Voter fraud report has conservative bias

Seattle is an “Election Fraud Hot Spot,” according to a just-released report from a group that claims to have studied voter problems around the country.

In fact, it’s the No. 3 spot on the list put out last week by the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund. The Washington, D.C., group doesn’t have much name ID out here, but the report is recommended reading from the state GOP and the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a conservative think-tank in this Washington.

Much as Spokane folks love a good dig at Seattle, the ACVR’s research leaves a little to be desired for a group that calls itself a nonpartisan organization. Whether it really is nonpartisan is open to question, considering it takes true delight in slamming Democratic misadventures, and taking Republican claims at face value … and that its legal director is the former campaign counsel for Bush-Cheney ‘04.

Resumes aside, the group’s scholarship seems designed for an audience that’s wide, but not deep. It repeats the governor-revote case charges from Republican sources that King and Pierce counties – read “Democrat” counties – couldn’t match the number of voters with the number of ballots.

It also fails to mention what county elections officials from around the state admitted under oath at the Rossi-Gregoire trial, that the same kinds of problems King County experienced happened in other places. The main difference was the matter of scale tied to the size of the counties.

“Ninety-five uncounted absentee ballots found in King County (Seattle) election warehouse in March 2005 – more than four months after election” it exclaims in its summary. Nowhere in the summary, or in the full report, does it mention that Spokane County found eight uncounted ballots in May, more than six months after the election. But then, Spokane is generally considered a red county.

In documenting alleged harassment of Republicans, ACVR lists the headline of a story from this newspaper that the Spokane County GOP campaign office was burglarized. Yes, the Republicans blamed Democrats at the time, but even a quick check might have discovered that more than nine months later, no one has been arrested, let alone convicted, of the break-in of the building. So maybe the burglar was a Democrat, maybe a Republican, maybe a Whig.

Or maybe none of the above. Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said there was nothing of evidentiary value at the scene of the burglary, no witnesses and no obvious motives in a break-in that consisted of someone kicking a hole through a wall.

“It might have been transients,” he said officers concluded. “It wasn’t some vast conspiracy to undermine the Republican National Committee.”

Other cases listed under harassment of Republicans include the burglary of state GOP headquarters in Bellevue and the Gallatin County HQ vandalism in Bozeman. Neither of those cases was ever linked to partisan miscreants, either. In fact, Bozeman Democrats had been victimized the week before their Republican brethren, but that doesn’t make the group’s list of harassment of Democrats … maybe because that section is more intent on discounting suggestions that Republicans could have been involved in the few incidents listed.

The group also has what it calls “An Exclusive Report Documenting Long Lines in 29 States” which lists Washington as a problem state. That’s a reasonable beef, except that its evidence consists of two news articles – again, one from this newspaper – that turnout hit record levels on Election Day. OK, so the lines were long, but those stories don’t say that anyone was turned away or kept from voting. Both were merely saying: “Hey, folks were really charged up about exercising their right to vote.”

Which is something a group – or at least a truly nonpartisan one – with “Voting Rights” in its name normally would applaud.

Coming clean for the recall

The effort to recall Mayor Jim West may be playing on their David v. Goliath image a bit much. Or it could be a sign that they really don’t have anyone who knows about high-stakes politics. Or maybe they just want a metaphor for cleaner government.

But to raise money for the trip to Olympia for arguments before the state Supreme Court, recall sponsor Shannon Sullivan is holding a car wash on Aug. 11 across from the General Store on North Division.

Not clear how many cars they have to wash to afford the trip. When Sullivan made a speech last week to the Warren G. Magnuson Democratic Club, the group voted to write her a $200 check from its bank account. Even at $2.50 per gallon of gas, that should cover the drive over.

Others looking at the race

Several Republicans wrote last week to say they don’t think outgoing Safeco CEO Mike McGavick has the GOP nomination for Senate in 2006 sewn up. Diane Tebelius, who took a shot at a U.S. House seat in suburban King County last year, and state Sen. Linda Evans Parlette are also interested in the race. Neither has filed a campaign or an exploratory committee with the Federal Elections Commission yet, but they have made appearances at party functions.

Any suggestion that McGavick would be the “anointed one” by state GOP leaders might not sit well with some party regulars on this side of the state, wrote Grant County precinct committeeman Bill Riley: “Many argue that a primary provides some excitement that might otherwise not occur.”

That might be especially important for boosting name recognition, something that all of the possible challengers – McGavick included – lack.