Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Elections budget: annual costs, reserve rules and potential ranked‑choice costs
Summary
Cowlitz County election officials told commissioners that 2025 election costs are about $577,000 with maintenance of roughly $285,000, described a 15% overhead elections reserve for software replacement, and warned ranked‑choice voting software could cost hundreds of thousands to implement.
COWLITZ COUNTY — County staff briefed commissioners on the elections budget, reserve rules and technology needs, saying the elections fund is sensitive to the number and type of elections and that replacing tabulation software can be costly.
The county reported about $577,474 in election costs for 2025 and $285,308 in maintenance costs, for combined billing of roughly $862,782; staff noted year‑end invoices can change the apparent balance and that some charges will be accrued back to FY2025. Carolyn said Washington law allows counties to charge a 15% overhead on billed election expenses that flows into a restricted elections reserve to buy and maintain election system software.
Commissioners asked if existing tabulation software could handle ranked‑choice voting (RCV). Carolyn said King County paid about $1 million for an RCV implementation and estimated Cowlitz County — smaller but not immune to costs — could face costs “in the low hundreds of thousands” for software alone plus additional staff time.
Staff urged commissioners to account for the uncertain timing and expense of elections and software replacement when planning budgets and to expect large fiscal swings in years with multiple or statewide races. No formal action was taken; staff said they will continue to monitor bills on RCV and other election requirements.
