To: Metropolitan King County Council
From: Nancy Eitreim, LWV of Seattle and Becky Cox, LWV of King County South
Date: August 4, 2006
The Leagues of Women Voters of Seattle and King County South oppose the election of a county auditor to oversee the Elections Department.
The League has long believed that a position where specialized training is of primary importance should be appointed. Clearly, the job of Elections Director requires extensive technical skill and knowledge. This is particularly true in King County because of the size and complexity of its elections system. The Election Center report on the November 2005 election contains over 70 pages of observations and recommendations, all of which are technical and not policy making. Electing someone does not mean the person is an expert in election systems. Electing an auditor may also politicize the office. We support reserving elections for those positions where representation is of primary importance.
Those who support voting for the office of auditor point out that most other Washington counties elect their auditor. Many of these counties are small and do not have the complexity of King County. Most other large counties in the country appoint their election director. An appointed Elections Director is accountable to the Executive who is elected by the voters. Of the three reviews of the elections department, only one proposed an elected auditor.
While we oppose changing the charter to make the Elections Director an elected position, we believe that any change to the charter should be done through a charter review process. We urge the County Council to reject this proposed charter amendment.
Sincerely,
Nancy Eitreim, President, League of Women Voters of Seattle
Becky Cox, President, League of Women Voters of King County South
cc: King County Executive Ron Sims