Are odd-year elections on the way out?

Auditor Boliek’s latest report raises more interesting questions than it answers.

State Auditor Dave Boliek may be the most scrutinized political figure in North Carolina right now, certainly more so than Gov. Josh Stein.

Nearly everything that comes out of his office gets analyzed as a political calculation. Who asked for it? Who benefits? What does this mean for 2028?

I’m fine with that level of attention. Boliek is a Council of State member and signed up for it, though Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper could stand to get more of the same.

Anyway, I couldn’t complain even if I thought it was unfair. I’ve written a ton about Boliek myself — albeit mostly positive — and I’m about to do it again.

His latest audit landed Monday morning, and I’m going to speculate wildly about why it exists.

In the report, Boliek’s office calculated how much North Carolina’s odd-year municipal elections cost in 2025.

The answer is $8.4 million, spread across 91 counties. About 822,000 votes were cast. Mecklenburg County spent the most at nearly $1.3 million, or $5.83 per vote. Camden County …