''Votes that count, a promise to keep''

Sunday's P-I Editorial Board "Commentary" reviews the problems in vote counting that have been apparent since 2000 on the state and federal level and the various proposals, unfilled promises and missed opportunities that have occurred since then. They make a series of new proposals and make this observation: "Barely a week before the November election, Reed declared, "We're ready ... We guarantee your vote next Tuesday will be counted correctly." We weren't ready, but we'd better be ready for the next election. And we'll remember who made promises and who delivered." The Oregonian has this editorial Sunday: "Voting postmortem in Washington: Dino Rossi and his supporters have a right to go to court, but it's hard to see the governor's election being voided." They conclude: "And at this point there's no way of knowing which candidate was more seriously harmed by the irregularities alleged by the GOP. It may be a stretch to think the state Supreme Court will void the election. In fact, the judges will wait until Jan. 22, the deadline for filing challenges, before deciding what to do with them. By then, Christine Gregoire will already have been sworn in as governor. Yes, it's a mess, and it doesn't favor Dino Rossi. Perhaps he can take comfort, though, in something the Seattle papers reported. Both quoted an elderly gentleman who admitted following his dying wife's wishes. She died on Sept. 29, and the faithful husband cast her vote for . . . Rossi. Gregoire's winning margin just jumped from 129 to 130." There's a "RALLY AT THE CAPITOL TUESDAY MORNING--LET THE LEGISLATURE HEAR YOUR VOICE. Tell the Republicans it's time for Rossi to concede, and let the legislature know it's time to start moving Washington forward. Here's how you can help: Come to the Tuesday rally in Olympia. Here are the details: Tuesday, January 11th 10:30 AM State Capitol, Olympia Washington Story Pole on the north side of the Capitol Campus. To RSVP or for questions contact Chris Hayler (chrish@wa-democrats.org) or (206) 328-2969."-from the Washingotn State Democratic party.