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Wenatchee lawmaker calls on
Legislature to
defer approval of governor's election
Rep. Mike
Armstrong,
R-Wenatchee, made a motion today to delay legislative approval of the
governor’s election results until evidence of errors and irregularities
could be presented and weighed. Despite the plea from Armstrong and
other lawmakers, the Democrat-controlled Legislature gave its approval
to the gubernatorial election results on a near party-line vote.
The state’s election results are presented to a joint session of the
Legislature for approval at the beginning of each term, pursuant to the
state constitution. Armstrong, who is Deputy Republican Leader in the
House of Representatives, requested that approval of the results in the
governor’s race be delayed for two weeks to give citizens reassurance
that the process was fair and accurate.
“When I was elected to
represent the citizens of my district, I said I would never be a rubber
stamp for anyone or any issue,” Armstrong told lawmakers on the floor of
the House today. “I would never choose partisan politics over the
interests of my constituents. This is not about who we want in the
governor’s mansion. This is about our duty as legislators to uphold the
constitution and the rights of the citizens to have a free and fair
election.
“Why did our founding
fathers put us in the loop to certify elections? They knew we would be
the check and balance. I’m not willing to throw that away. I want to
face my constituents and tell them that we stood for them in this
process. The state constitution gives us the authority – and with it the
responsibility – to declare a duly elected winner. It’s a breach of duty
to rubber-stamp these election results if we know they’re inaccurate.”
The motion to defer ratification of the election results was defeated
80-65.
Dino Rossi was declared the winner of the governor’s race following the
first two official counts, but the results were narrowly overturned on a
hand recount, giving Christine Gregoire a 129-vote lead. Citizens have
filed a legal contest to the election in Chelan County Superior Court,
saying they have evidence of thousands of ballots that cannot be linked
to a voter, provisional ballots that were improperly counted and lost,
and late-arriving ballots to military voters who were unable to cast
votes.
Armstrong said he is
pleased the case is being heard in Chelan County and expressed
confidence in the local court to hold a fair and thorough trial.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Public Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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