An election for the ages

the long version

Chasing dreams of a Governorship, two viable and sophisticated candidates—Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire—ran for Washington’s top statewide post on November 2, 2004. An incredulous neck-to-neck split of the vote, followed by intense media and internet coverage of two subsequent recounts, a grassroots and political party arousal, and other dramatic events caused a perfect storm in the closest and longest governor’s contest in American history. Not until seven months after Election Day did Washington voters know for certain who would occupy the Governor’s Mansion. After the initial Election Day count, subsequent machine and manual recounts, and contentious court action, the final margin in the seesaw contest was a razor-thin 133 votes out of a record 2.8 million votes cast. At one time during the manual recount, with only one of Washington’s 39 counties yet to report in, the candidates stood a breathtaking 8 votes apart. Written from the perspective of the Office of the Secretary of State, "An Election for the Ages" presents a cliff-hanging chronology of this political standoff. It also provides an insider’s look at how Secretary of State Sam Reed and his executive and election staffs supervised a heated political battle that reached beyond the Governor’s race to the rules of democracy itself.