Auditor: $8.4 million spent on municipal elections in 2025

On July 27, the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) released a new report indicating that $8.4 million was spent across 91 of 100 counties that held municipal elections in 2025, with an average per-vote cost in NC of $47.

“At the end of the day, elections are local, and this audit breaks down how much it actually costs to run an odd-year election,” State Auditor Dave Boliek said in a press release. “Our team performed this work in an effort to clearly identify to taxpayers and policymakers across the state that substantial resources are required to run fair and free elections in our state.”

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), approximately 822,000 people voted across those 91 counties in 2025. Personnel costs of $5.1 million are the most expensive of the five cost drivers, followed by operating at $2.1 million, building and space at $1.1 million, professional development at $126,600, and other/net credits at $10,900.

Personnel costs include election staffing, temporary in-office, post-audit, precinct, and poll work costs, with election staffing being the most expensive, accounting for 64% ($3.2 million) of the $5.1 million spent on personnel. Operating costs include ballot printing, coding, and election materials, accounting for about 55% of the $1.1 million spent. Building and space costs, including delivery, set-up, and usage of voting equipment, as well as polling place rentals, account for 54% of the $600,000.   

In Appendix C, the report breaks down by county the amount spent, the number of ballots cast, and the per-vote cost. 

The report found that larger counties had a lower per-vote cost than smaller counties did with lower voter participation. For example, Mecklenburg had a total cost of $1.3 million at $5.82 per vote. However, in Camden County, only five people cast ballots at a total cost of $7,589, with a per-vote cost of $1,518. Camden County is the fourth least populated county in North Carolina; it is a consolidated city-county with a population of 10,355 according to the 2020 Census.  

Camden County had the highest per-vote cost in 2025, according to the report. The average cost per vote was $47, according to the report. The average cost per vote by county size was $126 in small counties, $23 in medium counties, and $14 in large counties. 

“The report touches on one of the problems with odd-year municipal elections: the cost,” Dr. Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “The statewide average administrative cost in 2025 was $47. It is in the single digits in elections in even-numbered years. That high cost is driven by low turnout. Some election administration costs are fixed, so the cost-per-vote increases as turnout decreases. Municipal leaders often prefer odd-year elections so that local issues are not conflated with state and national issues, but the trade-off is relatively expensive elections and low voter participation.”

In 2025, approximately 20,406 votes were cast in large counties, 2,524 votes were cast in medium counties, and 415 votes were cast in small counties. The average in 2024 was 166,259 ballots in large counties, 32,571 ballots in medium counties, and 8,468 ballots in small counties. 

The report breaks down each county’s total cost across the five cost drivers and how much the additional expense items were within each cost driver. For example, Alamance County spent $1,300 on advertising and public notices, $18,149 on ballot printing and coding, $319 on postage, $24,025 on supplies, and $180 on travel and transportation, for a total of $43,973 in operating costs. 

“Auditor: $8.4 million spent on municipal elections in 2025” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.