Close Elections

Five votes! Five votes can do anything around here.
William J. Brennan (1906 - 1997), U.S. Supreme Court justice

The election is still not finalized in Washington state’s governor’s race. Election officials announced Wednesday that the Democratic candidate, Christine O. Gregoire, was leading her Republican opponent by 10 votes.

According to the New York Times, the State Supreme Court agreed with the Democrats' contention that more than 700 newly discovered and erroneously disqualified ballots in heavily Democratic King County should now be considered.

Since those ballots came from a county where Gregoire, 57, already had a solid lead, the ruling could allow her to increase her extraordinarily tiny edge in a race that is the closest in state history and one of the closest in the nation's history.

What exactly do these close elections mean? Is it that we have improved the efficiency of counting votes, despite the disqualification of ballots in Florida, Ohio and San Diego?
The Misanthrope sees all the close elections as a positive development. It means that politicians cannot take any vote for granted. It should also serve as a signal to voters everywhere to pay attention and get involved.

Note: see PoliBlog for more perspective on this close race.