FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 396 as introduced would increase the expenditures of the State General Fund by (1) an estimated maximum of $616,500 per statewide election cycle to provide compensation for absentee election manager assistants; (2) $10,000 annually, as estimated by the Secretary of State, to print and distribute the additional affidavits and applications for absentee ballots; and (3) an undetermined amount to reimburse expenses and costs incurred by a county commission for absentee election managers.

Further, this bill could increase the expenditures of the various counties, which may be reimbursed wholly or in part from the State General Fund, by an undetermined amount dependent on the number of absentee ballots requested and cast that otherwise would not have been permitted to be cast. According to the Secretary of State, approximately 331,000 absentee ballots were requested for the 2020 General Election where absentee voting was extended by emergency rule due to the declared state of emergency, which cost the state and counties approximately $545,000, collectively, in postage.