In the wake of a flawed election, Metropolitan King County Council members are considering a number of changes, ranging from modest tweaks to a charter amendment that would remove elections from the county executive's control.

It is far from clear how the County Council will respond to widespread concern about problems in King County's counting of votes in the topsy-turvy governor's race.

King County, with about a third of the state's voters, came under fire from Republican groups after Democrat Christine Gregoire defeated Republican Dino Rossi in a statewide manual recount after Rossi had won two machine counts. The county's mishandling of some ballots and its inability to account for who cast 1,800 votes are expected to be part of the GOP effort to overturn the election in court.

Elections Director Dean Logan's job appears to be secure for now, with council Democrats and at least one Republican saying Logan had performed well in an extremely trying job.

He is expected to brief the council within two weeks to outline what went right and what went wrong in the election, and what improvements are needed.

Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, chairwoman of the council's labor, operations and technology committee, said she wants to see at least three changes:

• Make provisional ballots distinct from other ballots so they won't be counted at polling places before workers verify the voters' eligibility to vote;

• Consolidate election operations into a single building. Operations are now scattered among three Seattle buildings.

A more sweeping idea comes from Councilman David Irons, R-Sammamish, who has proposed amending the county charter to put the elections office in the hands of an elected auditor. King County is the only one of Washington's 39 counties where the director of records, elections and licensing services is appointed by the county executive.

A nonpartisan elected auditor would be directly accountable to voters and would put an end to appointments based on "political cronyism," Irons said. Opponents of the proposal, including County Executive Ron Sims, a Democrat, say the current process encourages appointment of a professional rather than a politician.

"I think politicizing the auditor's office is exactly the wrong direction to go in," Councilman Dwight Pelz, D-Seattle, said of Irons' proposal.

Irons said Logan, previously state elections director, was a well-qualified professional, whereas Logan's predecessor, Bob Roegner, had no experience running elections when he was hired.

Roegner resigned in 2003, after absentee ballots were mailed late in two elections, and Sims appointed Logan later that year to restore credibility to the office. His appointment was confirmed by the County Council.

Irons said Logan's effectiveness has been compromised by the fact that, as part of the county executive's administration, he can't advocate for his division on his own. Irons said some election supervisors concluded last year they needed more money for training employees in the proper handling of provisional ballots but were told Sims wouldn't support a supplemental budget appropriation.

"I no longer have confidence in Dean Logan," Irons said, "because I think you have to be willing, when you're working somewhere, to stand up and say this isn't right, to take a stand. I don't think Dean Logan has demonstrated, quite frankly, he has the backbone to do that."

Logan and Sims' spokeswoman, Carolyn Duncan, yesterday disputed Irons' account of Sims' role in funding. "Dean was told, 'Whatever it takes to get the job done, ask for the money and we'll find it for you,' " Duncan said.

Logan said Sims and the County Council told him "we don't need to be shy" about asking for money. "The executive has put forth supplemental budgets since I've been here, and we've received that funding."

Logan acknowledged earlier this month that up to 348 provisional ballots were improperly put through counting machines at polling places in the November election.

The County Council-appointed Citizens' Election Oversight Committee reported last year that provisional ballots had gone through counting machines in error "during each election" and warned that steps must be taken to handle an expected record number of such ballots in the 2004 presidential election.

Sims and Democrats on the County Council still strongly support Logan, saying he has made significant improvements and has promptly admitted mistakes when they have been discovered.

Logan's supporters also include Republican Councilwoman Kathy Lambert of Woodinville, who called him "a man of great integrity" and "truly a professional. ... He had so many projects on the plate that it would be almost unfair to expect any one individual to get all those things done in one year."

Duncan said Sims would not be available for an interview on election problems until he has discussed problems more fully with Logan.

County Council Vice Chairman Pete von Reichbauer, R-Federal Way, said Sims has been "as invisible as one could imagine" during the election dispute, "even though if someone pressed him he would obviously stand behind his man."

Councilman Steve Hammond, R-Enumclaw, said he favors an elected auditor as part of a larger solution, but said the charter amendment wouldn't be "a silver bullet." Lambert and Councilman Bob Ferguson, D-Seattle, said they are studying the merits of the proposal.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com