Once was enough for Peggy Toepel of Everett.
She was among the majority in The Herald’s Reader Network who rejected the idea of holding a new election to decide the state governor’s race.
“Another election would be subject to the same uncertainties, mistrust and potential for an ultraclose vote and voter dissatisfaction as the November election,” Toepel wrote.
More than 100 readers responded to the question. By a 2-to-1 margin they said the state shouldn’t hold a second vote to choose our new governor.
Many cited the cost and likelihood that the election results would end up in court again.
Others countered that tossing out the results of the November election and voting again could restore confidence in the system and produce a clear winner.
“No mandate will occur from what has transpired these past few weeks,” Kary Klein of Edmonds wrote, suggesting a mail-in second ballot with a “keep it simple” design.
Ending the recount and voting again has the support of former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, who supervised the state election system for 20 years.
Munro, a supporter of Republican Dino Rossi, recently proposed that the state should hold a new election in February to pick the governor.
“I thought, ‘What can we do to correct the problem?’” Munro said Wednesday. “My feeling from day one is that this thing will keep spiraling downward. Both sides say it’s been stolen by the other side. There will be no mandate for the next governor.”
David Freeburg of Snohomish disagreed with Munro, calling another election “a terrible idea.”
“We voted once, and the law has shown us exactly how we can count and recount those votes,” he wrote. “If we had a second election, the turnout would be very different than the original race and the results simply wouldn’t be fair.”
He supported Democrat Christine Gregoire, but said he wants the race to end with the latest recount.
Marilyn Matthews of Marysville urged Gregoire to concede the race, saying the two earlier results – as of last week, anyway – clearly showed that Rossi had won.
“Another election is an expensive way to reward the losing side for refusing to accept the will of the people,” she said.
The controversy about whether to include certain ballots makes the election results unclear, countered Walter Barber of Snohomish, who supports a second vote.
The cost of another election would be worth it, he said, and “would take the idea away that the election was decided in the courts and not at the polling places.”
The small number of votes separating Rossi from Gregoire is why Donna Whittaker of Stanwood wants to see another vote.
“Having someone win by 45 votes is not a win, in my view,” she wrote. “I think there should be more substantial votes on either candidate side than that.”
Ken Fricke of Granite Falls argued that a new vote would be the only way to restore confidence in the integrity of the state’s election system.
But others believe a second election could inspire less confidence, not more, in the system
“People have lost faith in the system, and I don’t think that by calling them back to go through the procedure this soon after the fiasco will work,” Carol Lewellen of Lynnwood wrote.
“They will just say, “Who cares? They’re just going to manufacture votes so that so-and-so wins.’”
She’s worried that an apathy backlash in future elections could affect other issues on the ballot
Lewellen and almost all of those who responded agreed that election reform was needed.
“I’m not sure a re-vote would make any difference. … There would probably be controversy in another vote no matter what side won,” wrote Suzanne Fenimore of Snohomish. “The whole thing is a mess. I wonder if we should let each of the candidates serve two years.”
Herald reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this story.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@ heraldnet.com.
This story uses information from The Herald’s Reader Network, a group of Snohomish County citizens who have agreed to be contacted by e-mail for their views on important topics.
If you want to join the hundreds of people in the network, go to www.heraldnet.com/readernetwork/invite.cfm and fill in the online form. You’ll be asked for your address and other basic information to help us select which people are the most appropriate for particular questions or to help highlight differences based on demographic factors such as age, race or ZIP code.
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