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North Augusta approves Aiken County administration of November election, council questions cost allocation
Summary
On June 1 the North Augusta City Council approved Ordinance 2026-10, authorizing the Aiken County Board of Voter Registration and Elections to conduct the city's Nov. 3, 2026 election. Staff said the agreement places administration with the county; one councilmember raised concerns about the county charging the city 17% of the total election cost. (Approved unanimously.)
The North Augusta City Council on June 1 voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2026-10 authorizing the Aiken County Board of Voter Registration and Elections to administer the city’s Nov. 3, 2026 election.
City staff described the ordinance and the attached agreement as routine administration: "It approves Aiken County Board to take total responsibility of the city election held on November 3rd, 2026," a staff member said during the meeting. The council then voted to adopt the ordinance on second reading.
Council discussion focused on how the county calculated charges. One councilmember said the county billed the city a share equal to the city's percentage of county population and described the fee as 17% of the total election cost. "They ended up charging us a percentage of the cost of the entire election which I believe was 17%," the councilmember said, adding they planned to raise the methodology with county election officials in future years.
Why it matters: moving election administration to the county centralizes ballot processing and logistics but can shift costs to the municipality depending on the county’s cost-allocation method. Councilors asked for clarity about the formula and signaled interest in discussing costs with the county for future elections.
What happens next: With second-reading approval, the agreement will be implemented for the November election and the city will work with county election staff on logistics and billing for the upcoming contest.
