Election administrators in the U.S. face persistent financial strain with local governments and their tax bases shouldering most costs while state and federal support remains limited. At the same time, states collect billions each year in unclaimed funds, which are assets like abandoned bank accounts and forgotten insurance proceeds. States are increasingly using unclaimed funds to support public programs like education and housing, but none have earmarked them for election administration.
This proposal offers a state-level solution: dedicate a portion of state-held unclaimed funds to support election administration. Existing frameworks for managing these assets provide several models, including allocating a fixed share of newly collected funds each year, earmarking unclaimed funds from specific sources such as unclaimed securities, or investing a principal amount and spending only the income generated. Additional refinements could include tying allocations to specific needs, triggering allocations only after unclaimed funds reach a certain threshold, or sunsetting the policy after a defined period. Whatever the structure, the goal is to transform these idle assets into a source of funding for election operations. Harnessing unclaimed funds for election administration offers an innovative yet proven approach. It builds on established practices, requires no new taxes, and allows flexibility to tailor a policy to meet each state's political and fiscal realities. And with states' pools of unclaimed funds at historic highs, advocates and policymakers have a timely opportunity to secure a sustainable source of support for critical election needs.
This paper was awarded first prize in the Auburn University Innovative Election Administration Funding Solutions Paper Competition. The paper has been formatted to comply with the requirements of the symposium contest.