Kevin J. Kennedy - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Kevin J. Kennedy

Director and General CounselWisconsin Government Accountability Board

Wisconsin Election Cost DataVoting in America Conference 2012The Price of ElectionsSlide2

Wisconsin Election Statistics1,923 Jurisdictions72 Counties1,851 Municipalities3,541 Reporting Units (2012 General Election)6,676 WardsApproximately 30,000 Election Inspectors (Poll Workers) each electionSlide3

2012 Wisconsin Statewide ElectionsApril 3, 2012 – Presidential Preference and Spring Election May 8, 2012 – Recall Primary June 5, 2012 – Recall Election August 14, 2012 – Partisan PrimaryNovember 6, 2012 – Presidential and General Election*(cost data not yet available)Slide4

Wisconsin Election Costs Year-To-Date Slide5

Wisconsin Election Costs Year-To-Date Slide6

Wisconsin Year-To-Date Election CostsElection

Year-To-Date Costs

2012 Presidential Preference and Spring Election

2012 May 8 Recall Primary Election

2012 June 5 Recall Election

2012 Partisan Primary

Total Cost

$27,093,750.32

$7,678,647.48

$6,311,580.64

$7,230,397.94

$5,873,124.27

Training

$1,267,658.01

$655,381.63

$161,250.35

$250,225.28

$200,800.75

Ballots

$3,404,704.34

$956,166.27

$724,960.33

$983,857.58

$739,720.16

Memory Devices

$310,740.69

$90,508.12

$117,798.05

$55,924.82

$46,509.70

Programming

$2,743,131.13

$773,679.55

$616,890.90

$600,951.93

$751,608.75

Ballot Bags

$77,482.50

$16,219.14

$11,618.49

$10,791.22

$38,853.65

Wages - Poll Workers and Board of Canvassers

$9,189,231.53

$2,296,011.84

$2,292,419.91

$2,568,884.85

$2,031,914.93

L.E.O. Staff

$7,058,692.28

$1,920,863.97

$1,768,462.01

$1,978,093.77

$1,391,272.53

Polling Place Rental

$117,590.07

$31,753.17

$29,188.45

$27,297.45

$29,351.00

Notices

$1,053,494.22

$320,576.25

$242,821.27

$252,030.07

$238,066.64

Polling Place Documents

$440,144.08

$148,522.09

$101,366.65

$97,442.97

$92,812.37

Miscellaneous

$1,430,881.49

$468,965.46

$244,804.24

$404,898.01

$312,213.79Slide7
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Wisconsin Voter Turnout General ElectionsYear and Election

Voting Age Population (VAP)Votes CastPercentage of VAP Voting2012 General**4,378,7413,071,43470.1%

2012 Recall*4,378,7412,516,37157.4%

2010

General

4,372347

2,171,331

49.7%

2008 General

4,330,695

2,996,869

69.2%

2006 General

4,260,038

2,166,671

50.9%

2004 General

4,118,621

3,016,288

72.9%

2002 General 4,060,973 1,785,710 44.0%2000 General 3,908,533 2,619,184 67.0%

*2012 June 5 Recall Election included with General Elections

** 2012 Presidential and General Election Votes and Turnout based on official results for the office of President of the United StatesSlide9

Wisconsin Voter Turnout Partisan Primary Elections

Year and ElectionVoting Age Population (VAP)Votes CastPercentage of VAP Voting2012 Partisan Primary4,378,741851,57219.4%

2012 Recall Primary*4,378,7411,360,75031.0%

2010

Partisan Primary

4,372,347

857,027

19.6%

2008 Partisan Primary

4,330,695

388,079

8.9%

2006 Partisan Primary

4,260,038

615,944

14.5%

2004 Partisan Primary

4,118,621

686,546

16.7%

2002 Partisan Primary 4,060,973 913,52322.5%2000 Partisan Primary 3,908,533 406,665

10.4%

*2012 May 8 Recall Primary Election included with Partisan Primary ElectionsSlide10

Wisconsin Voter Turnout Presidential Preference Elections

Year and ElectionVoting Age Population (VAP)Votes CastPercentage of VAP Voting2012 Presidential Preference 4,378,7411,144,351

26.1%2008 Presidential Preference 4,330,695

1,511,639

34.9%

2004 Presidential

Preference

4,118,621

992,242

24.1%

2000 Presidential

Preference

3,908,533

866,965

22.2%Slide11

Wisconsin Voter Turnout Spring Elections (w/o Pres. Pref.)

Year and ElectionVoting Age Population (VAP)Votes CastPercentage of VAP Voting2011 Spring Election4,372,3471,524,528

34.8%2010 Spring Election4,372,347

574,130

13.1%

2009 Spring Election

4,354,717

793,864

18.2%

2008 Spring Election

4,294,976

830,450

19.3%

2007 Spring Election

4,294,976

831,657

19.3%

2006 Spring Election

4,260,038

502,688

11.8%2005 Spring Election4,220,645723,62317.1%2004No Statewide Election2003 Spring Election

4,088,085

814,641

19.9%

2002

No Statewide

Election

2001 Spring

Election

4,021,482

552,549

13.7%

2000 Spring Election

3,908,533

817,749

20.9%Slide12

Wisconsin Election Cost Data - Lessons LearnedDifficult to collect data from 1,923 jurisdictions72 Counties190 Cities 406 Villages1,255 TownsApproximately 62 percent of Municipal Clerks are Part-TimeAll 72 County Clerks are ElectedSlide13

Wisconsin Election Cost Data - Lessons LearnedDefine cost categories in clear detailWithout clear instructions, categories can be interpreted differentlyProvided clerks with three pages of instructions2011 cost estimates versus 2012 cost dataTotal costs were similar, but major differences within categoriesEstimates did not separate poll worker wages from L.E.O. Staff costs for municipalitiesCategories for counties and municipalities were differentSlide14

Wisconsin Election Cost Data - Lessons LearnedFixed CostsNoticesPolling place rentalVariable CostsBallots (including absentee costs)Programming electronic voting equipment

Each Election

Poll worker wages

Ballots

Annually

Purchasing voting equipment or memory devices

Training

L.E.O. Staff

Determining the frequency and timing of collection election cost dataSlide15

Wisconsin Election Cost Data - Lessons LearnedElections costs provide a valuable toolPolicy change analysisPerformance managementBudgeting Identifying potential cost savingsSlide16

Kevin J. KennedyDirector and General CounselKevin.Kennedy@wi.gov(608) 261-8683Brian M. Bell, M.P.A.

Election Data ManagerBrian.Bell@wi.gov(608) 261-2011Wisconsin Government Accountability BoardHomepage: http://gab.wi.gov

Statistics: http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting/statistics