Conservation District Elections in Washington State: Final Report
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy published their findings on the current cost of elections in Washington’s conservation districts as well as the potential cost if either all five supervisors were elected on November ballot or if there were five geographic zones.
Their report not only covers the fiscal impact, but also the concerns of conservation districts of the “non-monetary impacts” of the proposed policy changes.
Findings
- Election costs under current law are highly variable across CDs. While election costs are generally higher in CDs with more registered voters, the pattern is not consistent. The median total election cost is $2,500, though costs range from $50 to more than $420,000.
- If CD elections were held on the general ballot under the first alternative policy between 2020–2024, costs would have been higher by a median of 225% per biennium for the general election alone and 651% if primaries were required.
- If CD supervisors had to run for specific zones within districts under the second alternative policy, biennial costs would have been lower by 46% compared to the first policy. However, they would still be a median of 75% more expensive than the current law (338% with primaries)
This quote from their executive summary condenses the survey results of districts:
“Nearly all CD supervisors and staff communicated that they expected more non-monetary costs than benefits to result from the alternative policies. Many districts shared that the policies could lead to more turnout in elections and engagement with CDs, but some questioned whether this would lead to increased engagement with CDs. Most districts feared the policies would lead to increased politicization of CDs and fewer resources being devoted to conservation programming.”
Documents
Executive Summary – https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/1823/Wsipp_Conservation-District-Elections-in-Washington-State-Final-Report_Executive-Summary.pdf
Full Report – https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/1822/Wsipp_Conservation-District-Elections-in-Washington-State-Final-Report_Report.pdf