Voter registration office reports 625,938 registered voters, seeks steady 2026 budget

Alex Norinda, Democratic board member of the Marion County Board of Voter Registration, told the Admin and Finance Committee that the voter-registration office expects its 2026 budget to remain largely consistent, with modest increases tied to salary and benefits.

“Voter registration touched over 130,000 registrations in 2024,” Norinda said, and the office reported 625,938 registered voters as of Aug. 13 — the largest number in the state. The office described a staffing model that includes 12 positions mandated to be bipartisan by statute: two co-director/board-member positions, two chief deputies, four senior analysts and four analysts.

Officials said the office spends substantial time following up on registrations that require correction, processes candidate petitions and supports elections by operating as an auxiliary unit to the Marion County Election Board during early voting and on election day. The office also provides Spanish-language registration materials and partners with community groups to host registration drives; volunteers and staff attend community events, high-school graduations and other outreach venues.

The proposed 2026 budget is fully funded by the county general fund and represents a $63,391 increase from the 2025 budget, staff said. The increase is largely attributable to character-1 personnel costs and benefits. The presentation said character-2 office-supply costs were trimmed slightly and that character-3 professional services will rise modestly because part-time staff for election seasons are hired through a third‑party temp agency and because some storage and service costs increase in election years.

Officials said the state’s SVRS system has been reliable and they did not anticipate state-mandated system changes in the near term. The office also said it pursues grant funding for specific programs (estimated grant revenue of about $172,000 in a related agency’s presentation) and that voter-registration work is largely service oriented with no significant internal revenue streams.

When councilors asked about age breakdowns of registered voters and outreach to high schools, staff said age-specific reports can be pulled from the voter-registration system but were not provided during the hearing. The office said they are developing affirmative outreach to high schools but noted increased school security in recent years can make in-person visits more difficult.