OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Washington Democrats will pay for a second recount in the state’s unsettled governor’s race, hoping it will erase the 42-vote margin held by Republican Dino Rossi.

The party also is asking the state Supreme Court to rule that all ballots be treated the same from county to county.

Top-ranking Democratic sources said the party has raised the necessary $700,000-plus to recount all 2.9 million votes cast for governor on Nov. 2 – not just votes in selected counties. The money came in part from a flood of online contributions, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Party leaders, including the state chairman and the three most recent Democratic governors, scheduled a news conference to announce the development.

The party’s nominee, three-term Attorney General Christine Gregoire, had told party leaders she was prepared to give up her quest for the governor’s mansion if only a partial recount were ordered. “No games,” she said.

The hand count is expected to cost the party more than $1 million, including legal costs.

Secretary of State Sam Reed is expected to order the new count on Monday and most counties are expected to begin the laborious job Wednesday. Reed said the count should be completed by Dec. 23 unless there are legal challenges.

Gregoire, 57, best known for her successful battle with the tobacco industry, trailed Rossi, 45, a former state Senate budget chairman, by just 42 votes after a machine recount was certified earlier this week. Rossi won the initial vote count by 261 ballots, a margin so close it triggered the mandatory machine recount.

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