It's still important to count every and any LEGAL vote

Last week marked a huge step toward greater accountability within the King County Elections Office and underscored the greater goal to clean up the voter rolls and strengthen the implementation of election laws in our state.

Because of challenges made to illegal voter registrations, we now have a request to the state Attorney General's Office to clarify existing laws, and to provide county officials with the legal authority to enforce those laws. But, more importantly, voters have been educated on why these laws exist, and why elected officials and county bureaucrats must work to protect your rights as a voter.

In July 2005, the King County Independent Task Force on Elections issued its now well-known "indictment" of Dean Logan and other election officials. The task force's key findings were that "there has been a failure in leadership and a breakdown in accountability," and that "King County's organizational culture and structure continue to prevent effective and rigorous compliance with elections laws, policies and procedures."

In addition to calling for specific election reforms and proactive leadership, the task force called for greater bipartisan participation and citizen activism to work toward positive changes. That is exactly what we did in creating the Voter Registration Integrity Project.

The requirements that make a vote legal are very clear. You may read them at www.leg.wa.gov (RCW29A.08.210). Unfortunately, it is the implementation of those laws that has not been clear, or consistent.

In our form of democracy, we are represented through our elected officials on a geographical basis. Your voice and consent have meaning based on where you live. Counting illegal votes dilutes your voice and representation. Imagine multiple people using a personal mailbox number solely to influence a local election because they want to build an office park where officials plan a nature walk; or, to influence a school board election because they have an extremist agenda involving the student curriculum.

To say, as Bobbie Egan of the King County Elections Office said, "It's not our job to police the voter rolls," is to give tacit consent to illegal voting, and that's unacceptable.

In our political system, your elected precinct committee officers depend on accurate voter registration rolls to effectively deliver information to voters in their neighborhoods. When that information is inaccurate, their jobs become more complicated and voters' interests are not served.

In September, after several months of grass-roots voter identification by the King County Republican Party, we became aware that there were inconsistencies in the voter registration rolls that could compromise the next election.

Hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer hours were given to scour the voter rolls in King County. As a result, Records and Elections was contacted, and we had to follow procedures in order to formally challenge a voter registration. Did we make mistakes? Yes, we did. When we became aware of the inaccuracies, we took immediate action and issued apologies. Each challenged voter who chose to vote was allowed to vote.

In May 2005, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges issued a directive to all county auditors stating that any challenge to a voter's registration must be made prior to the next election. This was designed to help prevent another gubernatorial election fiasco and costly litigation in the event of a close election. Just two years ago, King County challenged voter registrations that listed personal mail boxes. But the policy was changed, and now the county does not challenge them, despite what the law states.

Only in King County are voters denied the opportunity to elect their top elections official. All other 38 counties in Washington state provide for greater accountability by directly electing the one person entrusted to uphold our election laws. Given the systemic failure of leadership in King County, it is time to make Logan's position an elected one — directly accountable to the voters who live here.

Since the 2004 elections, we have experienced the closest gubernatorial race in the nation's history, months of costly legal challenges, a scathing commission report, and a public education in "fatal pends," and provisional ballots. It would be an understatement to say that voter confidence has been eroded. But the goal remains the same: to force King County to clean up its process and to clean up the voter rolls.

The mantra from election officials has always been, "We must count every vote." Today, if we have learned anything from months of litigation and a blue-ribbon commission, what is more important is to count every legal vote. There is a great divide between counting every and any vote, and upholding the integrity of an election to ensure that no voter is disenfranchised.