How Runoff Elections and the Form of Local Administration Affect the Costs of Elections

Abstract

To what extent do states’ administrative and policy choices affect their election costs? Previous scholarship highlights how the costs and demand sides of the public sector cost model correlate with election administration spending, and more recent evidence has added political considerations such as the partisanship of county commissions. Using Georgia’s unique election processes—runoff elections and multiple methods of election administration at the county level—we contribute to understanding election administration expenditures. We demonstrate that general election runoffs and Boards of Election, rather than probate judge-run elections, are related to significant increases in expenditures per registered voter between 2014 and 2020. This further develops the literature regarding procedural costs and the impact of the managerial capacity of election bureaus.