Editorial
A full count, or none

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Attorney General Christine Gregoire, the Democratic candidate for governor, had it right yesterday when she said the Democratic Party should recount every vote in every county — or don't count at all.

The crystal-clear implication is she will concede if the party does not find enough money to do a statewide hand recount. That is appropriate and laudable.

By law, Gregoire is entitled to a third and final count if anyone, presumably the Democratic Party, can pay for it. But the only clean count — the only approach that won't seem like she only seeks votes that go her way — is one conducted in every county.

Democratic Party officials say they want to count every vote. They also note the difficulty of raising the minimum $700,000 to pay for that count. All of that is real.

But Gregoire knows what most everyone in the state instinctively understands: The only hope for a clear resolution to a breathtakingly close governor's race is to treat every county the same.

Cherry-picking favorable counties, hoping to somehow find the 42 votes that separate Gregoire and Republican Gov.-elect Dino Rossi, is shortsighted. It will sour politics in our state a long time.

Gregoire put it fairly and concisely: "Right now, the governor-elect's office sits empty in Olympia. The only way to fill it will be to have a statewide hand recount."

Gregoire is exactly right. Count them all or none.