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Secretary of State's office defends $17 million closed-primary costs, outlines e-poll book procurement
Summary
Department of State staff told the appropriations committee that implementing closed party primaries and switching to electronic poll books are the primary drivers of an $18.8 million state-general-fund increase budgeted for elections in FY26; the office also said voting-system standards were published and procurement will follow.
Blair LeBlanc of the House Fiscal Division told the committee the Department of State's FY26 recommended budget totals about $131 million, with the elections program comprising roughly $90.8 million and a requested state-general-fund increase of roughly $18.8 million tied to a statewide closed-party-primary change and implementation costs.
The nut: the Secretary of State's office told lawmakers the largest near-term costs are for voter education about the closed primaries and for a statewide move to electronic poll (e-poll) books required to run the new primary process.
Katherine Newsom, the first assistant secretary of state representing Secretary Nancy Landry, said the office asked for $12.7 million for electronic poll books and $3.5 million for public education on the change to closed party primaries. Newsom told the committee the voting-technology procurement process is underway: "Step 1 of the procurement process created by act 4 80 of the 2021 session was completed last Thursday, March 20, with the final publication of our system standards," and the law requires waiting 30 days after promulgation before moving to procurement.
Officials said the new voting system will include a paper component and allow voters to confirm selections on a paper ballot before casting votes; that approach responds to prior audit recommendations and auditability requirements in state law. Newsom said the voting-technology fund holds about $63.0 million and that the current voting equipment fleet is nearly 35 years old.
The committee pressed on voter confusion and poll-worker strain. Newsom and election officials described a planned voter-education mix that includes a household mailer, television and streaming ads, radio spots, print material and targeted digital outreach. The $3.5 million education budget is allocated roughly as: $1.3 million for a household mailer, $1.0 million television, $300,000 radio, $200,000 streaming, $170,000 printed materials, $200,000 video production, and smaller amounts for social media and reserves.
On election administration, the Department said the e-poll books are necessary for administering the new closed-primary mechanics and that election administrators will consolidate closed-party contests on ballots to reduce voter confusion. Commissioner of Elections Sherry Hatzke briefed the committee on prior experience with a first-party primary in 2008 and the operational differences that made the FY26 implementation more complex.
Lawmakers asked about ongoing costs; department staff said the public-education push is concentrated around implementation and should not be as costly in subsequent years once voters and officials adjust. Committee members also discussed poll-worker recruitment and compensation; Secretary staff said they are coordinating trainings and working with local registrars and clerks to staff polling places and that some legislative fixes for commissioner pay were under consideration.
The department also described procurement steps for a new voting system that will be widely audited and will require subsequent vendor selection after the promulgation period ends. Newsom said the office has implemented or is implementing legislative-audit recommendations from a 2021 audit and emphasized the department's recent national rankings for election integrity.
