King County Council Votes for Independent Management Audit of Elections Division

The Metropolitan King County Council voted unanimously to hire an independent, outside consulting firm to conduct a thorough management audit of the King County Elections Division. Under the legislation prime-sponsored by Council members Julia Patterson and Bob Ferguson, the firm must disclose any substantive connection with the 2004 gubernatorial election, political parties, and candidates. “Those with political connections or party affiliation need not apply,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson. “This audit will be independent, thorough and objective. It will leave the poisonous political rhetoric, partisan attacks and hyperbole in its wake and lead to real improvements to the Elections Division.” “Enough is enough,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson. “It’s time for an independent review of our Elections office, from the bottom up. This independent audit is the best, most important step towards cleaning up our Elections office. The outside firm we bring on board will be independent in fact and perception. No one will be able to argue with the results.” “It’s time that we get elections experts from across the nation to help us get to the bottom of these problems,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert. “We must get back to the proper functioning of this department and restore public trust in this critical function of government.” The Council will conduct an open bidding process to procure an independent, outside management consultant with expertise in the fields of governance, oversight procedures, organizational management, process and systems improvement, internal controls, transparency, capacity assessment, quality assurance, and human resource management. The consulting firm and any employee, subcontractor or expert employed by the firm must fully disclose any substantive connection with the 2004 gubernatorial election or, within the past two years, with any political party or candidate. They must also disclose any existing relationships with King County departments or personnel, and any previous contracts with King County. The consultant must have audit experience in more than one state and will independently review the operations of elections and voter registration practices and make recommendations for improvement or enhancement based on best practices in the areas of: organizational structure; compliance with federal, state and local election laws; physical and operational security; workflow designs and management; internal controls; staffing levels and competencies; management levels and competencies; training standards and practices; policies and procedures; documentation; adequacy of facilities; technical and administrative infrastructure; redundancy of systems and procedures; productivity and quality standards. The consulting firm will be expected to submit a preliminary report by September 1, 2005, and a final report by October 1, 2005. “Partisan politics has generated so much hyperbole and hysteria that concerned voters have almost no way to distinguish reality from rhetoric,” said Council Chair Larry Phillips. “This audit of management systems will help open up the King County election reform debate, so that it can be driven by experts who have no stake in the political outcome of the gubernatorial election lawsuit.” The audit will be independent of any other agency examining the Elections Division, so that it would not conflict with the Council’s proposed reconstitution of a King County Citizens Election Oversight Committee or the blue-ribbon King County Commission on Elections appointed last week by the County Executive. “Providing, accurate, secure and trusted elections are a fundamental function of our county government.” said Councilmember Carolyn Edmonds. “This independent, objective review is critical to our ability to implement the appropriate reforms.” “Taking a look at the elections process in King County with a fresh set of eyes can only help us find a solution to the challenges we have been facing in the Elections Division over the last few years,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett. “So many false accusations have been made since November, I think this will be the only way to get recommendations that everyone will be able to live with.” “The people of King County rightly expect accurate, well-run elections,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine. “This thorough, independent review of the Elections Division will give the Council guidance in crafting future reforms.”Independent Management Audit of Elections Division / page 2(more)