Sound Politics: Elections Task Force Reports

July 28, 2005

Elections Task Force Reports

I've posted the main report from Ron Sims' Independent Task Force on Elections, here. The final technical report is here.

Okay. I just finished reading them. I was actually one of the many citizens interviewed by the task force staff (though not by the members) when they were soliciting public input. They listened, took notes, in some cases followed up on my suggestions for further investigation. They struck me as professional and objective. But the reports and recommendations from the members are pretty pathetic --

The report correctly acknowledges that:

The loss of public trust and confidence in our elections system is palpable. Many people feel betrayed, outraged and disillusioned. They are no longer certain their votes count. The situation has shaken their faith in voting and in democracy. The people of King County remain uncertain about their elections process and are embarrassed by that fact. In the months following the election, King County’s credibility deteriorated, causing further erosion of public trust both locally and nationally.

However, the report does not identify the reasons for the loss in trust or the specific acts and failures by the elections section that led to that loss in trust. For example, it could have acknowledged the widespread perception that there were more ballots counted than there were voters. No surprise then that the relevant cure, in this case, reconciliation of ballots and voters, is buried with a one-line mention deep in the document in the section titled "A turnaround plan", under the bullet point "Create a new culture". At the same time, the most prominent recommendations, like "all-mail voting" are irrelevant to the root causes of lost trust and confidence and indeed will only make those problems worse.

Even the most critical and no-brainer recommendation, that Dean Logan needs to be replaced, was softened by this

The Task Force also found that the leader of the REALS Division cannot alone make the kinds of changes that are critical to restoring public trust and confidence in our elections system. Therefore, the Task Force believes that critical changes can only be accomplished with the assistance of an independent turnaround team accountable to the King County Executive.

Yeah, just give the kid another chance and some assistance.

Meanwhile, I'm going to do some real work to continue to expose the elections problems that the task force barely acknowledged, even if it means that I have to Sue Ron Sims.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 28, 2005 08:44 AM | Email This

Comments

1. What a pile of crap...exactly what you'd expect of an "independent" review board in King County, lets make sure that every vote counts, instead of let every LEGAL vote count and then...make it easier for fraud to occur, via mail in voting and finally ease the "burden" on re-instating felons rights to vote. Yep...sounds like they've got it all worked out and from here on out we'll get straight elections...

ps...the piglets in my back yard are finally nearing liftoff...another week or so as their wings strengthen and they'll definitely be flying.

Posted by: Steve on July 28, 2005 09:20 AM

2. I find this interesting, the staff interviewed find the following.
"
The Elections Section employees retain confidence in the REALS director and believe that he is an ethical leader with strong technical skills. He is viewed by many inside and outside King County government as the first true elections professional to head the agency. He is respected by elections officials across the State. When hired in late 2003, he faced an entrenched organizational culture that did not effectively
ensure compliance with election law and policies. In the face of the agency’s poor performances in the
elections of 2000 and 2002, he prioritized rebuilding public credibility over undertaking internal cultural
change and engaged in an extensive public engagement to achieve that goal.

Despite the director’s efforts, the managerial environment of King County’s Elections Section remains seriously flawed."

In other words, he failed at his job and should be run out of town on the proverbial rail.
We should have expected nothing less from this group, culled out by Sims to investigate this sham of an elections department.

Posted by: Jim L on July 28, 2005 10:17 AM

3. And speaking of Czar Sims . . . for those of you from CAO, tent city, and other groups who just love to make your presence known at Sims sightings, here's your opportunity. You are invited to join Ron Sims, the mayor of Sammamish and others who made the Lake Sims land grab possible, for the groundbreaking of the Sammamish portion of the "trail" at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 30. We just received this notice. Y'all come, now.

Posted by: lksimstrailgrammy on July 28, 2005 10:53 AM

4. Hahaha,
Gotta love Government!
The guy in charge isn't getting the job done. What do we do fire him? NOOOOOOOO... Hire more people to help him do HIS job!

What a joke.

Posted by: Joe on July 28, 2005 11:18 AM

5. At the Elections Task Farce’s first meeting in May 2005, the members identified and agreed on goals and this is how they have failed us:
 Allowing convicted rapists, murderers and child molesters who have not fulfilled their restitution requirements to vote destroys the integrity of the elections.
 The actual goal of the all mail ballot process is to make illegal voting easier.
 Public trust and confidence in the elections process will not be improved by the recommendation to have one manual recount using ambiguous rules of interpreting voter intent.
 This Task Farce was appointed by Ron Sims is therefore not organizationally independent and should be considered biased. The independent voices that gave light to the elections issues were deliberately not placed on the committee.
 If there was an understanding of the most important and vital issues to make a meaningful, significant and enduring contribution to election reform in King County and public discourse about it, the task farce would have recommended a truly independent team to access the situations.
 Best practices cannot be applied if the correct goals are not identified.
 The community was excluded from the healthy, robust discussion and debate of the biased Task Farce members that produced the recommendations. The debate was conducted using closed, biased process that expands the divisions within the community and fails to restore the public’s faith in the franchise of voting.

Posted by: Enforcer on July 28, 2005 11:27 AM

6. This line is what blew me away:

"Therefore, the Task Force believes that critical changes can only be accomplished with the assistance of an independent turnaround team accountable to the King County Executive."

So the best case, is that Ron Sims gets to bring in an "independent turnaround team" and watch over them as he did Dean Logan. How is this change? Ron Sims will just appoint another sycophant like Logan who works behind closed doors and violates law and procedure pushing it as close to the edge as possible.

It's time to put together a highly funded Swift Boat Vets like campaign to expose Sims and all of this lies. I'm not even a resident of King County, and I can see that the worst thing that could happen to Washington right now would be for Ron Sims to continue as KCE.

Posted by: Jeff B. on July 28, 2005 11:38 AM

7. Just to highlight the partisanship and bias of this report, I'm not surprised to see no mention of the fact that the majority of Washingtonians believe that the winner would have actually lost this election, if not for the mistakes, ineptitude, and vote fraud that occurred within King County.

But hey, an all mail election will reduce the fraud - Not! Letting felons vote will help to insure the election of the best candidate too - Not!

You know, this report sounds like nothing more than an excuse to propose some nonsense that will help Democrats win more elections in the future. Gee, could Ron Sims be that shallow?

Posted by: Mike on July 28, 2005 11:38 AM

8. Yep--the task force has done SOME good things, but hasn't looked for reasons for all the highly problematic things that occurred and never was going to. So a lot of us had a problem with them from that standpoint. And that's why I'm glad you're pursuing it, Stefan.

There are still unanswered questions that demand an answer. And we know that the guys at the top aren't eager to provide it and have shown themselves, quite frankly, to not want to give straight answers to the hard questions. Those people need to be fired (Bill Huennekens, etc)

Posted by: Realist on July 28, 2005 11:59 AM

9. It angers me that our tax dollars were used to support this so-called Independent Task Force on Elections and for the preparation of this report.

Now there is no doubt in my mind that Ron Sims commissioned this "independent" task force in order to deflect criticism away from the real problems in King County Elections.

After a cursory read, I believe that the areas of focus are side issues. And they need to get their facts straight!

To borrow from President Reagan: Ron Sims is not the solution to our problems; Ron Sims IS the problem.

Posted by: Tim B. on July 28, 2005 12:03 PM

10. Task Force = Tax Farce

Posted by: Enforcer on July 28, 2005 12:45 PM

11. "The people of King County remain uncertain about their elections process and are embarrassed by that fact."

I doubt it. I suspect that the majority of people in King County haven't got a clue about their elections process, and the political majority (i.e. liberal democrats) in King County support the fraud which allows them to swing close state-wide elections their way.

Posted by: PW on July 28, 2005 01:30 PM

12. Tim B.,
I agree with you 100 percent.

Posted by: cc on July 28, 2005 02:29 PM

13. Stefan,

Why, oh why, do we need to hear about this from posters on Goldy's website?

Sam Reed proposes new elections rules --

http://www1.leg.wa.gov/documents/wsr/2005/14/05-14-172.htm

Posted by: Mark on July 28, 2005 07:33 PM

14. The task force should have taken a moment to review SP's Timeline history of the Governors race.....They would have found numerous reasons for our (public) mistrust and lack of confidence in our elections!

I am so sick of the measured and luke warm findings of the various task forces...hand picked by the perpetrator - Ron Sims - himself!
In fact - the entire concept of the *Task Force* and *Blue Ribbon Committee* is such a transparent sham! Who in the Hell do these people think they are fooling anymore?

Posted by: Deborah on July 28, 2005 09:44 PM

15. I have a ?why would this sham of a task force want to examine SP timeline It's too simple!!&they're too clueless to do so.They're elites to boot!!Oh well what else can anyone expect from King Sims!

Posted by: Laurie on July 29, 2005 06:20 AM

16. Task force report about as useful as a diploma mill PhD from a third-world phisher. Hey--I need your SSN and mother's maiden name so I can finish posting my comments here.

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on July 29, 2005 06:58 AM