AP: WA Supreme Court rejects recounting provisional & spoiled ballots.

[jamboi]

I thought it was OH. My bad. So very sorry. In my defense another person listening with me also thought they'd heard it that way too.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 · Last updated 10:37 a.m. PT

Supreme Court rejects Democrats' recount lawsuit

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Recount%20Lawsuit&dpfrom=tsto
By REBECCA COOK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously turned down the Democratic Party's request that previously rejected absentee and provisional ballots be included in the hand recount of the governor's race.

Republican Dino Rossi won the Nov. 2 election by 261 votes and held a 42-vote lead over Democrat Christine Gregoire after the first, machine recount.

In a brief written opinion, the high court said that under Washington law, "ballots are to be 'retabulated' only if they have been previously counted or tallied" - thus excluding those that had been disqualified by county canvassing boards.

The decision does not affect the 561 uncounted ballots in King County that were discovered Sunday to have been wrongfully rejected because of mistakes by election workers. Those ballots go to a canvassing board Wednesday for verification.