Elections are complex and costly events and have to compete with vital national services such as transportation, health, and education which may yield greater immediate political returns. Inadequate or untimely funding of electoral processes may be because governments are not able to appropriate sufficient funds or to ensure the timely disbursements of approved funds.

EMB funding needs are dependent on electoral cycles (see the dynamic bar on the right hand side) and will vary hugely between election and non-election years. Other significant factors include the nature of the EMB, the electoral procedures in place, and the frequency of elections. EMBs have been regularly accused of procuring expensive goods and services, such as high-technology equipment, which is not put to effective use. Some EMBs have also been accused of printing more ballot materials and recruiting more election staff than necessary. The independence of some models of EMBs from the executive branch of government may lead to perceptions that they are not subject to the controls on spending applied to government agencies.

EMBs such as those in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, and Liberia have relied on international donors for substantial amounts of budgetary support, as well as technical assistance. Apart from the sustainability issues raised, the conflicting conditions which different donor agencies impose on the EMBs, added to the requirements from their own government, may make it difficult for EMBs to account properly and within a reasonable time for the totality of funding they receive.

EMBs have had to deal with whether and how to fund new technologies, particularly for voter registration, voting, and vote-counting. The increased emphasis on access issues – such as the provision of mobile polling stations, absentee voting facilities in-country or in other countries, facilities for voters with disabilities, and providing electoral information effective in increasingly multilingual societies – has also had financing implications. In many established democracies, government policies of slimming down public sectors have led to less certainty of funding for EMBs, particularly for staff costs.