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Welcome to dustinczarny.com

I want to take a moment to welcome you to my website. This is my new home for my various election related projects that I have started over the last few years. As Onondaga County’s Democratic Elections Commissioner I am always looking for ways to further educate voters and navigate them through the arcane web of New York’s electoral system.

On my podcast page you can find my ongoing Commissioner in a Car series. A weekly Facebook live show dedicated to election news and deadlines. I also started a weekly interview series for candidates and Democracy advocates called Zoom with Czarny.

This will also serve as a home for my writings. On occasion I am blessed to testify in my role as Democratic Caucus Chair of the NYS Elections Commissioner Association. I have appeared in front of the NYS Legislature, Onondaga County Legislature, and Syracuse Common Council. I have collected my previous testimony here with video links when available.

I also have a weekly statistics blog called Wonky Wednesday. This column is dedicated to examining the election statistics and registration data in Onondaga County and throughout New York State. I also will from time to time author editorials and opinion articles on election related topics. You can find those writings on my editorial page.

On occasion I appear on feature podcasts and tv shows. These longer programs offer me the ability to discuss complicated election issues on my featured page. Finally I regularly appear in local and statewide media on election related matters. I am compiling all current and past appearances on my interview page.

This website and all programming is entirely paid for by my personal funds. I do not accept donations or advertising. This is all part of my voter education and outreach efforts. If you are interested you can subscribe to my website and get updates when I post content. Thank you for visiting.

New Registrants in Onondaga County

I have not been able to do a #weeklywonk in a bit but I do want to share some stats so on Fridays I will try and share something I find interesting about our home Onondaga County

Below are the first time registrations from Onondaga County Board of Elections for 2026:

DEM 2821

REP 1354

CON 109

WOR 82

N/E 3096

OTH 77

Total 7539

N/E is leading the way in these new registrations, but Democrats are not that far behind. This makes sense since new registrations are usually first time voters (though they could also be new voters to our county).

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Commissioner in a Car: How to Check or Update your Registration or Register New Online.

In this week’s episode I talk about the tools we have at onvote.net to help you check your voter registration online. I also go over how to update or register to vote for the first time, online as well. 29 days till Election Day. Enjoy!

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Onondaga County Democratic Committee elects Czarny and young slate of officers – Syracuse.com

Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny was challenged by two other Democrats, Diana Abdella, 45, of Minoa, and Paul M. Harvey, 33, of Syracuse.

But Czarny, 54 of Syracuse, easily fended off the challenges. He held onto his seat with 73% of the votes. Harvey received 1% and Abdella 24%.

Czarny has held the position since January 2013.

https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2026/10/onondaga-county-democratic-committee-elects-czarny-and-young-slate-of-officers.html

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Statement on being nominated by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee for an 8th term

Tonight my friends and colleagues on the Onondaga County Democratic Committee nominated me for another 2 year term as Democratic Elections Commissioner of Onondaga County. This will be my 8th term since first being nominated in 2012 and serving since January 1, 2013. It is one of the great honors of my life to be able to serve my fellow citizens.

In my time as Election Commissioner we have seen tremendous changes to our electoral system in New York. Optical Scanners, Electronic Poll Books, On demand printing, Early Voting, Early Voting by mail, online Vote-By Mail applications, Online Voter Registration, Automatic Voter Registration, 10 day registration window, Close contest hand counts and shorter party change deadlines have brought tremendous opportunities to the citizens of New York. The County of Onondaga has not only weathered these changes but often have been at the forefront leading the way. It is the underpaid and under resourced staff at the Onondaga County Board of Elections that make this possible. They are all heroes and I am honored to work with them every day.

I am thankful for the OCDC nomination and I hope the Onondaga County Legislature affirms this nomination. In the meantime I am focused on the 2026 mid term elections. We are bracing for heavy voter turnout and are well positioned to be able to deliver this election for the voters of Onondaga County. I urge everyone to make a plan to vote. Go to onvote.net and check or update your registration, apply for a vote by mail ballot, find early voting times and locations, or your individual polling place on Election Day. If you have any questions our staff will take your calls at 315-435-VOTE and assist you in whatever way possible.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brings “Students vs. Billionaires” tour stop to Ithaca – CNYCentral.com

Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said the upcoming election should not be dismissed because it is not a presidential contest.


“This is a very important election even though it’s not presidential,” Czarny said.
Czarny also pointed to recent special and primary elections as signs of increased voter engagement, saying those elections have seen higher-than-average turnout in some parts of the country.

https://cnycentral.com/news/local/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-brings-students-vs-billionaires-tour-stop-to-ithaca

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2024 Onondaga County Budget Testimony

My co commissioner and I testified at the September 23, 2026 Ways and Means to discuss the 2027 budget. Our remarks start at the 54 minute mark. I have also included the slide show given to the legislature.

Commissioner Salary Slides FinalDownload
2025 NYSBOE Annual report DataDownload
Commissioner Salary ComparisonDownload
Memorandum on Elections Commission Salary Increase RequestDownload
Salary lossDownload

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Onondaga County election commissioners ask lawmakers for $30,000 raise – Syracuse.com

The salary increase would help attract people to put their names forward for election, Czarny said.

“It’s about benefiting the position long term and setting them to a point where reasonable people will be willing to put their names forward for it,” Czarny said.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2026/09/onondaga-county-election-commissioners-ask-lawmakers-for-30000-raise.html

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In November, you can vote on whether the Onondaga County executive will have term limits. How will it work? – Central Current

“A lot of times we get these questions on resolutions with the state,” Czarny said. “Even when it’s just one resolution, people want more information. Unfortunately, that’s just like the candidates. We don’t say who to vote for or what to vote for.” 

Last year, Onondaga County voted for term limits on the legislature by a margin of nearly 3 to 1. Of the 93,000 people who voted in that election, almost 95% voted in the referendum, said Czarny. 

In November, you can vote on whether the Onondaga County executive will have term limits. How will it work?

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Commissioner in a Car: The Ballots are coming! Bigger and Better than Ever!

This week I show off what the ballots look like in Onondaga County, Why we at Onondaga County Board of Elections went to a 22″ ballot this year. Also why some resolutions on the back are in a second columns and some aren’t I also address briefly the news from Friday on the OCL 16 ongoing ballot fraud claims. Enjoy.

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How the Dueling Propositions in Onondaga County for term limits will work.

Here it is! The dueling propositions for Term limits on the ballot for this General Election.

You can vote yes on both if you want term limits and don’t care the length.

If you prefer either 12 or 16 you can vote yes on one of them and vote no on the other.

Or if you prefer no term limits vote no on both.

In the case that both questions get a majority the one with the highest vote count gets enacted.

Vote by mail ballots are going out this weekend. Sample ballots are on our website at:

Sample Ballots

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