Top elections official accuses counties of protecting voting 'turf'

By: DON THOMPSON - Associated Press

SACRAMENTO California's elections chief on Saturday criticized county officials for balking at a directive he said would protect new touch-screen voting machines from hackers and malfunction.

"I cannot understand why any public official would oppose these measures. The voters deserve no less," Secretary of State Kevin Shelley wrote elections officials in a pointed letter released by his office. He suggested local officials might not want the state infringing on their "turf."

Ten county registrars are challenging Shelley's authority to require the security measures for next month's presidential primary ballot.

The requirements are too expensive, they said, with Riverside County alone estimating its cost at more than $2.5 million. Others objecting to Shelley's order are Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Napa, Kern, Plumas and Shasta counties.

Shelley told the officials in a conference call a week ago that the state will find a way to reimburse counties for any added costs, his spokesman Doug Stone said Saturday.

In a letter Shelley said was faxed to his office Wednesday night and made public Friday, the elections officials accused Shelley of overstepping his jurisdiction and "misleading the public" about the vulnerabilities of the touch-screen systems.

Shelley ordered the 10 counties using the state-certified systems to do random testing of the machines, among other measures, after reports suggested software flaws could let hackers manipulate votes and change election results. Critics also object that the systems do not produce an independent paper record that can verify contested returns.

"If the software malfunctions, or is corrupted, there is no way to reconstruct the results of an election," Shelley replied in the letter he sent late Friday and made public Saturday. He has ordered all touch-screen systems to include a paper trail by 2006.