More ballot controversy in Wash. state

SEATTLE, April 1 (UPI) -- Hundreds of provisional ballots cast in Washington state during the 2004 elections were validated without verifying signatures with those on file.

Officials acknowledged Thursday poll workers in four counties in the eastern part of the state counted provisional ballots improperly, possibly affecting a pending legal challenge to Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire victory, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

The ballots in question were checked against a list of names and addresses of registered voters, but the signatures went unverified as required by state law.

A manual recount of nearly 3 million ballots awarded the governorship to Gregoire over her GOP opponent, Dino Rossi, by 129 votes.