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Cost for pandemic measuresCEO Appearance on the Main Estimates 2020–2021

Fact Sheet

Key Messages

  • A general election (GE) will cost significantly more during a pandemic. Costs will depend on the timing of the election and the nature of any legislative changes adopted.
  • The additional costs for safety material (e.g. masks, hand sanitizer, etc.), adjustments to the vote-by-mail system, and a voter information safety campaign, are estimated to be approximately $52 million.
  • Estimates for other measures, such as the addition of a second polling day and the adjustment of staffing levels at the polls, will be available at a later date, once plans are fully developed.

Facts

  • While most measures currently being proposed for a pandemic election will come with a cost (see table below), a few proposals may generate cost savings, such as not offering additional service points on campuses and having only a single poll worker at each voting table. Nonetheless, it is expected that the pandemic-related changes will generate a net cost increase to the general election.
  • A full costing exercise for the next general election will be completed once plans are fully developed, including the possibility of legislative changes.
  • The cost estimates available at this time are for safety material, special ballot vote-by-mail and the voter information safety campaign (as described below).
Cost for pandemic measures
Items (Qty) High Level Estimate
($M)
Masks (19 million) $11.7
Hand Sanitizer 500 ml (833 thousand) $13.3
Physical Barriers for Voting (125 thousand) $5.5
Gloves XL (25 million) $1.6
Pencils (16 million Regular, 4 million Large) $1.4
Headsets (11 thousand) $1.3
Face shields (411 thousand) $1.2
Bottle of 160 Wipes (40 thousand) $0.7
Additional Signage $0.3
Material $37.0
Mail-out of ballot kits and pre-paid returns (5.5 million) $10.9
Envelopes $0.9
Special Ballot Vote by Mail Services $11.8
Voter Information Safety Campaign $3.1
Total to Date $51.9