Is Alabama's Secretary of State Stephanie Worley Wasting Public Funds?

The Mobile Press-Register Op-Ed from today takes Secertary of State Stephanie Worley to task for spending public funds on voter education. Seems like a waste to me and yet at a minimum I'd argue it is questionable for her to appear in the media spots if she's facing re-election. Here's the guts of the piece:

The total cost for running the ads would be $563,717. The money would come from interest earned on federal funds used to implement the federal Help Americans Vote Act. While these aren't tax dollars, they are clearly public funds.

Bottom line: Politicians seeking re-election have no business spending public dollars to encourage folks to vote. There's an inherent conflict of interest in that.

Get-out-the-vote drives, which are appropriate in a democracy, are better handled by citizen activists, not government officials.

I know there are likely plenty of other issues out there yet this one seems appropriate. Note that she is a Democrat. I'm an equal opportunity advocate or at least I attempt the same. Peace ... or War!