Judge dissects Republican claims one by one in ruling against suit

In his 52-minute ruling yesterday, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges methodically rejected nearly every claim made by Republicans in their challenge to the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Reading his decision to a rapt crowd in the Wenatchee auditorium that served as his courtroom for two weeks, Bridges said Republicans had failed to provide "clear and convincing" evidence. He added that even if the standard of proof were lowered to a "preponderance" of the evidence, Republicans would lose.

Here are highlights of Bridges' decision:

Vote fraud

On the most sensational Republican claim, that election fraud gave Gregoire her victory, Bridges was clear: It didn't happen — or at least Republicans didn't prove it.

"There is no evidence that the significant errors which occurred resulted from intentional misconduct or someone's desire to manipulate the election. There is no evidence that anybody associated with any of the candidates in the governor's race had anything to do with causing the errors. There is no evidence ... to suggest that the errors resulted from partisan bias."

Felons and other illegal voters

Republicans' claims that felons voted illegally wound up backfiring when Bridges ordered four felon votes deducted from Dino Rossi's total, while deducting none from Gregoire.

Bridges found there had been a total of 1,678 illegal votes cast in the election, out of a total of more than 2.8 million votes. Most of the illegal votes were cast by convicted felons.

Bridges ruled that the illegal votes should be deducted from the total tally of votes in the election, for purposes of determining signature requirements for future citizen initiatives. But he said only five of the votes should be deducted from specific candidates because the only compelling evidence showing how felons had voted came from the depositions of five felons questioned by Democrats. Four of those had voted for Rossi and one for Libertarian Ruth Bennett.

Statistical analysis of illegal votes

Republicans wanted Bridges to divide felon votes between the candidates by the same proportion as the overall vote in precincts where the felons voted. The hope was to knock votes from Gregoire's total by finding more felons who voted in precincts carried by the Democrat.

Bridges rejected that method, called proportional deduction.

"Petitioners' data was overly weighted to include illegal votes from King County, particularly in precincts in which Ms. Gregoire prevailed. This is not consistent with generally accepted scientific standards."

Judicial activism

"The court concludes that an election such as this should not be overturned because one judge picks a number and applies a proportional deduction analysis. To do so ... within the context of the facts of this case would constitute the ultimate act of judicial egotism and judicial activism, which neither the voters for Mr. Rossi or for Ms. Gregoire should condone."

King County's election errors

Bridges began his ruling with scathing comments about errors by election workers in King County, though he said it was up to voters, rather than a judge, to demand that the problems be fixed.

"Clearly the evidence here suggests that the problems require more than just constructing new buildings and hiring more staff," Bridges said, referring to improvements suggested recently by King County Executive Ron Sims.

He talked harshly of the "culture" of the elections office: "Almost anyone who works in state and local government knows exactly what this culture is. It's inertia. It's selfishness. It's taking our paycheck but not doing the work. It's not caring about either our fellow workers or the public we're supposed to serve. It's not taking responsibility. It's refusing to be held accountable."

However, Bridges did take pains to say there was no evidence of fraud or intentional misconduct.

Judicial philosophy

Bridges said state law and previous state Supreme Court rulings clearly limit the circumstances under which a judge can overturn an election.

"While there is evidence of irregularity, as there appears to be in every election, based on the testimony of various county election officials, there is no ... clear and convincing evidence that improper conduct or irregularity procured Ms. Gregoire's election to the office of governor."

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628