Proposed 2025-26 Budget

Overall Budget Summary

The Proposed Budget recommends status quo staffing of 14.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) and includes changes for negotiated salary and benefit increases. Appropriations total $ 5,677,260, funded by revenues of $ 786,170 and a General Fund contribution of $ 4,891,090.

The Budget includes a decrease in total revenues of $873,705 primarily due to a $750,000 decrease in election-related revenue since the 2024-25 budget included revenue from the 2024 Presidential General Election and the 2026-27 budget will include revenue for the June 2026 California Primary Election. State grant revenue also decreased by $106,030 from the expiration of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 grant for 2024-25 election security.

Total expenditures decreased by $812,765 due to a $405,324 decrease in salaries and benefits from a reduction in extra help staff not needed for current year elections, a $392,183 decrease in various election supply costs, such as postage, and a $219,660 decrease in professional services from the end of election security grant-funded services and reduced election activity. These decreases are offset by a $136,174 increase from the change in facility charges to properly reflect the cost of facility services and utilities.

State Primary Election Impact on Revenue and Expenses: Other than the California Primary Election in June 2026, the department is not anticipating any special or regular elections held by local jurisdictions this fiscal year. As such, staff are anticipating a decrease in expenses and revenue related to election administration.

Election Administration: Clerk-Elections has administered all elections under the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) model since 2020. This model requires that Vote Centers open earlier in the election to provide early voting opportunities. However, voter turnout trends continue roughly the same making the cost per voter comparably higher earlier in the election than with the traditional polling place (PP) model. The 2025-26 Proposed Budget is not based on the PP model; however, staff are exploring a transition to this model for the June 2026 California Primary Election.

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act: The current federal administration introduced the SAVE Act to require that all voter registration occur in-person. In addition, all registrants would need to provide citizen documentation and identification (ID), and the name on the citizenship document must match the name on the ID. These requirements could disenfranchise eligible voters, including women who took their spouses’ names when they got married, transgender voters whose documents do not reflect their preferred names, disabled voters, and voters in rural areas among others.

Executive Order 14248, Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections: On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) introducing significant changes to the United States election process. The EO also requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote, mandates that all mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted and allows for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Administrator and the Secretary of Homeland Security to review State voter registration statuses.