[Mb-civic] EDITORIAL Umpires Still Taking Sides

[Michael Butler]

 The New York Times
February 14, 2005
EDITORIAL
Umpires Still Taking Sides

The scandal of state election officials who are also political partisans has
reached a new low. California's secretary of state announced his resignation
this month amid charges that his office spent federal money on Democratic
Party politics, and the National Association of Secretaries of State passed
a resolution allowing its members to continue their partisan activities.
There is an urgent need to fix this mess; if election officials won't do it,
Congress must act to protect the integrity of federal elections.

Kevin Shelley, California's secretary of state, has long been a hero for the
important work he did in fighting to make electronic voting trustworthy. But
he came under federal and state investigation after a state auditor's report
raised questions about consultants paid with federal money who attended
fund-raisers and a state delegation meeting for the Democratic National
Convention.

Mr. Shelley's downfall comes after an election in which secretaries of state
appeared to be routinely using their power for partisan ends. Kenneth
Blackwell of Ohio was arguably the worst offender, serving as co-chairman of
the Bush-Cheney campaign in his state while repeatedly making rulings that
seemed designed to help his side.

There were loud protests from voters over the conduct of Mr. Blackwell and
several other secretaries. But the secretaries' association recently
reiterated the right of its members to wear the two hats of election manager
and political partisan. Kentucky's secretary of state told The Associated
Press that "if the voters think we are being too partisan, they can kick us
out of office." That isn't good enough. By that logic, there should be no
ethics laws for any elected officials.

To make matters worse, the secretaries of state passed a resolution calling
on Congress to dissolve the Election Assistance Commission, the federal
agency formed after the 2000 election to upgrade the mechanics of voting.
The commission has not been as effective as it should be, but it has an
important role to play. Dissolving it would send precisely the wrong message
about the nation's commitment to fix the substantial flaws in the election
system.

There is a strong federal interest in keeping state election officials
impartial, because they count the votes in federal elections. If secretaries
of state will not promise to keep out of partisan politics, Congress should
require them to. Senator Frank Lautenberg is introducing a bill, known as
the Federal Election Integrity Act, that would do just that. The point is
not complicated: campaign for votes or count votes - but not both.

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