Title
A MOTION establishing county policy on certain elections issues and requesting the executive to perform specific actions related to elections processes and facilities and establishing timelines for executive and council actions.
Body
WHEREAS, three citizens groups, an expert audit of elections, two management consultants and the Secretary of State have reviewed King County elections and made recommendations to the county on ways to improve the conduct of elections, and
WHEREAS, in response to the King County citizens' elections oversight committee detailed report that included six high-priority recommendations, management and staff of the elections section have worked hard and made many improvements and have conducted successful elections in 2005 and 2006, and
WHEREAS, the Secretary of State has recommended reconfiguring elections facilities to be more functional and the King County citizens' election oversight committee and the Elections Center recommended consolidating elections operations into a single facility, and
WHEREAS, efforts to acquire or construct a new consolidated elections facility should proceed quickly but thoughtfully so that consolidation can occur in a timely way prior to the next presidential election, and
WHEREAS, the King County citizens' election oversight committee and the Elections Center found a number of problems with voter registration records including voters improperly registered, felons registered who were ineligible to vote and deceased voters were not removed from voter registration records in a timely way, and
WHEREAS, in January 2006, all counties in Washington State began operating in coordination with the Secretary of State's statewide voter database; and
WHEREAS, the King County citizens' election oversight committee and the Elections Center recommended that elections operations and facilities needed improved security, and
WHEREAS, the King County citizens' election oversight committee and the I...
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