Will Sam Reed Face a Recall Over WA Gov Mess?

New tonight:

(AP)— A petition to recall Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed has been filed with Reed's office, accusing him of mishandling the recounts in the contested governor's race.

The petition was filed Wednesday by Martin Ringhofer, who said mistakes made by Reed led to Democrat Christine Gregoire ultimately winning the third count and the election by 129 votes.

Reed certified the results on Dec. 30. On Wednesday, Gregoire was sworn in as governor and Reed was sworn in for a second term.

Ringhofer said Reed's decision to certify election results despite many admitted and alleged errors by King County elections officials was wrong.

"If you looked at the list of anomalies, it would change the outcome," Ringhofer said.

Reed's office said that in order for the petition to be valid, a recall needs signatures equal to a quarter of the votes in the race in question. In this case, that's about 660,000.