County Council improves management of King County elections by creating separate Elections Division

New Marine Division also created to operate service for King County Ferry District

King County Elections will operate as a separate division within county government with the sole responsibility of conducting fair and accurate elections, and a new Marine Division will operate ferry service, under legislation adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council in connection with adoption of its 2008 King County Budget.

“Moving Elections up in the organizational chart and removing some of its unrelated duties will enable our Elections Director to focus solely on running smooth elections,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, chair of the Operating Budget Committee and co-sponsor of the legislation. “This move is especially timely with the presidential elections coming next year.”

“If free elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, then having our Elections Division stand on its own keeps us operationally focused on this objective,” said Councilmember Jane Hague, co-sponsor of the legislation.

Elections are currently managed as an Elections Section within the county’s Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division, which is part of the Department of Executive Services (DES). Today’s action creates a stand-alone Elections Division within DES to register voters and conduct elections, with the renamed Records and Licensing Services Division retaining the duties of public record-keeping, licensing and animal care and control.

“We are making Elections its own division to allow management to focus exclusively on ensuring accurate, fair elections where every vote is counted, and every voter's privacy protected,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, co-sponsor of the legislation.

“King County voters are very concerned about accountability and accuracy in elections, as they demonstrated earlier this month in passing Initiative 25 calling for an elected auditor,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, co-sponsor of the legislation. “Good government requires that the conduct of elections be a focal point for one manager, whether elected or appointed, without the distraction of other unrelated agencies to supervise.”

The Elections Director, Superintendent of Elections, and the new Manager of Records and Licensing Services will still require Council confirmation.

“Protecting animals and protecting the integrity of our democracy are distinctly different government responsibilities,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson. “This is a long-overdue reform that will better enable Elections mangers to focus on continued operational improvements. With a major election approaching we can't afford distractions or competing priorities.”

“Elections are too important to be buried in bureaucracy,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips. “This move will allow managers to give elections the full attention they deserve in order to administer fair, accurate, open, and smooth elections.”

Two separate panels appointed by the Council to advise on elections improvements, The Elections Center and the Citizens' Elections Oversight Committee, have recommended making elections a stand-alone function. The Elections Center’s audit of elections operations specifically recommended that elections be made a separate division within DES.

The Council today also created a new Marine Division within the King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT) to provide services for the King County Ferry District, which the Council created in April to expand transportation options for county residents through provision of waterborne transit.

The Marine Division will be responsible for:

• Managing, acquiring, constructing, and maintaining the Ferry District’s marine transportation system infrastructure;
• Managing or overseeing design, engineering, and construction management functions of the Ferry District’s capital program;
• Providing support services to the Ferry District, such as project management, labor negotiations, and environmental review; and
• Planning, administering, and operating passenger ferry service for the District.

The County and Ferry District must approve an Interlocal agreement under which the Marine Division will provide services to the Ferry District.

The King County Ferry District Board last week adopted a 2008 work plan, budget, and funding for operation of Vashon passenger-only ferry service, year-round operation of the popular Elliott Bay Water Taxi, and five demonstration routes linking Seattle with the local shoreline communities of Kirkland/Eastside, Kenmore/North Lake Washington, Shilshole/North Puget Sound, Renton/South Lake Washington, and Des Moines/South Puget Sound.