On Tuesday, some 2,000 supporters of Republican Dino Rossi gathered outside the Capitol shouting "re-vote! Re-vote!" They believe Democrat Christine Gregoire and party leaders "stole" the election, which Gregoire won by 129 votes.

Her victory followed the original count and a machine recount, both won by Rossi. he Democratic Party put up $730,000 to force a hand recount. Several previously uncounted votes were added to the totals. These were votes which election officials in Snohomish and King Counties say had been omitted as a result of errors by election officials.

The State Supreme Court approved the counting of these administratively "mishandled" votes but refused to allow a recanvassing of votes in which so-called mismatched signatures on absentee or provisional votes which had been rejected earlier.

Auburn Republican Pam Roach is the principal sponsor of a dozen election reform bills -- including one that would have forced a re-vote.

She told KOMO 4 News that bill appears to be "dead on arrival". Roach added: "Yes, I do expect it to die, but I expect it to be part of Washington State history that it was introduced and the Democrats did not want to bring it up."

Roach predicts election rules will be changed. She wants every voter to re-register so that felons and dead people can be removed from the poll books.

She also wants a law requiring voters to produce picture identification.

Right now, Secretary of State Sam Reed says poll workers cannot legally ask for I.D.: "Yes, that is the rule in the State of Washington that we do not deny voters access to the system."

Reed says a court decision over 80 years ago (1922) requires everyone who asks to get a ballot. But he says any questionable vote is checked carefully.

Despite his fellow Republicans' criticism about illegally counted votes, Reed feels the erroneously counted ballots in November was about the norm: "It's normally not alarming in most elections, but this election is so close these numbers take on a significance that otherwise wouldn't be there."

Reed told me after visits with leaders of both parties, he is certain new, tighter rules for elections will be adopted.

But few in Olympia feel provisions for a re-vote will be among reforms that will be adopted. The only hope for re-vote supporters is apparently court action.