Judge Rejects GOP Bid to Halt Ballot Recount in Washington
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SEATTLE — A federal judge Sunday denied the state Republican Party’s bid to force Washington’s most populous county to stop counting some ballots in the recount of the governor’s race.
In a conference call with lawyers, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman denied the GOP’s request for a temporary restraining order barring the hand-counting of ballots in King County that were rejected because they could not be read electronically.
“It was a good decision,” state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said. “It’s good for voters because it’s consistent with the standard we would like to see -- that every vote be counted.”
After all counties reported their tallies Wednesday, Republican Dino Rossi led Democrat Christine Gregoire by 261 votes out of about 2.8 million ballots cast.
State law requires a machine recount when the margin is fewer than 2,000 votes.
The process should be done by Wednesday, but the uncertainty could stretch into December if a candidate or party demands a total hand recount.
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