Slow counters...

I'm sitting here, looking at the presidential election results online for the nation. Almost every states' precincts are close to 100% reported. But Washington state? It's two days after the election and 67% of Washington's precincts are reported. What the _____ ? We're the slowest in the country in reporting our results. Oregon is second to the last with 77% reported. Are the counters in the Northwest that slow? Thanks to Mr. Google, I was able to find out why. Here's are some excerpts I found from a 11/1/08 article in the Seattle Times ("Old equipment will slow King County vote tally"):

...King County — home to nearly one-third of the state's registered voters — expects to report only about 39 percent of its results by late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

...The county had hoped to use new, faster vote-counting machines. But a federal law requires that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission certify the machines before they can be used. That hasn't happened, a frustration that the state and county have been vocal about.

...the new machines should be ready to go by spring. In the meantime, the county is relying on its old machines, which were designed to count poll ballots, not mail ballots. Two-thirds of King County voters now vote by mail.

"We have made this work by nursing this equipment along and treating it very tenderly," said King County Elections Director Sherril Huff.

...They will continue tallying votes 16 hours a day for the week after Election Day to get 97 percent of the ballots counted by Nov. 11. Overseas and military ballots may take longer to count.

Many of the problems that slow down the department come from voters, Huff said. She urged voters not to write their names on ballots and to fill in the ovals completely using blue or black ink.

And there you have it. The problem isn't the state of Washington. The problem is good ol' King County... representing a third of the state's population. Hence, the number of precincts reported being 67%. Thank you Google for finding an answer to another one of my pressing questions... If I had read this article prior to the election, I wouldn't have written-in Jon Stewart for President...