange, a tribute to the signature color of demonstrators in Ukraine who protested a fraud-marred election there.

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On the Net:

Recount results: http://www.vote.wa.gov

Supreme Court: http://www.courts.wa.gov

AP-ES-12-21-04 2219EST

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBN7BWX03E.html

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