When implemented in Maine, Secretary of State Matt Dunlap initially slated the cost of implementing RCV at $1.5 million; Dunlap later shared with the Law Court that the final cost its first use was only $89,000. That is less than $0.08 per voter.

RCV impacts election costs in a number of ways that can vary from place to place. A jurisdiction that uses RCV to eliminate an entire round of voting (a primary or runoff election) will almost certainly save substantial costs by doing so. Those that switch to RCV without eliminating a round of voting will probably incur modest costs in making that transition. For example, in 2007, the city of Cary, North Carolina saved $28,000 by using RCV and thereby avoiding a runoff election.