Judge refuses to order a revote

BREAKING NEWS: Dino Rossi and the GOP suffered a huge setback today in their contest of the governor’s race when Judge Bridges said he would not order a new election for governor if the GOP was to prevail in its lawsuit.

The Seattle Times:

The judge said if Republicans did prove their case, he would not order a new election for governor as they want him to do. Rossi has said that was the only remedy he would accept.

Democrats had argued the judge didn’t have that power, and Bridges agreed. He said state law and the state constitution do not give him the power to order a new vote, which he called “special relief.”

The case will move forward for now, but the Republicans are going to have to prove that there are enough illegal Gregoire votes to erase her 129-vote victory margin. It won’t be enough for them to say there were too many “irregularities". The GOP must prove to the court that there are at least 129 people who illegally voted for Gregoire - something that will be very difficult, if not impossible, for them to do.