CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Governor Jay Inslee

Interview

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BURNETT: All right. Pamela, thank you.

And I want to go now to Governor Jay Inslee of Washington.

So, Governor Inslee, you're one of those states who know how to do this. You've been doing statewide mail-in voting since 2011. And your ballots are valid if they're postmarked by Election Day, right? So you've got time after that for them to be received and counted. So then the president says, you know, if we don't find out who won on November 3rd, you know, he's saying the election could be fraudulent.

What do you say to that?

GOV. JAY INSLEE (D-WA): I say that we're going to call him out on it and not allow that un-American activity to prevail. Look, he's trying to set up an excuse for getting beat fair and square.

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And he's already looking for an excuse. He knows what he is coming and he's looking for a reason to not take responsibility for his loss just like he fails to take responsibility for the horrendous lack of response against COVID.

But there is a danger here, which is there is a danger that he could try to convince Republican legislators themselves to stop counting the vote. And that's a legitimate concern. We cannot allow that. And the way to prevent that is for us to vote in droves, like we are

doing. When you see those people lined up, waiting five, six hours to vote.

BURNETT: Yeah.

INSLESE: Those are the people who understand how Donald Trump has abused his office and failed to protect us from COVID.

BURNETT: So, when you look at the numbers, though, you know, just -- you know, just kind of back of the envelope in your mind, is it a big number of ballots that come in after Election Day? Or is it usually basically de minimis?

INSLEE: Oh, no, it's a significant number. And we have been able to run our state, which has had the best economy and the most beautiful state and the cutest kids for a long time by counting the votes. And you count 'em for a few days after the election and you declare a winner.

And it's pretty simple, it's math, and you just count the votes. And there's nothing magic about having the results at midnight on election day. What's magic is to count every single vote.

And we know unfortunately, there has been a sorted effort by the Republican Party to suppress voting to begin with, limit the number of ballot drop boxes as far as possible so that people, particularly people of color can't vote without standing in line forever. We have seen it in Ohio. It certainly didn't happen when Governor Strickland was in charge of Ohio, but it is now.

And now, to add insults to injury, to refuse to count those votes even after voters make sure that their vote gets submitted.

So, we need to speak loudly against Donald Trump's searching for an excuse or his effort to steal the election or both.

BURNETT: So, Governor, I -- "Seattle Times" is reporting that at least 300 members of the Washington National Guards are being trained to handle possible civil unrest that can result from the election. You got exercises on handling possible post-election violence.

From where you sit right now, the briefings you're getting, do you see President Trump's supporters or Vice President Biden's supporters being angrier about the results if their candidate doesn't win?

INSLEE: Oh, I think when your candidate doesn't win, whenever you come from, there's disappointment. I see no reason that we should have any outrages or violent behavior. That is not acceptable for any point of the compass.

The problem, though, is if we count the votes and we total the votes up and we declare a winner, that's going to be a good result for America. And that's what we should do. And we should not allow Donald Trump and the Republicans to shutdown county votes.

BURNETT: All right. Governor Inslee, I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

INSLEE: Thank you. Good luck.

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