Elections panel advises using turnaround team

King County Executive Ron Sims should bring in a management "SWAT team" to reform the troubled elections office, a blue-ribbon task force recommended yesterday.

The Independent Task Force on Elections said Sims should turn control of elections over to "an external turnaround agent" because Elections Director Dean Logan is "ill-equipped" to make the changes needed to restore public trust in elections.

Whether Logan should remain in office is "between him and the county executive," said task force chairwoman Cheryl Scott. The turnaround team would be in charge of elections for up to 1 ½ years, reporting directly to Sims and launching long-term plans for change.

The task force reported that public confidence in King County Elections is at an all-time low and that the panel's survey of election workers showed a "variety of disturbing organizational issues."

During last November's election, scores of valid absentee ballots went uncounted, hundreds of unverified provisional ballots were improperly counted, and officials produced a report that misleadingly showed all absentee ballots accounted for.

Logan last month demoted Elections Superintendent Bill Huennekens, who was responsible for day-to-day operations.

Sims, who appointed the task force in April after a series of problems in the contested 2004 governor's election came to light, said in a written statement he expected "both roses and thorns" from the task force.

"I enthusiastically embrace the idea of a turnaround team" said Sims, who promised to request funds to hire it.

Sandeep Kaushik, spokesman for Sims, said his boss doesn't plan to force Logan out.

"It's up to Dean," Kaushik said. "He's been in a tough spot. I think as long as he has the determination to carry on and right the ship, then we would like to help him in any way we can to do that."

Logan, who could not be reached for comment, issued a statement that said the task force recommendations "represent thoughtful, conscientious initiatives to improve elections and to restore public confidence — and all of them should be carefully considered."

The panel said King County should consider electing an auditor to run elections — something that is done in every other county in the state. Several task force members said an elected auditor would make the process more accountable to voters, but others questioned whether it would improve elections.

"It's not a recipe for good management just to elect an elections director," said panelist John Lindback, Oregon's elections director. "You need to fix the problems in the elections office first."

Many of the recommendations approved yesterday were released as draft proposals two weeks ago, including:

• King County should switch to an all-mail election by 2006, as most of the state's 39 counties have already done.

• The state's September primary should be moved to June to give elections workers more time to finish one election before embarking on the November general election.

• All mail ballots should be received by 8 p.m. on election night, except those mailed from out of state and from the military. The state currently requires only that ballots be postmarked on Election Day.

• When conducting a recount, have just one and make it a manual one.

• Limit the number of elections each year to four. Counties now conduct as many as six.

• Restore felons' voting rights when they are released from custody.

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

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com

The King County Independent Task Force on Elections has posted its letter to County Executive Ron Sims and its technical report at http://govlink.org/electionstaskforce/

The basic report is to be posted by noon today.