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Elections officials warn of possible $8,000–$10,000 overrun after record turnout
Summary
Elections Manager Asa Gray told commissioners that unusually high turnout in the recent presidential election exhausted overtime funds and could push the operating budget $8,000–$10,000 over in fiscal year 2025.
Elections Manager Asa Gray told the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on April 1 that the county’s recent presidential election produced the highest number of voters in the county’s history and has strained the department’s temporary staffing, overtime and supply budgets.
“We have actually already used all of our overtime line item, and we still have an election coming up,” Gray said. Gray explained that the department reported nearly 19,000 early votes in the most recent presidential election—“more than doubled” from the roughly 9,400 early votes in 2020—and that higher turnout drove increased costs for early-voting administration, ballot printing and absentee ballot assembly.
Gray said the department has “just under $8,000 remaining in our temporary seasonal salaries” and that election-supplies and print-on-demand stock costs and an extra shred event (shifted into the fiscal year) together could cause the operating B budget to exceed planned funds by an estimated $8,000 to $10,000. She said the department expects a clearer figure after the May election, likely by late June when invoices are processed.
Gray described the primary drivers: - Unexpectedly high early voting and absentee requests (approximately 3,000 more absentee ballots than budgeted), which increased ballot printing and assembly costs; - An additional records shredding event that fell into the current fiscal year, adding roughly $1,000 to costs; and - Use of temporary staff and overtime during a three-week early voting period.
Commissioners acknowledged the report and asked no formal action at the meeting. Clerk Clark attended with Gray but did not make a separate presentation.
