Teacher, teacher, try to teach me!

One would think a retired teacher would know the lessons that are taught to all school kids: be responsible, do what is expected of you when it's expected, and don't lie to cover up your own mistakes, errors, or lack of judgement

Nancy Worley proves once again she has no shame ... and no real idea what she's doing as the state's chief election official. In the Monday, 17 October 2005, edition of The Huntsville Times, Worley is reported to have addressed the looming 1 January 2006 deadline for implementing a new statewide voter registration system.

To bring you up to speed if you don't already know this -- Congress in 2002 mandated that each state have a voter registration system centralized at the state level to help ensure the accuracy of voter lists used in each county. The state system is to be the official list for all elections for federal offices. Congress' action was prompted by complaints in Florida that in the 2000 presidential election the voter lists contained a significant number of errors.

In 2003, Worley began the process of acquiring a new system so that Alabama would be compliant with federal law. However, as reported by The Huntsville Times, two years later, and a little over 2 months from the federal deadline, Worley has not decided on a vendor and hasn't begun to install the system.

However, Worley has stated she has no intention of signing a contract on a new system until the legislature provides certain funds to her office. In press release, Worley

"explained to representatives from each of the companies [seeking the contract for the system] that Alabama will not enter into a software licensing agreement until long-term funding for the operation and maintenance of the system is added to the state budget...

"But Secretary Worley says she is confident that Governor Riley and the Legislature will come through for Alabama...

"Secretary Worley will submit her budget request to the Governor within the next month."

Worley has concerns over money because the system will have to be licensed from the vendors rather than purchased outright. Although her office is sitting on over $40,000,000, that money is not intended to cover licensing fees in later years.

Let's not forget though that 1 January 2006 is the deadline for having a system up and running that meets the federal mandate. Inquiring minds want to know how Alabama will meet that deadline if Worley is not going to buy or license a new system until after that date. Remember, the Legislature can't budget more money for Worley until it goes back into session after the first of the year.

Worley's answer? The current system, ALVIN (the Alabama Voter Information Network) is substantially compliant! According to her comments in The Huntsville Times, the only reason we need a new system is because ALVIN is built on old technology. She said:

"We may not have a brand-new system by Jan. 1, but we have substantial compliance with the law with what we currently have - one that is very outdated in terms of technology."

However, ALVIN is not the type of system Congress envisioned in its mandate. Congress said the statewide system must be the official voter list and all poll lists are to be printed using the data in the central system. However, as Worley stated to the Justice Department, a number of counties use county-based voter registration systems to manage their voter lists. By her own admission, they upload their data to the state only weekly or monthly. They print their poll lists using their county system, which for a period of time will contain names of voters not on the state list.

Even the Election Assistance Commission notes in its guidelines for statewide voter registration systems that this practice is not permissible under HAVA. The uploads are not frequent enough to comply the idea of a centralized, official voter list:

"If a statewide voter registration list is not hosted on a single, centralized platform, States must ensure that all information contained on local, satellite databases is uploaded (synchronized) into the statewide voter registration database routinely, such that the State database can be viewed as the sole, official list of registered voters. Similarly, States must assure that the data comprising the official list (maintained by the State database) is downloaded or sent electronically to local systems on a regular basis so that local officials may have immediate access to the official list. At a minimum, the statewide voter registration list should be synchronized with local voter registration databases at least once every 24 hours to assure that the statewide voter registration list contains the names and registration information for all legally registered voters in the State. In the same way, the State must electronically send or download the appropriate information in its database to local election officials at least every 24 hours, so that they have immediate electronic access to the official voter registration list."

By Worley's own statements to the Justice Department, Alabama has 28 counties that do not meet this requirement.

It seems that Worley knows she has problem on her hands. If she doesn't comply with the 1 January deadline, she will have the biggest failure of her term of office (out of many failures). It's no wonder she's straining credulity with her claims of "substantial compliance" with the federal mandates.