Why Did El Paso’s Domestic Partner Vote Cost the City $130,000?

When the city of El Paso put the debate over domestic partner benefits to the voters, it received a bill from the El Paso County Elections Department for $130,000.

So what did that money exactly pay for?

The short answer: manpower.

The proposition to take away benefits from gay and domestic partners of city employees as on the ballot at 148 precincts on Tuesday.

The elections department says that means it needed to add either one or two extra workers to each of those city polling sites.

The county hired around 2,000 people to work the elections in total beginning with early and mobile voting.

Those workers made $8 per hour plus overtime according to County Elections Administrator Javier Chacon.

Chacon also says those people also worked some pretty long hours.

“The first week (of early voting) was 9 hours each day,” Chacon told ABC-7. “Those last seven days were 12 to 13 hours each day.”

El Paso voters ended up taking away benefits for city domestic partners, 55% to 45%.

Chacon says the $130,000 also helped pay for the extra paper the proposition added to mail-in ballots and vote processing.

Chacon added the $130,000 figure was just a rough estimate given to the city. The city then had to pay 75% upfront.

He says a final bill should be ready within the next two weeks.