GOP mum on felon-voter names

An attorney for Dino Rossi said yesterday that Republicans went through a rigorous process to identify more than 1,000 felons they say voted illegally in the November election.

But they're not ready to show the names to the public. Even in responding to a subpoena from the state Democratic Party, Rossi's attorneys did not include a single list of the 1,108 felons but rather seven boxes of paperwork they used to identify the felon voters.

The information is key evidence in the lawsuit Rossi and other Republicans have filed asking a judge to overturn the November election and remove Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire from office.

To identify illegal felon voters, Republicans compared voters' names, dates of birth and home addresses with the names, dates of birth and home addresses of people convicted of felonies, said Rossi attorney Harry Korrell.

The party "double-, triple- and quadruple-checked" court files across the state to ensure the votes were not cast by felons whose voting rights had been restored, he said. Washington law prohibits felons from voting unless they have had their rights restored, which requires meeting all court-imposed obligations, including community service and the payment of restitution and fines.

But the concern for a mistaken match is one reason Rossi's attorney are not releasing the names. "It is a very sensitive issue, as you can image," he said. "We are 99.999 percent confident that we have this exactly right. But is it possible there's a single mistake on the list of 1,108? Yes, it is."

Korrell also cited privacy concerns.

The party obtained access to state voting and criminal databases under a court order intended to protect the privacy of individuals' birth dates. Because the date-of-birth field was the primary basis for matches, the party may need to consult Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges before releasing the names, Korrell said.

"Because the list is compiled from that data, we're stepping carefully," he said. "We're not trying to hide the information from anybody."

Asked if the public would get access to the list of suspicious votes, Korrell said: "I don't know, but I think so. I'll know more in a couple of days."

Democratic Party attorney David McDonald said he thinks the list of felons will have to be made public before a trial begins. "It's just kind of ridiculous when you stop and think of potentially setting aside an election for the most important office in the state on the basis of secret testimony the public will never hear," McDonald said. "It seems to me it's public information."

He said he was told the documents Republicans turned over to the Democratic attorneys do not include a list that compiles the names of the alleged felon voters. The documents were being copied yesterday and McDonald had not seen them.

Korrell, though, said it will be "exceptionally easy" to find the names in the documents.

McDonald said Democrats will research the names to make sure "this person voted and is not lawfully entitled to vote."

The felon voters are among about 11,000 records Republicans shared with Democrats to buttress their claim that the governor's election should be invalidated.

In addition to the felon voters, the party found 45 votes cast in the names of dead people, 10 instances of double-voting and five votes cast by people who also voted in another state. "Given the large number of illegal votes, it's likely they affected the outcome of the election" and should force a revote, Korrell said.

Bridges has not said whether Rossi will have to show who each of the felons voted for. That's what attorneys for the Democratic Party say is the standard required by state law.

Bridges did say earlier this month that Rossi would have to show that "it appears" there were enough illegal votes to change the outcome of the election.

Attorneys for Rossi and the Republicans said it will be enough to show there are a sufficient number of illegal votes in general, without having to show how each felon's vote was cast.

The longer the lawsuit drags on, the more time the GOP has to find suspect votes, Korrell said. The Republicans also are waiting for King County and other elections offices to explain their handling of some provisional ballots and to explain why the number of people credited with voting differs significantly from the number of ballots counted.

David Postman: 360-943-9882 or dpostman@seattletimes.com