Wonky Wednesday:  Registrations and absentees in Onondaga County

I haven’t been able to really dig in and do a wonky Wednesday in a bit but I have been compiling some data for my Data Show I plan to do Sunday night before the election.  Here is some preview of some pertinent data as it stands in Onondaga County for the 2020 election.  Hope you enjoy.

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This is the registration states of Onondaga County by party for each month of 2020. We can see dramatic growth for both parties in the last month but overall on the year its the Non-enrolled that has seen the most gains, adding 6400 plus voters to their roles followed closely by the Democrats at 5800, and the GOP at about 2700 and 3rd party enrollment only rising by 233. In fact the Non-enrolled is closer than ever to surpassing the GOP in the county as it did inside the City of Syracuse.

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The bulk of the registration gains we have seen in Onondaga County to get to our record registration level has been since the June primary. COVID pushed the registration activity to the last few months of the election necessitating OCBOE to work 12 hour days to catch up. IN the 8 months between the 2019 election and the June primary we only added 950 new registrations, since then 14631 new registrations. Nearly 13000 of those registrations were added between September 1,2020 and October 21, 2020

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On September 25th I started tracking daily absentee numbers to track work flow.  From the beginning it was clear Democrats were taking advantage of the expanded absentee process.  Their request rate is more than the GOP and N/E request rate combined.  In fact the N/Es have far surpassed the GOP on requests for absentees.

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However it is not just requests for absentees that Democrats are excelling at. Its return of absentees as well. We see Democrats returning them at a higher number and a higher percentage rate then GOP and N/e voters with substantially over 50% returned.

Tune into my data show on November 1 to see more.

Protecting the polls for voters from COVID-19 during the pandemic – WSYR9

“We were very proud of how our inspectors handled the June primaries when the virus was even more active,” says Dustin Czarny, Democratic elections commissioner for Onondaga County.

https://www.localsyr.com/news/your-local-election-hq/protecting-the-polls-for-voters-from-covid-19-during-the-pandemic/

Voters want verification of absentee votes arrivals, officials say -Newsday

“It’s very popular, especially this year,” said Dustin Czarny, an Onondaga County elections commissioner. “It gives people peace of mind and we’re very glad we have it.”

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/absentee-voting-ballot-confirmation-1.50042399

Planning to vote in-person? Here’s what happens if you get sick and can’t make it – CNYCentral.com

“We have routinely dealt with medical situations other than COVID in years past,” said Dustin Czarny, the democratic commissioner with the Onondaga County Board of Elections. “Last minute things happens all the time.”

https://cnycentral.com/news/local/planning-to-vote-in-person-heres-what-happens-if-you-get-sick-and-cant-make-it

Six Early Voting Locations Open to Onondaga County Voters Starting Saturday – WAER

Democratic elections commissioner Dustin Czarny says they’ve tried to make the sites as accessible as possible.

“We pickled sites that are North, East, West and South in the county and one in the north side of the city, one in the south side of the city, to try and get these sites as close to the population centers and also some of the rural voters as well, to get people to travel as little as possible.”

Republican elections commissioner Michele Sardo agrees.

“We wanted to make sure (sites) were spread out throughout Onondaga County and that it’s demographically spread out,” she said. “There are sites in the towns and ones in the city.  Anyone can vote with early voting at any of those sites.  If you’re coming home from work, you can stop at whatever is closest to you.”

https://www.waer.org/local-news/2020-10-20/six-early-voting-locations-open-to-onondaga-county-voters-starting-saturday

Bike share company offers free Election Day rides – Daily Orange

“Easier to apply, easier to register — these are all things that go into all of the things we want for elections,” he said. “Programs that make it easier to vote can’t hurt. At the very least, there should be options for people.”

Bike share company offers free Election Day rides

Local elections officials make final preparations for early voting -Cnycentral.com

“It’s just going to be a record turnout. We expect, and hopefully are prepared, for the volumes that are coming,” said Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny.

https://cnycentral.com/station/local-elections-officials-make-final-preparations-for-early-voting

More than 1,700 Onondaga County neighbors applied to be Election inspectors – WSYR9

We are using everyone we can and we have backups right now. We need extra people this year because of COVID-19. We have to make sure we are cleaning, staffing and making sure we have six-foot social distance. So, that requires extra people to help us out with that. DEMOCRATIC BOARD OF ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER DUSTIN CZARNY

https://www.localsyr.com/news/your-local-election-hq/more-than-1700-onondaga-county-neighbors-apply-to-be-election-inspectors/

Zoom with Czarny: Scotus Sunday with Thomas Keck

I last spoke to SU Professor Thomas Keck just after the death of Justice Ginsburgh about a month ago. I felt it fitting to bring him back now that we are on the verge of the Amy Barrett nomination to the Supreme Court and get his perspective on what we know about her as a jurist and what Democrats should consider doing if indeed this nomination succeeds. Enjoy.

https://www.facebook.com/dustinmczarny/videos/2743182422675467