Importance of Election Administration Financing

As voters cast their ballots in a local, state, or national election, they may not consider the infrastructure that supports this essential component of democracy. While elections occur nationwide, voting takes place — and is funded — on a local level. The funding and infrastructure of elections is largely invisible to the public, but it is significant to the process.

Zach Mohr, Ph.D., associate professor in KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration, has been studying costs in local government since 2016 While he was faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he began working with Martha Kropf, Ph.D., with research on election administration and its costs.

He says prior to the 2000 presidential race between former Vice President Al Gore and former President George W. Bush, which had very close vote counts, there may have been a small percentage of people who were distrustful of the voting process.

“This is when data collection on election specifics, such as what types of machines are used, how much money was spent, and how polling locations are run became common.”

While it had been changing gradually for over a decade, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic affected voting practices further.

“The increased number of people who are voting early and by mail is a significant change,” Mohr said. “It changes how elections are administered. For example, it may mean districts need more staff leading up to the election, but less staff on election day.”

Fortunately, governments are able to closely monitor election details.

“The logistics and cost of early voting, and to some extent mail-in voting, are different from in-person voting,” Mohr said. “Even if a state or local government doesn't allow one of those types of voting, and most states do, agencies need to know how to staff polling places leading up to the election and on Election Day.”

While processes and laws may differ, the job of election administrators is relatively similar.

“What I've seen is that the active voting processes for the elections administrators — the top people their job — is pretty similar,” Mohr says. “They organize people, they know their equipment, and they test ballots.”

Mohr thinks that the number of people who are voting early and by mail will continue to increase, affecting how elections need to be administered.

“There may need to have more staff leading up to the election, but less on Election Day. I think just like everything it's constantly changing, and the administrators change with the times.”

“A Republic if You Can Afford It: How Much Does It Cost to Administer an Election?” Co-authored with Martha Kropf, Ph.D.,  Mary Jo McGowan, Ph.D. and JoEllen Pope, Ph.D. CPA,.

Zach Mohr, Ph.D., a leader in behavioral public budgeting and financial management, is currently co-authoring a book with Martha Kropf, Ph.D., and Mary Jo McGowan, Ph.D., both of the University of North Carolina Charlotte, on the cost of election administration at the local level titled “A Republic if You Can Afford It: How Much Does It Cost to Administer an Election?” He has provided testimony to the Congressional Committee on House Administration and has actively participated in the Election Science Reform and Administration Conference.