ELECTION IRREGULARITIES: Washington GOP Primary Called with 242 Vote Margin at Just 87% of Count

The presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee is "exploring all available legal options regarding the dubious final results for the state of Washington State Republican precinct caucuses". The state's Republican party halted the count at 87% of votes counted, a margin of just 242 votes separating John McCain from Mike Huckabee, and a reported 12,000 votes tallied to that point. Ron Paul was just 427 points behind Huckabee, in third place, when the counting was stopped.

The state Republican party then issued a press release around 2:30 am declaring John McCain the winner of the primary, despite not completing the vote count. At least 1,500 votes were expected uncounted when the state was called for McCain by the party, raising serious issues about the caucus organizers' adherence to the "intent of the voter" principle. The Huckabee statement goes on to declare that "more than one in eight Evergreen State Republicans have been disenfranchised by the actions of their own party."

• Brad Friedman: "Huckabee 'Not Ready to Concede', 'Looking at Some Legal Options' in 'Dubious' Washington State GOP Caucus"
• Huckabee Campaign: "Mike Huckabee's Presidential Campaign Issues Statement On Dubious Washington State GOP Caucuses"