Sims got hundreds of votes that didn't count

By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter

HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES A write-in ballot for Ron Sims is checked during the recount of King County ballots for the governor's race.

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Sims, Gregoire's opponent in the September Democratic primary, picked up 502 write-in votes in King County alone, according to write-in totals released yesterday by the county elections office.

If those votes had gone Gregoire's way, she'd be leading Republican Dino Rossi as the race heads toward a second recount.

Ironically, the Sims votes don't even count. Under state law, a candidate who loses in the primary cannot be a write-in candidate in the general election.

To be sure, the Sims write-ins represent a tiny fraction of the more than 220,000 people who voted for him in the primary.

If Gregoire loses the race to Rossi, her backers could also blame those who wrote in Gov. Gary Locke. Forty voters in King County and 15 in Snohomish County wrote him in for governor (and one picked his wife, Mona), even though he opted not to run for a third term.

Write-ins Top 5 write-in candidates for King County Ron Sims: 502 votes Gary Locke: 40 votes Phil Talmadge: 28 votes Mike the Mover: nine votes Edgar Martinez: nine votes Top 5 write-in candidates for Snohomish County Ron Sims: 65 votes Gary Locke: 15 votes Mickey Mouse: five votes Jeff Schweinfurth: five votes Dave Ross: five votes Recount update Today: Secretary of State Sam Reed is scheduled to certify last week's statewide recount in the governor's race. Friday, 5 p.m.: Deadline for gubernatorial campaigns or political parties to ask for a further recount — either by some counties or statewide. This would be the last recount allowed under state law. Next week: Recount, if requested, would begin as early as Wednesday, Dec. 8, and could take as long as two weeks to complete in some counties.

Whoever ends up losing the governor's race could also blame the 75,000 registered voters, 2.6 percent of the electorate, who voted for no one in the governor's race — 22,000 in King County alone.

In 2000, only 47,000 voters, or 1.9 percent, bypassed the governor's race.

According to the Secretary of State, 51,000 more people voted in the presidential race than in the governor's race this year.

Dean Logan, head of King County Elections, said a large number of newly registered voters apparently voted in the presidential race but left other races blank.

Former Secretary of State Ralph Munro said another reason may be as simple as voters not knowing Gregoire and Rossi. "They're two new faces they haven't really heard about," said Munro, a Republican. "That could be part of it."

While thousands of voters picked no one in the race, plenty of voters decided to write in their favorite candidate. That's why Ichiro pulled in three King County votes and Bill Gates got two, matching those given his wife, Melinda, and his father, Bill Sr.

Edgar Martinez, the retiring Mariners star, collected nine, while Donald Duck and former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice pulled in six each.

Phil Talmadge, a Democrat who dropped out of the governor's race earlier this year, picked up 28 votes.

Rock star Alice Cooper and God each got two votes, Ralph Nader got five and None got 19.

Secretary of State Sam Reed is scheduled to certify the election this morning.

Then the Democrats and Gregoire have three days to request a recount, either statewide or in selected counties and precincts. If a partial recount changes the outcome, state law requires a statewide hand recount.

Gregoire hasn't said what kind of a recount she will ask for. A statewide hand count could cost at least $700,000.

After that decision is made, the counties have two days to begin the recount, and Logan said he doesn't expect to start King County's until the middle of next week. It could take at least two weeks to recount all King County ballots, he said.

The county is looking to rent a building near Boeing Field for the recount.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com.

Staff writer Justin Mayo contributed

to this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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