SACRAMENTO — Secretary of State Kevin Shelley mismanaged millions of dollars in federal funds intended for voter education and new election machines, a blistering state audit concluded Thursday.
The report asserted that Shelley used some of the $46 million from an election reform program to pay contractors who attended partisan political events and wrote speeches for him. At the same time, counties were waiting months for their share of money to buy sorely needed voting equipment.
State Auditor Elaine M. Howle's findings not only confirm many allegations raised in recent news reports but for the first time demonstrate the depth of management problems attributed to the state's chief elections officer -- and the state's potential liability for his lapses.
The 70-page assessment concluded that no one was in charge of California's efforts to implement the sweeping reforms adopted by Congress after the 2000 presidential election. It portrayed Shelley's office as poorly run, willing to bend the rules and overwhelmed.
Auditors also suggested that the state elections office may have paid too much for services such as legal advice, information technology and voter outreach. Shelley repeatedly circumvented state regulations by awarding dozens of no-bid contracts, some to his Democratic political associates.
The audit warned that state taxpayers may be required to repay the federal government for questionable spending but did not state an amount.
"We do not dispute that, overall, we could have done a better job," Shelley said in a statement. "Any mistakes that were made were certainly not intentional." Shelley blamed the problems in part on having to supervise three elections in one year -- the gubernatorial recall, the March primary and the November presidential election.
Shelley said he has taken several steps to improve control over money provided under the federal Help America Vote Act: His office has fired voter outreach consultants, instructed his staff to avoid partisan activity and reorganized his management team. He also hopes to soon hire a contractor to help oversee the program.
The audit was performed at the request of Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks), who said it raised serious questions of "malfeasance" that need to be investigated.
