source Democrats Win Recount, Court Case in Wash. StateSEATTLE (Reuters) - Seven weeks after 2.8 million people voted to elect a governor for Washington state, the Democratic candidate took the lead by a 10-vote margin in an unprecedented hand recount, election officials said on Wednesday.
Christine Gregoire, who had lost to Republican Dino Rossi in the first two machine recounts, could potentially extend her lead after the state's Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to add more than 700 votes to the final tally.
King County, the largest county that includes Seattle and is a Democratic stronghold, discovered more than 700 ballots that had yet to be counted more than a month after the Nov. 2 election.
Republicans argued in court this week that those ballots were not valid and should not be included in the final tally.
"From day one, this has been about counting every legitimate ballot," Gregoire said in a statement, "The court's unanimous decision is not a boost for me or for Dino Rossi -- it is a victory for the voters."