Sunday thoughts:  Try to listen, find ways to help, have the courage to follow.

image

I have spent most of my Saturday night and Sunday trying to find the time and energy to write my Sunday thoughts column.  I was going to write about the lifespan of an absentee ballot to combat some of the myths of mail in voting fraud.  I will save that for another day.  Today that all seems so trivial.

Since waking up in the middle of the night and hearing that we are on lockdown and in a state of emergency because some rioters took advantage of righteous peaceful protests I have been pondering what to say.  I love my hometown, its part of my identity.  I grew up here, went to city schools most of my young life, chose to move back into the Syracuse in my mid-twenties and have stayed here ever since.  For almost 12 years I worked for City Government, represented all different areas of my city on the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, walked in every neighborhood, and love every part of it. To see it succumb to the forces ripping our nation apart is heart breaking.

Yet why should our city be immune?  The scourge of racism and police brutality is pervasive and ever present.  For too long I have tried to believe that actions I took alone could help.  I made myself available to register inner city youths to vote.  I appeared on radio programs designed to reach immigrant and inner city communities.  I fought for polling places and Early Voting centers in those neighborhoods.  I chose to remain in the city, sending my daughter to graduate at a city high school and my son attends the same elementary school I attended as a child, one of the most diverse in Syracuse.  I tried to promote a more diverse workforce at the Onondaga County Board of Elections.  These are things I pride myself in and hold dear to my heart.

Today I know none of these things are enough.  It’s not enough when unarmed people are dying frequently.  It’s not enough when NY lawmakers are arrested during peaceful protests in NYC.  It’s not enough when sedans plow into barricades.  It’s not enough when people on their porches are antagonized by national guards shooting paint pellets in residential neighborhoods.  It’s not enough when media covering protests are arrested on live television.

I know I will never fear for my life if I am pulled over by the cops and reach for my wallet in the wrong way.  I know my daughter doesn’t have to worry that the police will kick in her door and cause her harm while serving a warrant on the wrong apartment.  I know my 11 year old son will not be gunned down in a park because an officer mistook his toy gun for a real one.  I know that too many people live with these fears because of the color of their skin.  I know that their pain and anguish cannot be erased through slogans and platitudes.

However for all the things I say I know, the truth remains there is so much I don’t know.   I certainly don’t know how rioting and destroying property will bring about the systemic change that is needed, nor do I understand the need to dismiss these protests because their anguish has boiled over. There are business owners who are hurting as well.  People who were looking forward to opening their stores after months of economic upheaval and now face the prospect of damage and further delays.  I don’t know exactly who decided to not listen to the leaders of protests who are begging for non-violent expression, and I don’t know if pointing out property destruction will matter to anyone in fear of their life or their loved ones being senselessly harmed.

These protests and mass gatherings are also happening in the midst of a national pandemic.  A pandemic that has hurt communities of color more than any other.    This will likely exasperate the situation and too many will dismiss that fact as they have during the entire crisis.  There is no national call for unity coming from the White house only calls to blame boogeymen on the left and the protesters themselves instead of dealing with the underlying issues they are protesting against.

Truly none of us have the right answers. We must confront racism, we must confront racists, and we must protect those we love. However this war won’t be won on social media.  Blasting away at friends and probable allies on may make you feel good, but it won’t win your cause. In fact it’s too easy. The real work is in the streets, the real work is at the council meetings, at the legislative sessions, taking on the system that creates these issues. Educate allies, build coalitions, seek change, and yes, at the end of the day, vote.

What I will try to do is listen to those communities affected by this the most. Give them the spaces and megaphones needed to demand change. We must listen to their pain and try to understand their anguish. After that is done, we can find a way to lift those voices, remove the barriers that keep them from achieving the power they need to make the changes needed to a system that is too blind to their needs. We must hold those who cause unnecessary harm accountable and demand better from allies to timid to help.

Black lives matter whether we want to acknowledge that or not. We all must find ways to do more, to be better, and have the courage to get out of the way and follow the direction of those who have been hurt the most.  No one should have to live in fear from those who are supposed to serve and protect.  More importantly no one should have to protest for justice to be done.  We should all be working towards a world where it is assumed justice will be done without having to demand it.  

Election 2020: Voters flood Onondaga County with mail-in ballot requests – Syracuse.com

“We’ll be working eight-hour days on Saturday and Sunday to try to get ahead of this,” Czarny said of the 16-member Board of Elections staff that processes applications.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2020/05/election-2020-voters-flood-onondaga-county-with-mail-in-ballot-requests.html

Voters must register by Friday to be eligible for June 23 primary – WRVO

“You know the winners declared on election night were never official winners anyway,” Czarny said. “They aren’t official until they are certified 25 days later. So the instant gratification of the results may be delayed unless the outcome is severely lopsided.”

https://www.wrvo.org/elections/2020-05-28/voters-must-register-by-friday-to-be-eligible-for-june-23-primary

Salt City Grind Episode 5 Dustin Czarny, Democratic Commissioner

On this episode, I speak with Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Democratic Commissioner of Elections. We discuss the challenges of having elections in the middle of the Covid crisis, and what you need to know about voting moving forward. We also discuss the general health of our democracy, and the past, present and future of the Democratic Party

https://www.facebook.com/joedriscollpolitics/videos/585072972130440

My letter to lawmakers upon their return to session


Last week Speaker Carl Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins announced plans to return to legislative session after Memorial Day weekend.  New York Legislative session is set to end in just a few weeks, but almost two months of session was lost due to the COVID-19 crisis.  I am sharing with you today my letter to lawmakers on how they can use their final weeks of session to strengthen our electoral system during the current pandemic crisis and beyond.

Dear Lawmakers,

As the 2020 legislative session restarts this week I urge the legislature to turn its attention to shoring up our electoral system.  The current health crisis has brought havoc and uncertainty throughout our great state.  The 62 Boards of Elections throughout the state have worked diligently to deal with the myriad of changes thrown our way.  Over the last two months we have faced changes in designating petitions, postponed, cancelled and combined elections, and massive increases in absentee ballot access and use.  

Boards of Elections have worked diligently through this crisis to keep up with these changes and prepare to hold statewide primaries on June 23rd.  Holding an election in the middle of a pandemic would be challenging enough.  We have done so with little state and federal funding and budget shortfalls from our host counties as well.

During this crisis Governor Cuomo has issued a variety of executive orders to address the immediate crisis.  These executive orders have expanded absentee access for voters in an attempt to deal with the threat of COVID-19.  These executive orders were necessary and served the voters for the June 23rd primary.  The executive orders for the most part expire after the June 23rd primary. I urge the legislature to use this session to codify many of these executive orders so voters can enjoy these and enact long awaited reforms to strengthen election administration for years into the future.

Protect and expand absentee voting

For the June primary Governor Cuomo has extended absentee ballot options.  This includes clarifying the risk of spread of COVID-19 as an acceptable excuse allowing for email and phone applications, a mailer to every eligible voter with an absentee application and postage paid return envelopes, and postage paid return envelopes on absentees.  There is no reason to believe the threat of COVID-19 will not extend into the November General Election as well.  There are several bills the legislature could pass that will

The legislature should pass S8015B (Biaggi) which will permanently allow voters during a state of emergency such as risk of pandemic spread of disease to use the temporary illness excuse to request an absentee ballot.  With the risk of a fall outbreak of COVID-19 or another calamity that we have yet to imagine, voters should be allowed in the case of a natural state of emergency to safely vote from their homes.  

The legislature should pass S8130B (Myrie) allowing for applications for absentee ballots to be received by email.  It also moves the postmark date to receive absentee ballots to Election Day.  Thousands of New Yorkers were able to request ballots by email this June primary and it modernizes our application system as well as reduces the potential postage cost for both voters and Boards of Elections.

The legislature should pass S8368 (Myrie) safeguarding the rights of absentee voters by eliminating challenges for when the clear intention of the voter is known.  This will discourage frivolous challenges while giving piece of mind to the voters their ballots will count.

While much of this added expense for the primary is being covered with the Federal CARES grant, that funding would likely run out.  If the legislature wishes to extend a mailer to fall voters funding sources need to be identified from either State or Federal funding to keep the burden away from host counties.

Make Election Administration simpler and protect the independence of Election Boards

The Boards of Elections are the backbone of our NY electoral system.  The COVID crisis has created long term issues with polling places, inspector recruitment, and budgetary issues.

The legislature should pass A815A (Stirpe)/S2876 (May) making General Election day a non-Student Attendance Day.  Boards of Elections depend on schools as polling places in many communities where no suitable HAVA accessible building is available.  With the COVID crisis many private polling sites are refusing entry and senior and nursing facilities are off limits.  This will further increase the dependence on public structures such as schools.  Making sure students are not in attendance will alleviate concerns regarding safety and the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The legislature should pass A6093 (Cusick)/S546 (Akshar) allowing for Election Districts populations to increase to two thousand residents.  Modern technology such as Electronic Poll Books and our scanner machines have increased efficiency since the days of lever machines.  By increasing election district size we can staff our polling places with less election inspectors.  This is especially needed to pass this year to be in place for redistricting in 2021.

Further legislative efforts should be made to standardize Elections Commissioner terms to 4 years and protect their boards from undue cuts to personnel and resources.  Boards of Elections are often the least resourced county department and with all the election changes over the last few years their limited resources are barely enough to administer elections and safeguard the vote.  Standardizing Election Commissioners to a 4 year term will ensure the independence a Commissioner needs while allowing them to serve a full election cycle we experience in NY between Presidential elections.

Make it easier to register to vote and protect voter interests

The legislature should fulfill its promise from last session and pass Automatic Voter Registration (S6457B) in some form before the end of this session.  New York currently has 1.2 million voters in “inactive” status, mostly due to incomplete or inaccurate residential address issues.  AVR will address this issue as well as reducing New York’s unregistered adult population, which is one of the worst in the nation.  This reform will also save money at Boards of Elections by making the voter rolls more accurate reducing wasted printing and postage from failed registrations.  Time is of the essence as the State Board of Elections will be starting the process for designing an online voter registration system later this year.  AVR should be a part of that project and if it waits until another session New York would waste time and money.  There are several competing versions of AVR and the legislation and the legislature should look to implement even a scaled down version this session so the State Board of Elections can start work on it this winter.

Finally the New York State Senate started work on the New York Voting Rights Act (S7528) shortly before the start of the COVID crisis.  Work on this intriguing piece of legislation should continue.  The rights of voters and protection against gerrymandering and disenfranchisement is an idea that New York should be on the vanguard of. If this legislation is not ready for passage this year it should be part of the new tradition of first day voting legislation the New York Legislature has now become known for in 2021 along with the constitutional amendments of No Excuse Absentee and Same Day Registration.

I wish you and your staff a safe and productive end of session.  I am available for Zoom and/or telephone conference with you or your legislative staff as you work toward finalizing legislation. Please don’t hesitate to call at any time.


Sincerely,


Dustin M. Czarny

NYS Elections Commissioner Association

Democratic Caucus Chair

Commissioner (D), Onondaga County Elections Board

What You Need to Know About Absentee Voting in the June Primaries – Spectrum News

Voters across the state, including in Onondaga County, may have received in the mail an application for an absentee ballot for the coming New York primaries on June 23. Several states have made this an option during the COVID-19 pandemic if voters don’t feel safe enough to personally go to the polls. Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny answered questions regarding the applications.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2020/05/20/voting-habit-may-look-different-in-2020