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Board of Elections budget holds steady as county funds nine election days in FY26
Summary
Anne Arundel County Board of Elections officials told the County Council their FY26 general fund request is essentially a realignment of pay categories and a modest net decrease, while preparing for nine election days and recent physical-security upgrades to their warehouse after a bomb threat in the last presidential election.
The Anne Arundel County Board of Elections asked the County Council to approve its FY26 proposed budget, which officials said is largely a reallocation of existing costs rather than a significant increase in total county funding.
Director David Garris told the council the office — a state office funded by the county with 27 full‑time employees and a five‑member board appointed by the governor — is budgeting for nine election days in the coming fiscal year, including a primary now set by the legislature for June 23, 2026. He also said the office expects lower turnout for that primary because the date moved up a week from June 30.
The county budget office’s Beau Zhao outlined line‑item changes: personal services increase by about $1.2 million mainly from reclassifying “election officials pay” from contractual services to personal services and a turnover adjustment for state employee pay and benefits; temporary pay and overtime fell by nearly $700,000 reflecting anticipated lower turnout; contractual services decreased by about $1.2 million, including a roughly $440,000 drop in state‑border election billing. Overall, the FY26 general fund for the Board of Elections decreased by about $60,000 on paper after the reallocations.
Garris also told the council the office has been improving physical security at its warehouse after a bomb threat following the last presidential election. He thanked the Anne Arundel County Police Department and emergency management for assistance, and said the office has added interior cameras, additional door alarms and ID card readers to compartmentalize building access.
Council members had no substantive votes on the presentation. No new supplemental requests were presented; council discussion focused on the security upgrades and the budget reclassifications.
The board’s funding and preparations will remain subject to council appropriation and any state changes to election timing or costs.
