Judge to Hear GOP’s Challenge of Washington Governor’s Race
A judge will hear arguments today on whether the results of Washington’s gubernatorial race should be thrown out and a new election held.
Republican candidate Dino Rossi and the state GOP are challenging the election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, saying the results were tainted by errors and illegal votes.
Democrats are defending the results, saying Rossi doesn’t have enough proof to nullify the election and that a revote would be unconstitutional.
Gregoire, who took office last month, won by 129 votes after a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots. Rossi narrowly won the original count and captured a machine recount. But the third and final count flipped the victory to Gregoire.
The Democrats have asked that the GOP’s challenge be dismissed. One of their arguments is that election challenges should be handled by the Legislature, not the courts. Republicans disagree.
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