Dick's says poll was hacked County executive: 'The time to vote is now!'

A Dick's lunch in 2008. (Monica Guzman/Seattlepi.com file) A Dick's lunch in 2008. (Monica Guzman/Seattlepi.com file) Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Dick's says poll was hacked 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The poll to influence where a new Dick's Drive-In location will be built has been so popular, a hacker found a way to electronically stuff the ballot box.

Monday, the company's website, www.ddir.com, listed three geographic areas where the restaurant could be built.

North includes Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Edmonds and South Everett. South includes West Seattle, South Seattle, Renton, Burien, SeaTac and Tukwila. East includes Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Mercer Island, Issaquah and Sammamish.

A hacker wrote a script that repeatedly cast votes for one of the locations.

"Thanks to the efforts of the SurveyGizmo poll provider the false votes are being removed and the corrected results should be available on the Dick's website by Thursday -- along with improved security," company spokeswoman Carrie Shaw said in a statement. "Keep the votes coming."

At roughly 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, North had 42 percent with 21,502 votes. South was second with 16,671 votes, and East was third with 12,189 votes.

On Wednesday, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon urged residents to put the vote out of reach.

"I only eat at one fast-food restaurant, and Dick's Drive-In is it," he said in a statement. "Snohomish County residents know good food when they eat it, and that's why we're the right location.

"On a more serious note, Dick's Drive-In is the type of corporate partner we like to see," Reardon said. "They've always paid their employees well while offering good benefits. They donate to charity and award college scholarships. We need more Dick's Drive-Ins."

In a news release, he listed the company website and told Snohomish County residents "The time to vote is now!"

In an unofficial Seattlepi.com poll, North also was in the lead Wednesday night with 36.3 percent of the 4,473 votes. South was trailing with 35 percent and East was third with 28.7 percent.

Dick's Drive-In currently has five locations: Lake City, Holman Road, Queen Anne, Broadway and Wallingford -- the first restaurant in the chain, which opened in 1954. Dick Spady, who served in both World War II and the Korean War, opened the first restaurant with two business partners.

On KIRO's "Ron and Don Show" Monday, his son and company vice president Jim Spady said the new location would have "classic Dick's architecture just like our original flagship store at Northeast 45th Street."

Four of the Dick's locations have large kitchen windows that allow patrons to see the workers prepare food. Those drive-ins were designed by architect Raymond H. Peck.

The new restaurant would be the first since 1974, when the Queen Anne location opened. It is the only of the five locations that has indoor seating.

Dick's previously had a location in Bellevue, but that closed in the 1970s.

Spady didn't mention if the new location would include a painting of a cow. Each of the five locations except Broadway, the smallest of the restaurants, has a cow painting.

"We've been talking about building a restaurant for a long time, and finally my dad, Dick, decided now is the time," he said on KIRO.

Dick Spady, 86, occasionally makes appearances at the restaurants. In 2007, he and fellow Seattle icon J.P. Patches celebrated the first remodel of the Wallingford location, which added a service window and expanded the grill size.

In a January 2009 letter, the elder Spady said he "could not have picked a better or more vibrant community to build a family heritage."

The Lake City location was closed temporarily in March and early April this year after a man police say was driving under the influence rammed his SUV into the front of the drive-in.

The man has pleaded not guilty. His Seattle Municipal Court trial is scheduled to begin in October.

To vote for a new Dick's Drive-In location on their website, click here. To vote in our unofficial poll, click below.