The nearly-final results are in for the race for Washington governor, and Republican Dino Rossi came out ahead -- by a mere 42 votes. More than 2.7 million votes were cast in the race.

This will provide ample evidence to Washington State civics teachers as they encourage high school seniors how important it is to vote.

While Washington goes through a hand recount over the next few weeks, the closeness of the election is worrisome because of the potential for voter fraud. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Washington state, but with just 42 votes separating the two major party candidates for governor it doesn't take much to change the outcome of the election.

I must confess that the past couple of times I've voted here in San Diego County, I've been ... difficult. I haven't brought my sample ballot with me and I've been asked to show ID. It's a reasonable request -- but it's illegal in California to ask for ID. Democrats and their liberal allies have repeatedly quashed efforts to require ID, saying that such a request can intimidate minority voters and disenfranchise the homeless. So, each time I've been asked, I've informed the poll worker that he is not allowed to make such a request and then I go ahead and vote.

I'd like people to get angry about potential voter fraud and support commonsense laws to ensure that everyone who votes is eligible.

Unfortunately, it's not going to happen anytime soon.