Posted on 10/22/2006 7:31:18 AM PDT by calcowgirl
SACRAMENTO – Normally ho-hum, the campaign for secretary of state could be seen as a referendum on whether Californians trust new, federally mandated electronic voting systems and how they feel about requiring identification at the polls.
The Nov. 7 election also is the first chance voters have to judge appointed incumbent Bruce McPherson, who was forced to spend most of his early tenure cleaning up a political and fiscal quagmire left by his predecessor, Kevin Shelley, a Democrat who resigned under pressure.
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Challenger Debra Bowen, a Democratic state senator from Marina del Rey, has made the reliability of electronic voting systems a central theme in her campaign, alleging that scattered glitches threaten to disenfranchise voters and potentially skew results.
“My main goal is to solve the problems with voting equipment,” Bowen said. “That means making sure the ballots are secure and are audited properly.”
McPherson, a Republican who spent 11 years in the Legislature, said some problems can be traced to human error.
“We implemented the strictest standards in the nation that vendors have to meet before we would certify their voting systems. . . . I feel confident the systems I have certified will be true,” he said.
Congress has moved to tighten identification standards to register to vote, and the House approved a measure that would require proof of citizenship to vote, though the Senate didn't.
As elections watchdog, the secretary of state is charged with carrying out federal voter identification directives. McPherson and Bowen part ways on the identification requirements at the polls.
McPherson said identification will deter impostors. Among the many options of proof, he said, are a driver's license, utility bill or unique identifying number issued by the county registrar of voters.
“It gives us more assurance that the registered voters are the ones casting ballots,” he said. Those who cannot provide documents could still use provisional ballots that would not count until identification is verified, under McPherson's proposal.
Bowen said few will risk fines or jail time that could accompany a felony conviction just to cast an illegal ballot. Fraud is a figment of the imagination of those who want to suppress turnout among the disadvantaged, who generally support Democrats, she said.
“We don't have any evidence of people going to the polls voting as someone else.” Bowen said, adding that fraud is best fought at the first stop – registration – rather than forcing poll workers to play police.
McPherson and Bowen are former Senate colleagues; she voted for his confirmation after McPherson was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
McPherson served 11 years, including eight in the Senate, before term limits forced him out of office in 2004. A former newspaper editor, he was generally considered a moderate.
Bowen, also leaving office because of term limits after 14 years in the Legislature, earned a reputation as a pioneer in privacy rights and in efforts to make campaign finance records accessible on the Internet.
More is at stake than just the careers of two longtime politicians. If successful in this election, McPherson could be a Republican candidate for higher office in 2010 with the ability to draw Democratic voters.
The 62-year-old McPherson has precedence on his side. Another likable Republican, Bill Jones of Fresno, was elected secretary of state twice in a state where Democrats enjoy a registration advantage.
McPherson seized some momentum by securing the endorsement of the influential California Teachers Association long before Democrats had settled on their pick in the June primary. The powerful prison guards union also has endorsed McPherson.
Bowen, 50, is the only female major-party candidate on the statewide ballot. She has built a reputation in the privacy-rights arena, and has a record of working to make government more transparent by pushing legislation that requires the state to post legislative information online.
“If you want to know what I will do, look at what I have done,” said Bowen, borrowing one of her favorite lines from another senator.
Both candidates pledge to guarantee accurate counts, prevent fraudulent voting, ignite voter interest and upgrade the office's Web site to make information posted on the Internet about campaign contributions and spending easier to read.
Of primary importance, Bowen and McPherson agree, will be attracting voters to the polls.
McPherson's proposal includes a call to draw more competitive political boundary lines to entice voters.
“It's part of the reason some people have lost interest,” McPherson said, referring to the Legislature's habit of tilting district registration heavily in favor of one party or the other to protect incumbents. “It's predetermined who's going to win in just about every election in the Legislature and Congress.”
The pair also agree that allowing registration on the same day as the election is a worthy goal, but fraud-proof computer systems are not yet in place.
“We're not there yet,” Bowen said.
McPherson proposes to ban legislators and the governor from collecting campaign contributions during crucial periods when the outcome of most legislation is decided.
Bowen opposes the proposal, saying it would just squeeze fundraising into other periods and provide candidates not serving in the Legislature with an advantage.
She said she supports strict campaign finance limits. McPherson also calls for expanding the 24-hour reporting requirement to all donors at all times.
Bowen's agenda includes adopting a voluntary, online database of those who have filed end-of-life directives to make it quicker and easier for doctors and families to access final wishes for health care.
Also seeking the office are Forrest Hill of the Green Party, Margie Akin of the Peace and Freedom Party, Libertarian Gail Lightfoot and Glenn McMillion of the American Independent Party.
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