Outcome of Washington's governor race should reflect will of all

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By Booth and Cynthia Gardner
Special to The Times

Every morning on the ferry, we hear from people struggling with the wisdom of another recount in the governor's race. The question they pose is "Why?" The legal answer is simple: There's a longstanding law in this state that provides that if election results are within 150 votes, the trailing party can elect to call for another tally using a manual recounting procedure.

This law also allows, at the trailing party's discretion, for the recount to be conducted only in selective counties. It speaks volumes about the integrity of Chris Gregoire that she has insisted on footing the bill for a manual recount of all votes cast throughout the entire state — not just in those counties where she has the statistically highest chance of overcoming Dino Rossi.

Of course, statistics and probability may not mean much in a race this close. After all, less than a single vote per legislative district could change the outcome. To put that in perspective, during the first machine recount, more than 10,000 votes were recorded differently than in the initial count. Surely, given the circumstances, making absolutely sure every legal vote is included in the count and accurately reflects the voter's intent is worth a few more weeks.

Do outcomes really change in a hand recount? You bet they do. In our own state's recent history, not one, but two legislative races have been turned around. Counting every vote does matter!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002112173_booth08.html

[knowbody0]

1. right wing radio

would be screaming this were the tides turned. i love what is happening here. cheers!