Commentary: State Needs to Pay its Fair Share of Election Costs

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Unfunded mandates put in place by the state Legislature are depleting counties’ scarce resources and revenue streams more and more each year. No county should have to prioritize efficient, fair and accurate election processes over other essential functions of government, such as public safety. However, that’s what happens every other year. And that’s exactly what will happen again in 2020 if the Legislature continues refusing to pay its fair share of election costs.

Counties conduct elections on behalf of every level of government – from federal presidential elections and state initiatives down to local mosquito control districts. Washington state residents should be confident and proud that they have one of the most trustworthy and efficient election systems in the United States, with an excellent reputation for integrity, accuracy and access.

Achieving this unparalleled election system comes at a cost. It’s expensive to modernize and maintain election registration and ballot-counting systems. It’s expensive to provide the highest-possible election security. And it’s expensive to conduct elections for 4.4 million registered voters across the state.

Same-day voter registration, increased ballot drop boxes and the introduction of pre-paid postage have been put in place to help improve voter access. However, these are costly additions that have been mandated by your state legislators. Some are only partially funded, while others are not funded at all, placing an even heavier financial burden on county governments that already struggle to meet other obligations in providing public health services, law enforcement, courts and a myriad of other statutorily and constitutionally required programs and services.

Who should pay for elections? Nearly every ballot in every election contains measures from a mixture of districts, such as the state, the county, cities, schools, etc. Each of these participating districts pays its fair share of the total election cost based on the number of registered voters within their boundary lines — except for the state of Washington. The state Legislature has decided to “opt out” of providing funding during even years, when the vast majority of its state offices are on the ballot. Despite the urging of county commissioners and county auditors for decades — and multiple opportunities to do the right thing to change the law — the state has chosen to force cash-strapped county governments to pay the bill.

Like all of the other counties across the state, Lewis County is forced to pay for these even-year elections in lieu of other essential community needs, such as increasing public safety, with no assistance from the state Legislature, which derives much of the benefit.



When counties are on the hook to pay the entire cost of conducting the state’s elections, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, public health and parks are not funded at the levels the local taxpayers deserve. So long as the state fails to pay its fair share of state elections, Lewis County and all of the other counties across the state will continue to shoulder the burden of these unfunded mandates. We’ll continue to foot the state’s bill while siphoning resources away from public safety and our residents’ quality of life.

This lack of funding can be remedied. Election administrators are bracing for 2020, which is poised to be the largest and most contentious election in the state’s history. Counties are unsure if they will be able to continue to cover the state’s share of election costs. Is this a risk you want to take?

Now more than ever, we must support secure, transparent and accessible elections. Hundreds of county officials — including all 39 independently-elected county auditors and elections directors — have asked the state Legislature to pass a Fair Share Election Funding bill (House Bill 1291 and Senate Bill 5073). Instead of owning its responsibility — as every school, fire and park district does — the state of Washington continues to refuse to pay its election bill, putting your vote at risk.

Let your voice be heard on this issue, and tell your legislators to stop putting our electoral system at risk. As representatives of the Washington State Association of County Auditors and the Washington State Association of Counties, we urge you to call or email your state legislators and tell them it’s time to pay their fair share of their own elections. If you don’t know how to reach the lawmakers who represent you, call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or visit www.leg.wa.gov.