Sure, it's possible 5,000 voters in the 14 precincts were so enamored with I-695 that they almost all marked their ballots the same way. Possible, but not probable. I-695 passed with 56 percent of the votes statewide. But neither the ballot measure's significance nor the controversy surrounding it has any bearing on whether Spokane County has some explaining to do. The vote could have been about whether to allow bubble-gum chewing in second grade, and an investigation still would be crucial.
Trustworthy elections are fundamental to democracy.
The results confer power on the leaders elected and the laws passed. If the process is open to tampering or even the appearance of it, faith is lost - not only in the system, but also in the laws and leaders it produces. In this case, nothing but that credibility is at risk. The votes in question aren't enough to reverse the outcome of I-695, which passed by more than 200,000 votes. And, even if election officials found evidence of fraud, they can't alter the vote tallies because it is impossible to know how many votes were affected.