By james art 
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks about 2024 election security at the Clark County Elections Department on Jan. 10, 2024, in North Las Vegas. (LE Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS)
As threats to election officials have increased since 2020, local governments are spending millions of dollars to increase protection for voters, poll workers, ballots and equipment.
About 92 percent of local election officials say they have taken steps since the last presidential cycle to increase security for voters, election officials or election infrastructure, according to a survey earlier this year by the Brennan Center for Justice. These measures range from cyber security protections to physical improvements for polling offices or polling sites. Everything from the cost of paper to print bulletins to technology upgrades to physical facility improvements hits budgets.
“The cost of securing elections is only increasing every day because of new threats,” said Isaac Cramer, a South Carolina election representative and one of the legislative chairs of the National Association of Election Officials.
Administration of elections — from ballot printing to polling place security — is the responsibility of local governments, and the decentralized nature makes it difficult to calculate the total cost of the 2024 contest, but officials, including those in swing states like Georgia and Wisconsin, agree that costs are rising.
Although Congress has provided billions for election security in recent years, local officials say it’s not enough, and officials have spent heavily to improve various election aspects, such as new facilities and worker training. Although federal grants exist, demand far outstrips need, and in some states—such as South Carolina and Wisconsin—federal dollars are not allocated below the state level, so costs are covered by county and municipal general funds.
Cramer, who is in charge of administering elections in Charleston County, South Carolina, said the county has spent more than $500,000 since 2020 on security, plus a new building that will eventually cost more than $7 million.
“Counties cover the cost of administering a federal election,” he told a Senate committee while testifying earlier this year. “The federal government needs to pay its fair share.”
As of 2020, the election budget for Durham County, North Carolina, has increased by $1 million to $3.3 million, according to Derek Bowens, the county’s director of elections. The new measures include a system with emergency alert buttons so officials can discreetly call 911, GPS tracking of critical supplies and an escort arrangement in which members of the opposing party follow appointed election officials as they cast ballots each night.
Durham also just moved into a new $26 million polling facility that is equipped with cameras, secure parking, bulletproof glass, arrest buttons and mail with a separate exhaust system.
In Philadelphia, the election budget has tripled to nearly $40 million since 2019, according to Omar Sabir, a city commissioner. They raised the pay of election officials, bought new equipment and hired more security, among other measures, he said. And in Georgia, another state, local governments are spending more on elections, including new or renovated offices for some counties, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in an interview.
“They spend county dollars to make sure their election offices are fully staffed and fully funded,” Raffensperger said. “Costs have gone up, but I think people understand that this is critical infrastructure.”
In Dane County, Wisconsin, the most significant election-related expense is a new $20 million facility that is still under construction. This comes from the county’s general fund. His 2024 campaign budget is $1.2 million, up from $700,000 in 2020, said Scott McDonnell, the county clerk for the county Biden won in 2020 after the Trump campaign paid for and lost a disputed recount.
“Some people have nice, secure places for their stuff, and some people have their machine in the broom closet,” McDonnell said. “The new building will change all that. We will have one secure facility for everything.
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