It’s all over Nov. 5, right?

Not quite. The day after Tuesday’s election could be viewed as the official start of a new phase of the governor’s race: the post-election campaign.

In high-profile races like the rematch between Gov. Chris Gregoire and challenger Dino Rossi, political campaigns are no longer content to put all of their energy and money in the final days before Election Day and then sit back and wait for officials to announce the results.

The state Republican and Democratic parties as well as the candidates’ campaign organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their use of lawyers and other election observers to ensure that every vote is counted and every rule is followed – especially when it benefits just their candidate.

Lawyers representing both parties have met with officials from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office in recent weeks to go over state law and to ask questions, said Katie Blinn, assistant director of elections. Blinn has been in touch with the lawyers almost every day since then.

The attorneys for the Democrats include Kevin Hamilton and Will Rava from the Seattle law firm Perkins Coie, and Jenny Durkan. Hamilton and Durkan are both veterans of the Chelan County trial that ultimately decided the 2004 election for Gregoire.

For the Republicans, the lawyers include Harry Korrell and Rob Maguire of the firm Davis Wright Tremaine. Both men likewise are veterans of the 2004 election challenge. Maguire is representing the Building Industry Association of Washington in a lawsuit alleging that Rossi improperly worked with the group to raise money for an independent expenditure campaign to help his campaign. Luke Esser, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he views the lawsuit as a precursor to a Democratic election challenge.

In addition to meeting with attorneys, the Secretary of State’s Office sent a memo to county auditors and election workers directing them to applicable state laws, and offering guidance to help them deal with the increased scrutiny.

The memo, which can be found here on our Political Buzz blog, addresses topics such as felons and voting, provisional ballots, what are public records, and the big one – mail-in ballots with missing or mismatched signatures.

FOCUS ON SIGNATURES

Even though the number of ballots with signature problems is generally small, they played a significant role in Gregoire’s 2004 victory. The Democratic Party successfully sued the King County elections division to force the release of names on 929 botched provisional ballots. At the time, Gregoire was trailing Rossi by 1,920 votes with about 41,600 ballots remaining to be counted.

Within an hour of the judge’s ruling, the parties were seeking volunteers to track down voters on the list whom they believed supported their respective candidates. After two recounts and the court challenge, Gregoire won by just 133 votes out of about 2.8 million ballots cast.

Critics did not like the specter of partisan officials helping voters fix their ballots, and the state Legislature took up the issue in 2005. But lawmakers confirmed that information about such ballots is a public record. That means anyone – including the political parties – has a right to know whose ballots are in question.

“In the end, there is nothing in the law that prohibits the political parties from contacting voters and offering assistance,” Blinn wrote in her memo to county election officials. “While some people might believe that this practice ‘smells bad,’ that it will annoy voters, or will confuse voters, it is not prohibited by law.”

In Pierce County, state Democratic and Republican party workers receive daily reports from the Auditor’s Office about not only who has voted, but also who submitted a ballot with a signature problem. And every day, there are some problem ballots to report, particularly as people forget to sign their ballot envelopes, said Auditor Pat McCarthy.

Her office attempts to contact those voters so they can correct the problems. The goal is to reach the voter before a partisan party member gets to him or her, she added.

McCarthy’s office notifies people by mail, and follows up by phone if a response isn’t received within three days before the election is scheduled to be certified.

Esser complained that some counties are not allowing third parties to help people correct signature problems, while others are allowing the practice. Benton and Lewis counties, which favored Rossi by wide margins in the August primary, are among those not allowing the parties to help, he said.

“We think it creates a real problem,” Esser said, adding that he has sought assistance from the Secretary of State’s Office to make the counties follow a uniform practice.

Blinn, the assistant elections director, acknowledged that the issue has been the subject of much discussion among her office, the state parties and the counties. But Blinn said she is not aware of any instances in which a county has refused to accept an affidavit correcting a signature problem that was delivered by a third party, and she attributed much of the concern to miscommunication.

Ultimately, it’s up to each county’s canvassing board to decide whether the information on an affidavit is correct, Blinn said. “How it got to the auditor’s office is not important,” Blinn said. “It’s what’s on the document that’s important.”

LOTS OF OBSERVERS

The political parties have a long history of recruiting election observers to keep an eye on county election workers as they process ballots. But this year, the parties are recruiting more people than usual because of Pierce County’s new ranked-choice voting system, which requires two ballots – effectively doubling the workload for election workers.

The Pierce County Auditor’s Office plans to operate 24 hours a day from Tuesday through Friday in order to process hundreds of thousands of ballots. The extended hours mean the state parties need to recruit more observers to cover all of the shifts.

Observers aren’t just watching the vote-counting. They’re also watching the voting.

Nonpartisan attorneys also are on duty around the state and are prepared to respond to problems that voters encounter. Eric Eberhard, a partner in the Seattle law firm Dorsey & Whitney, is leading the effort in Washington state for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a group that formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.

The group’s mission is to make sure everyone who wants to vote and is entitled to vote is allowed to cast a ballot, Eberhard said. The group has nearly 80 lawyers available to respond to any reports of voters having difficulty casting a ballot.

In addition, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan’s office announced this week that he appointed an assistant U.S. attorney to field complaints on Election Day.

The FBI office in Seattle also will have agents available to receive allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression and other abuses.

PREPARING FOR EVERY OUTCOME

So far, Eberhard believes Washington election officials are doing a good job. He doesn’t expect many problems despite a predicted large turnout.

“This year, it seems they are better organized, more focused and more efficient,” Eberhard said. “I actually think this election is going to go well here in Washington. I hope I’m right about that.”

Kelly Steele, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, acknowledged that the party has a team of lawyers assembled earlier than ever before.

Esser, the state GOP chairman, said he isn’t interested in spending the party’s money on a post-election challenge, especially considering that one of the main lessons Republicans learned from 2004 is that there is little that can be done after the election.

Still, despite all the efforts to inform people about the rules and make sure they are followed, state officials are under no illusion that this year’s governor’s race won’t end up being decided in court, as it was in 2004.

Most of the polling has shown another tight race between Gregoire and Rossi.

“We know we’re in a litigious society,” said Dave Ammons, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office. “If it’s a teeny, tiny margin, the loser will probably challenge it.”

Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542

blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics

TO REPORT voting PROBLEMS

Pierce County Auditor

Phone: 253-798-VOTE (8683)

Online: www.piercecountywa.org (under “Departments,” select auditor)

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Online: www.866ourvote.org

Phone: 1-866-OURVOTE

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Seattle

Phone: 206-553-4113

E-mail: Publiccomment@usdoj.gov">Publiccomment@usdoj.gov

FBI, Seattle

Phone: 206-622-0460

E-mail: FBISE@Leo.gov">FBISE@Leo.gov