In four precincts in Snohomish County, more people may have voted than were registered to vote on Nov. 2, meaning that voter turnout totaled more than 100 percent in those precincts, state Democrats charged Friday.
Because of that inconsistency and other problems, the Democrats on Friday called for a hand recount in the contentious race for Washington’s new governor.
Republican Dino Rossi, a former state senator, finished 261 votes ahead of Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire in Wednesday’s final count. State law requires a machine recount if the margin is less than 2,000 votes.
Meanwhile, Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger has been gearing up for an electronic recount on Monday. He could not be reached late Friday for a comment on the apparent overreporting.
The overreporting in Snohomish County came to light when the state Democratic Party began pulling number’s from the county auditor’s Web site to prepare for a recount, said Kirstin Brost, communications director for the state Democrats, late Friday night.
The four precincts in question are in Edmonds, Everett, Mill Creek and Marysville.
Paul Berendt, chairman of the Washington State Democrats, issued a statement on Friday that said he and state Republican chairman Chris Vance agreed that “there are a number of questions that have arisen during this recount process.”
Berendt made the statement in response to Vance’s concern about ballot security at the King County Auditor’s Office.
“(Vance) should go ahead and ask for the manual recount now, or call on the secretary of state to order one,” Berendt said.
Brost said the Democrats will be in touch with Terwilliger’s office.
“We think there are substantial questions that warrant a hand count,” Brost said.
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