Participatory Budgeting: How to Let Citizens Vote on Budget Priorities

Giving People a Direct Say in How Money Is Spent

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public or organizational budget. Originating in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, PB has spread to thousands of cities worldwide and has been adopted by schools, universities, and organizations as a way to make budget decisions more democratic and responsive.

The concept is simple: instead of elected officials or administrators making all spending decisions, community members propose projects, discuss priorities, and vote on how a designated portion of the budget should be allocated.

How Participatory Budgeting Works

1. Define the budget: Identify the portion of the budget subject to participatory voting. This might be a specific dollar amount ($500,000 of the capital budget), a percentage (5% of discretionary spending), or a designated fund (the community improvement fund).
2. Collect proposals: Community members submit project ideas that fall within the budget scope. Ideas might include park improvements, traffic calming, public art, community programs, or equipment purchases.
3. Evaluate feasibility: Staff reviews proposals for feasibility, cost estimates, and compliance with regulations. Infeasible proposals are returned to the proposer with an explanation.
4. Present final projects: Viable projects are compiled into a ballot with descriptions, estimated costs, and expected impact.
5. Community vote: All eligible community members vote on which projects to fund.
6. Implement: Winning projects are funded and implemented, with progress reported publicly.

Setting Up a PB Vote Online

ElectionChamp is well-suited for the voting phase of participatory budgeting:

• Create the election: “[City/Organization] Participatory Budget 2026”
• Build the ballot: List each eligible project as a candidate/option. Include a description, estimated cost, and location/scope in the candidate biography field.
• Choose the voting method:

Option A: Plurality — “Select up to 5 projects you’d like to fund.” Projects are funded in order of votes received until the budget is exhausted.

Option B: Ranked Choice — “Rank all projects in order of preference.” This finds the projects with the broadest community support.

Option C: Approval voting — “Vote Yes or No on each project.” Projects above a threshold are funded in order of approval percentage.

• Set a generous voting window: 14-21 days. PB votes should maximize participation.
• Promote widely: City website, social media, community events, multilingual outreach, library and community center flyers

Who Uses Participatory Budgeting

Before the Vote

• Host community information sessions where residents can learn about each proposed project
• Create project fact sheets with photos, maps, cost estimates, and implementation timelines
• Make all information available online and in print at community locations

During the Vote

• Offer multiple voting channels: online (email/SMS notification), in-person (Manual Keys at community locations), and assisted voting for accessibility
• Provide multilingual ballot materials to reflect the community’s linguistic diversity
• Monitor participation by neighborhood or district — target outreach to underrepresented areas

After the Vote

• Announce results at a public event or council meeting with full transparency
• Publish complete results: every project’s vote count, participation statistics, and the list of funded projects
• Create an implementation timeline and share it publicly
• Report on project completion — close the loop by showing community members what their votes accomplished

Measuring PB Impact

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