David Stafford, Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, says, “I asked staff to estimate and they came up with a very rough figure of $40,000. Again, just an estimate.”
Who pays for it?
“The city bears the cost of the election. Real costs incurred, that is, beyond the normal operation of the office — ballot printing, other printing, mailing of ABs, paying for poll workers and polling locations, equipment delivery, etc. We don’t charge for equipment usage, staffing, etc. — only exception would be any overtime costs incurred, which would be minimal, if any.
Will there be absentee balloting and early voting?
“Yes absentee, no early voting.”
“Absentees will go just as soon as we can print the ballots and get them processed. We sent the ballot design today to the city, and they have approved. Next step is to print and test the ballots, then we’ll get them in the mail. Keep in mind we still have much to do to wrap up the presidential.”