ELECTION REFORM BUNGLED? OFFICIALS SAY SHELLEY NOT IMPLEMENTING LAW.

Byline: David M. Drucker Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - California's top elections official has bungled the implementation of new federal requirements designed to avert problems such as the Florida debacle that marred the 2000 presidential race, local elections officials charged Monday.

The California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials said measures passed by Congress in 2002 to ensure that ballots are accurate and that all votes are counted have not been properly implemented by Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who already faces accusations of misusing voter education funds to enhance his image and help the Democratic Party.

Required actions to improve voter access for the disabled and military personnel serving overseas also were not taken, officials said.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Conny McCormack, the state association's president, and other local officials also said Shelley neglected to give counties some of the federal money his office received as early as May 2003 to pay for poll-worker training and voter education.

``It's really mismanagement, is what it is,'' McCormack said. ``This is a major problem.''

The Secretary of State's Office vehemently disputed most of the group's allegations.

Shelley's office has worked closely with county officials to implement and administer the programs, his spokesman said.

``(Shelley) worked hand in glove with McCormack and the CACEO to make this happen,'' spokesman Tony Miller said. ``This is a joint venture, but one that the secretary of state has led.''

Shelley, a San Francisco Democrat serving his first term as secretary of state, is facing multiple federal and state investigations for his handling of federal funds awarded under the Help America Vote Act program for nonpartisan voter-education and registration purposes. His office acknowledges that those funds were used by his aides to represent him at partisan Democratic Party events and to bolster Democratic candidates and Democratic voter-registration numbers.

Last Friday, Shelley's office announced it would pay a private firm up to $400,000 a year to run California's HAVA program.

Now, three weeks before the Nov. 2 presidential vote, county elections officials say Shelley has failed to implement several HAVA requirements, leaving California's 58 counties unable to comply with many provisions of the 2-year-old law.

``Shelley's implementation of the HAVA requirements have been virtually nonexistent over the last 22 months,'' said Steve Trout, San Bernardino County's assistant registrar and chairman of the HAVA subcommittee of the election officials' state association.

According to local officials, Shelley's lapses include:

--Not granting counties the HAVA funds his office has received for poll- worker training and voter education. Shelley has made the funds available to grass-roots political organizations, but counties must spend their own money for training and education, then request reimbursement.

McCormack said granting the funds to counties - not spend-and-reimburse - was a component of the Shelley-approved state plan devised for implementing HAVA. Also, she said there are no guidelines for acceptable activities, so reimbursement isn't guaranteed.

Shelley's spokesman said HAVA does not specifically require the secretary of state to fund counties' poll-worker training and voter-education programs.

``There's no requirement that (counties) receive a dime (for poll-worker training.) This was something that the secretary of state thought was important,'' Miller said.

--Not establishing a contact office at the state level to provide voter-registration and absentee-ballot information to military personnel serving overseas. Although overseas voting began Sept. 3, there is still no such office, despite a Jan. 1, 2004, deadline for its creation.

Miller said a military personnel clearinghouse has been operational since Jan. 1, but a surprised McCormack said registrars were not made aware of this.

Said Trout: ``If that's the case, it must be a military secret.''

--Not creating a voter-accessible system for those casting provisional ballots to determine whether in fact their ballots were counted, and if not, why not. Many counties have created their own systems, but registrars complain of a lack of guidance from Sacramento on this issue.

--Not establishing a statewide voter-registration database. This was supposed to be up and running as of Jan. 1, 2004.

--Not disbursing HAVA funds to counties to purchase voting equipment for the disabled. This mandate, which has not been met by 48 counties, including Los Angeles County, has a 2006 deadline.

McCormack said the longer Shelley delays in releasing the necessary funds, the more Los Angeles County will be put in jeopardy of failing to meet this requirement, as its procurement process lasts more than a year.

``The consequences are going to come home to roost in 2006,'' she said.

California's first statewide election after this November's presidential contest is scheduled for June 2006.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is concerned about the Shelley situation, but is letting various state audits and federal investigations run their course before deciding whether to take action of his own, spokesman Rob Stutzman said.

David M. Drucker, [phone]

david.drucker(at)dailybulletin.com