A quick link to an article by the AP’s Rebecca Cook: “Dead voters won’t count in Rossi’s election challenge.”
Allegations of dead voters and election fraud elicit gasps from outraged voters and pundits, but they won’t really matter in the legal challenge to the Washington governor’s election.
As legal arguments unfolded in court last week, it became clear the case will turn instead on a close reading of the state constitution. Who has jurisdiction over election challenges — the courts or the Legislature? What is an “illegal vote”? What kind of proof does the constitution require to nullify an election?
These questions lack the sexy sparkle of voting felons, true, but the answers will determine whether Gov. Christine Gregoire stays in office.
I found the article a touch confusing (and perhaps, confused), but then… the legal issues involved are very confusing themselves. I’m working on getting some of my own questions answered, and plan to come back shortly with a more in-depth legal analysis (hopefully, from a real-life lawyer!)
In any case, in addition to the constitutional issue that has been raised over who has jurisdiction, the Legislature or the Courts, there appear to be a couple of issues at dispute: the definition of an “illegal vote”, that standard by which an election may be set aside on account of illegal votes, and the actual powers granted the courts by the controlling statutes.
Personally, I still think the GOP is essentially asking the court to ignore state statute and just set the election aside because it supposedly is “a mess.”