Payment for voter outreach in limbo as controller says secretary of state needs budget authority
Approval for spending on a $35 million statewide voter outreach and education campaign has stalled as state agencies grapple over whether or not the California Secretary of State’s office has the authority to spend certain state funds.
The state Controller’s office, which acts as the chief financial officer for the state, said this week that the Secretary of State has not cited an appropriate budget authority to spend local assistance funds on its contract with consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker, as the office has claimed.
The ads for the Vote Safe California campaign began airing last month on televisions across the state, telling voters how to track their mail ballots and ensuring them that they are “simple, safe” and “secure.”
On Wednesday, Jennifer Hanson, spokesperson for the State Controller’s office, said the office’s legal counsel has determined that the appropriation cited by the Secretary of State to pay for the campaign contract “is legally insufficient to support payment,” and the Controller’s Office will not approve claims.
Paula Valle, chief communications director for the Secretary of State, said Wednesday the contract is in place and the office in conversations with other state agencies about it.
“We continue to work with the State Controller’s office, the Department of Finance, and others to determine the best method for payment for this voter education campaign,” Valle said in an email.
She said the office has a successful history of using local assistance funds to support voter education and voter outreach in partnership and on behalf of counties.
“This voter education campaign is a continuation of the coordination and collaboration with counties to maintain the accessibility, security, and safety of our elections,” Valle said.
This week, all 21 million California registered voters will receive ballots in the mail, which they can return through the postal service or drop off at designated locations in their counties. The change was intended to let voters navigate the election safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s office says the campaign was launched in direct response to requests from the governor and the Legislature to educate voters about changes to the November elections. Senate Bill 423, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in August, requires the Secretary of State to conduct a statewide voter education and outreach campaign regarding new procedures in place for the election.
Through an emergency process, the Secretary of State this summer awarded the $35 million contract to the public affairs and political consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker. Although the firm and Padilla’s office have defended the contract as a nonpartisan effort to inform voters, the firm touts itself as on “Team Biden” on its website.
Anita Dunn, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker, worked in the Obama White House was named a top adviser to the Biden campaign in February. In a 2018 press release, the firm congratulated its Democratic clients on big wins in the midterms, and claimed credit for helping flip the House of Representatives to a Democratic majority. The firm helped elect five California Democrats to Congress that year.
On Friday, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation sent a letter to Padilla demanding he cancel any future expenditure or payment on the contract. Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove on Tuesday praised the Controller’s Office and said the contract should have never gone to a firm with “Team Biden” ties.
“The integrity of our election system should have never been in doubt, especially by the state election’s chief,” Grove said in a statement.
California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson on Wednesday evening echoed calls for Padilla to stop any payment on the contract.
“It’s disgraceful to Californians that the State Controller had to explain to Secretary Padilla that he has no budget authority to make this wasteful and completely partisan $35 million expenditure and had to step in to protect the integrity of our elections system,” she said in a statement.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Payment for voter outreach in limbo as controller says secretary of state needs budget authority."