Why?
Once the election is over the bills have to be paid and all the temporary staff want their fees. The
few weeks after the election come as a welcome relief for the electoral manager, however. This is
when reconciling all the budget issues and statistics becomes a major task. The budget for the
process should have been prepared well in advance and submitted for approval with all the
necessary supporting information and data. Most electoral costs are met from national or local
resources and as always there should be accountability for the sums and costs involved. Elections
are about equity and transparency. For these reasons alone there is a need to show what has
happened to the resources received and where and how these have been utilised. The government
also needs to be able to justify that its funds were properly used and reported.
How?
The electoral law and regulations set out the electoral processes, and when all expenditure is
complete, the final costs should be set out logically against each area of expenditure. If these can
be cross-referenced against the provisions in legislation, it will be easy to see how much each
process costs, what was involved and which part of the legislation required or authorised the
expenditure incurred.
Reconciling the budget to available funds is quite simple if there has been proper estimating in
the first place, accurate records have been kept and the expenditure for each area of the electoral
activity has been identified.
The process is not just about finance. Keeping track of what was achieved with the money
expended and why it was spent will make it easier to present a logical and comprehensive
reconciliation.
When?
The sooner the work is completed the better. Public interest in the electoral process may have
greatly reduced but the next electoral process will soon be at hand. Electoral managers are
chosen because of their ability to undertake complex tasks against a tight time scale - that is why
the prompt reconciliation of funds to budgets is essential. The confidence of participants in the
electoral process will be maintained if the manager rapidly produces a report on the process, sets
out what tasks have been undertaken and what they have cost. Hopefully (given accurate
budgeting) the whole process will have been undertaken in accordance with the approved budget.
For an example of a claim with respect to a national election, see Federal Election Commission Costs - Australia. This sample
material relates to two United Kingdom (GB) Parliamentary constituencies; the expenditure for
each area of activity is set out and then detailed information is supplied with lists of invoices and
payments.
