By DEAN A. RADFORD

Reporter Newspapers

What was happening Tuesday at the King County elections office in Renton began in 2004, in the wake of a highly controversial race for governor that sparked hundreds of reforms in how the county runs elections.

Democrat Christine Gregoire won that election by just 129 votes – statewide – after recounts and court rulings. Her opponent: Dino Rossi.

This time around, Gregoire and Rossi were locked in what appeared to be another tight race. But Gregoire’s victory Tuesday in the general election over Rossi was clear-cut, although Rossi and his Republican followers still will continue to watch the counting of ballots closely over the next three weeks.

The elections office is ready to ensure it gets the results right, with new procedures in place and a heavy emphasis on ballot security.

The ballot count is unfolding in a two-story building on Grady Way in Renton, next to Interstate 405. Visitors to observe the elections process are asked to leave their coats at check-in and surrender any pens or pencils so there’s no chance to tamper with a ballot.

If something to write with is absolutely needed, the visitor will receive a pen with green or red ink. Neither color is read by a tabulating machine. That’s why when filling out a ballot, voters need to use a pen with black or blue ink (no pencils or soft-tipped pens which bleed through the ballot).

If there’s still a downside, it’s the reforms mean that the results of a close election won’t become known for days. Another factor, of course, is that absentee ballots – which will become the standard for voting in the future – can be postmarked as late as election day. Those ballots continue to come in for days and must be processed and counted.

Spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said the elections department is asking for patience. “We are taking our time,” she said, adding the goal is to run a secure election that gets the results right.

Tuesday’s election is a test of all the election reforms – about 350 – the county has made in the past four years.

That security is a watchword at the elections center is clear almost immediately. It’s even more apparent on the second floor of the building. County sheriff deputies are stationed at the entry to an expansive work area where all functions of validating and counting ballots occur. Entry is by special keycard, and visitors are escorted. Access is limited.

Fifty-nine security cameras keep an eye on everything and everyone. Proper security protocol is a way of life, all the way to leaving nothing unattended, even a notebook. If there is a security breach at an access point, an ear-piercing alarm goes off. All this security is designed to protect the integrity of the voting process, something that was questioned following the 2004 election.

About 500 workers are processing and counting the ballots – opening ballots, verifying signatures, inspecting each ballot for any errors and working with high-speed vote-counting machines.

Officials said they’re ensuring that every ballot is accounted for and, if valid, counted. In every recent election, nearly 100 percent of ballots have been properly reconciled, officials said.

In 2004, some mail-imn ballots remained in their security envelope, which for some reason weren’t opened. Today, there’s a hole in the security envelope so workers can see there is something inside.

And then there was an election a couple years ago when the ballots had a weight problem. Like this year’s state and presidential election, the ballot then was 18 inches long. But the ballot weighed too much for just a single first-class stamp. The ballots were still delivered and the county made up the difference. To solve that weight problem, the county switched to a lighter-weight paper.