The state Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in the case for Monday at 1:30 p.m., according to court staff.

At issue is whether to reconsider thousands of ballots that county election officials had previously ruled invalid, often because the signature on the voter registration form didn't match the one on the ballot envelope.

The Democrats say some counties checked the signatures diligently -- and invalidated thousands -- while other counties didn't bother. Other counties had different deadlines. The Democrats' case basically boils down to this: Voting standards shouldn't change from one county to the next.

"Every voter has a fundamental and equal right to have his or her ballot fairly and accurately counted," reads their lawsuit brief filed with the court.

Republicans say the Democrats are trying to change the rules of the game after they've lost.

"The votes have been counted and recounted," Republican lawyers wrote. "Dino Rossi is the Governor-Elect of the State of Washington. The Washington State Democratic Central Committee and other petitioners have refused to accept the result."

I know we've been writing this for a more than a month now, but...Stay tuned.

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