The Republicans Have Backbone, Challenge Stolen Election in Court

Republican Dino Rossi and the Washington State Republican Party are succeeding in keeping issues of fraud and incompetence top of the headlines. This is critical because, as I've pointed out, once Democrat election-thief Christine Gregoire is "inaugurated" on Wednesday, it may be too late in the eyes of the public to undo her dubious "victory" built on corruption.

So acting fast was essential and that's what Rossi, Chairman Chris Vance and the state party have done:


(Seattle Times)
Republican Dino Rossi filed a sweeping lawsuit today challenging Democrat Christine Gregoire's election as governor.

"It is clear this election is a mess," Rossi said this afternoon as he announced the lawsuit in Bellevue.

Rossi and the state Republican Party say a series of problems in King County, as well as evidence that votes were cast under the names of dead people and felons means a judge should throw out the Nov. 2 election and call for a new one.

"The counties have counted a huge number of invalid and illegal votes," said attorney Harry Korrell.

The suit was filed in Chelan County Superior Court.

Chelan County is a great place to file the suit, it was necessary to be far away from the Puget Sound Area in order to get a fair hearing. Former Senator Slade Gorton, a moderate Republican with a substantial legal background, spells out its success probability here:

Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, a key Rossi advisor, said it is not necessary to show fraud, only enough errors that puts the true outcome of the race in doubt.

"The number of votes cast questionably, illegally or mistakenly is vastly in excess of the 129 vote margin by which this election has been certified.," Gorton said.

Gorton said this week he was initially skeptical that a lawsuit could succeed. Votes by dead people and felons likely wouldn't have been enough to unseat Gregoire, he advised Rossi's team.

"Earlier this week when it looked like that was all there was, I said, 'Fine, go ahead, but you don't have an awful lot,'. " Gorton said.

He was much more optimistic after the discovery this week that an unknown number, perhaps hundreds, of provisional ballots were improperly fed into voting machines on Election Day.

Two private suits have been filed by individuals directly with the Washington State Supreme Court. Their issues are more specific and could be just as interesting to watch. Any resident can file an election challenge, it does not have to be done by political parties or candidates.