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Friday, December 31, 2004
Contesting the election: How it would likely work
If Dino Rossi and the Republicans contest the governor's election, they'll be sailing into uncharted waters.
While there are examples, contested elections in Washington are a rarity, said John Pearson, state deputy director of elections for the Secretary of State's Office.
"We don't have a lot of experience with contested elections in this state," Pearson said. "We do have some in local races, but I can't recall any contested election of a statewide office, such as governor."
Under state law, any registered voter in Washington can contest the result of an election in court.
Such cases must be based on several grounds identified by the law, such as misconduct on the part of election workers; the ineligibility of a candidate to hold office; or the casting of illegal votes.
A court could dismiss the challenge if it found it was baseless, or "set the election aside," in other words, toss it out. If a court were to set the election aside, it could choose the winner, call for a new election or send the matter to the Legislature (something the Republicans would likely dread because it is controlled by Democrats).
An election contest must be filed no later than 10 days after the Legislature issues the certificate of election and the new governor is inaugurated. Since Democrat Christine Gregoire will likely be sworn into office on Jan. 12, the election would have to be formally contested by Jan. 22.
In recent history, a few local races have been contested. In 1975, a new election was ordered after a county commission race in Adams County was contested on the basis that ballots had been tampered with.
And in 1999, a Benton County voter contested the results of a county port commissioner's race, arguing that the winning candidate did not legally reside in the district she'd sought to represent. Though the results of that election were first set aside, the state Supreme Court ultimately reversed that decision.
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