Posted on 01/12/2005 9:54:00 PM PST by Publius
bump for later read
Ping.
bttt
Please ping the chapter.
A question for my Democrat State Senator and Democrat State Legislator:
Can you tell me that if all legitimate ballots cast were perfectly counted that you are certain Christine won?
If yes then you are an dishonest, unprincipled partisan hack and if no then how dare you certify the results of an election that you don't even claim to know who won.
I'm no lawyer but this looks like a straight-forward analysis by this guy.
He's damn good. His brief is tightly argued, and as a non-lawyer, a tightly argued brief is the only kind I can understand.
Good analysis by the blogger. It would appear that the Republican case is very sturdy. Kudos to Washington Republicans and all others who aren't taking this fraud sitting down.
I would like to know the source for this (including especially that 50,000 number).
King County has admitted the 348 illegally-counted provisionals, and Dean Logan himself has said that much of the 180-vote discrepancy can probably be explained by "voters" who didn't sign the poll books, so I'm willing to assume that we're talking about several hundred there as well.
But so far, the ballot enhancement issue seems to be merely an allegation. That's not to say it isn't true, but if King County has admitted it, or if it has been conclusively proven, I'd like to know.
One of the key Democratic arguments against a revote is that the Washington State Constitution says that the governor must be elected with the legislature. Let's say that the Democrats are correct. To make a revote constitutional, wouldn't that simply require putting the legislative races of 2004 on the same revote ballot with the gubernatorial race?
If this is a correct legal argument and if I were a Democratic legislator, I'd be scared $hitless at the anger of the electorate come revote day. Rossi would not only win, he would bring in a solidly Republican legislature.
That should, of course, be "1800-vote discrepancy."
By the way, Washington GOP Chairman Chris Vance will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 2 pm in Spokane.
My bad. It was my editing (and my bifocals with a small font).
No, I was correcting my own post.
Pithy analysis, scathing implications.
Here is the letter I got from King County elections today:
Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns and giving us the opportunity to respond. Please give us a moment of your time to consider the facts, and not simply the political rhetoric.
We are not aware of any evidence of fraud or misconduct parting the administration of King County's election or recount processes. The rate of accuracy in any election in Washington State is approximately 99.9 percent. In a race this close, there is little room for even the smallest amount of human error; however, when errors do occur, election officials refer to our longstanding laws in place to ensure the errors are corrected in an open, fair and transparent manner. The record shows King County has done just that.
The standard by which King County Elections conducted this election is the same standard used in every county in accordance with state law.
Unlike Florida in 2000, Washington State has explicit election laws in place when human errors or discrepancies in the election process occur. This provides county canvassing boards and election officials' structured and consistent guidance to correct mistakes (RCW 29A.60.210).
When staff became aware that a group of ballots were incorrectly categorized and rejected, we researched and corrected the error, a decision which was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court (read the decision at http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.opindisp&docid=763992MAJ ).
We understand in a race this close, political rhetoric is at an all time high; however, it is important to step back from these accusations and look at the facts in a nonpartisan manner.
The facts show:
* All 39 counties added votes to their original election returns during the machine and manual recounts. This is expected. Five counties added ballots during the recount process, King County being one of those. The other four counties used the same state law to correct discrepancies and add previously uncounted ballots to their election returns. The additional 566 previously uncounted ballots included in the manual recount represents a .06% fraction of change in King County's election return.
* King County did not change the way it conducts elections along the way. In fact, the county resisted efforts by the political parties to change procedures. Twice the Washington State Supreme Court validated King County's election decisions in two separate cases filed by the State Democratic Party and the State Republican Party.
* King County military and overseas ballots were mailed on time and alternative faxed and e-mailed ballots were offered to voters whose ballots did not arrive in time. All voted ballots received prior to certification of the General Election were counted as long as the ballot was signed on or before November 2. In fact, only 16 ballots from the "military/overseas/Federal Write-in" grouping were received too late to be counted. For more information, please visit: http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/news/2005_01_05.htm
* The remaining difference in the number of votes cast versus the number of registrations credited with voting in the 2004 General Election is approximately 1,800 - an accuracy rate of 99.8% based on close to 900,000 ballots cast. This number is consistent with historic reconciliation rates for King County. In 2000 this number was 1,230.
* Election officials conduct every election in an open and transparent process and work together with the parties to hire poll workers and official party observers. To ensure questions were answered on time and in an efficient manner, election supervisors met with party observer representatives throughout the day and every night during the recount to address any questions or concerns.
* With nearly 900,000 ballots cast, King County issued and counted more ballots than almost any other jurisdiction in the country, second only to Los Angeles County, California.
We welcome your feedback and appreciate the opportunity to provide additional information in response to your concerns.
Thank you,
King County Records, Elections & Licensing Services Division
King County Admin. Bldg., #553
500 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(It's late. I'm getting punchy.)
BTTT. The dead voter issue is something I'd like to see some follow-up on. Perhaps that may not be a major factor, but damn, someone submitted those votes and needs to be called on the carpet. That trail leads back to who gave the marching orders. Omerta is breaking
Yes, it's full of pith. (And as any FReeper can tell, I'm thoroughly pithed off at this whole mess.)
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