Auditors, Comptrollers, and Controllers - Vestiges of the Past

Twenty-three states elected Auditors, Comptrollers or Controllers. Nineteen of these states elected Treasurers, too. The Auditors, Comptrollers and Controllers are treated together, because they all perform the same function, but with a different name. They watch the money to make sure it is spent and accounted for properly. Fourteen states elected Auditors, 6 states elected Comptrollers and 3 states elected Controllers.

The voters cast 20,187,207 (53.4%) votes for the Democratic Auditor, Comptroller and Controller candidates, 16,353,629 (43.2%) for the Republican candidates, and 1,229,777 (3.3%) for the independent candidates. They elected 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

Of the 19 states that elected Treasurers in addition to Auditors, Comptrollers and Controllers, 7 chose them from different parties: Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota and Vermont; while the other 12 states chose them from the same party.

Looking at the order of the office, Auditors, Comptrollers and Controllers were not considered important. They received the 3^rd highest number of votes in 3 states, and in one of these there were only 3 statewide candidates. They got the 4^th highest number of votes in 4 states; the 5^th highest in 3 states and the 6^th highest in 3 states. One state in each of these categories had no more statewide offices. So, of the 13 Auditors, Comptrollers and Controllers who races received the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th highest number of votes, 4 were running last.

These offices ran 7^th in 5 states, 8^th in 4 and 9^th in 1. That these financial offices of Treasurer, Auditor, Comptroller and Controller are not considered politically important is best illustrated by the fact that Minnesota voted in the 1998 election to abolish the elected Treasurer's position. (See Ballot Questions.)

As for the margins, 10 of the winners won with more than 60% of the vote, but this includes 3 candidates who ran with no major party opposition. Another 10 won with more than 50% of the vote, but less than 60%. And a final 3 won with less than 50% of the vote.

In short, the elected Treasurer, Auditor, Comptroller and Controller are vestiges of a more lawless past when public and private finance resembled the wild west far more than it does today. The only political function these offices serve is to provide stepping stones and training grounds for politicians who will later seek some of the more politically significant higher offices.

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Contact: Joshua Leinsdorf