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

Sunday thoughts:  Everything you need to know about absentee voting in New York in 2020

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Throughout Onondaga County and most of New York state absentee ballot applications are hitting about 5 million voter’s mailboxes.  This is the first time in New York State electoral history that voters will be getting this type of outreach.  It is Governor Cuomo’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic and an attempt to make voting safer.  Voters have been mailed an application, a postage paid return envelope, and reasons for applying have expanded.

This is my third Sunday in a row I have spent time talking about absentee voting and voting by mail. Since March 23rd each week has brought new changes to our electoral system in New York as the Governor, legislature, and State Board of elections adapts to the ongoing health crisis. There have been executive orders, regulations, guidance, and clarifications each week. However with 36 days to go until the election it seems as if we finally have agreement on what the rules are for the June 23rd election in regards to absentee voting.

Here is what is happening with absentee voting in New York for the June elections:

Expanded reasons for voting absentee

As we have discussed in previous articles, New York requires an excuse for voting by absentee.  The six excuses generally allowed are Out of County on Election Day, Permanent illness or disability, Temporary Illness or disability, incarceration, primary care for someone who is ill or disabled, patient or employee of a Veteran’s Health Administration Hospital.  Governor Cuomo has clarified for the June 23rd elections that fear of COVID-19 is acceptable under the temporary illness excuse.  This opens up absentees to any voter who wants one this election.  It should be noted that this is not acceptable, as of now, for the November elections though certainly there could be further executive orders and legislation between now and then.

Multiple ways to apply

Traditionally voters had to mail, fax, or apply for an absentee ballot in person at a Board of Elections.  These options are still available, however Governor Cuomo by executive order has expanded the options for the June primary.  You can now apply online by email or electronic forms or by phone. Onondaga County voters can visit onvote.net or call 315-435-VOTE.  In addition to those options applications with postage paid return envelopes are being mailed to all eligible voters and hitting mailboxes now.  Don’t wait to apply as we still have to mail a ballot to you. Expanded options are only good for the June primary and you cannot apply for the November election using those options. We have already received record absentee requests, and that is before the mass mailing hitting this week.  Do not wait, apply today.  Applications must be postmarked on June 16th or before to guarantee a BOE will mail the ballot to you.

Permanent and other requests still allowed for June and November

You can still apply for an absentee for the November election under the traditional excuses, but you cannot make that application by phone, email, or electronic method.  If you want to change your status to Permanent Illness or disability you can do so by taking advantage of the absentee mailer that is going out and returning it and you will always receive an absentee ballot for every election.  If you are going to be out of the county or have a temporary illness or other statutorily valid reason you can do but must mail in the application on your own or apply in person.  

Absentee Ballots will be mailed upon request, must be postmarked by June 22nd.

Upon receiving an application the Board of Election will process and mail out a ballot to the address the voter requests, usually within one day.  It is important you apply as soon as possible as Boards are likely to face an unprecedented amount of requests.  Once you get your ballot fill it out and return it as soon as possible. Ballots must be postmarked by June 22nd to be valid.  If you are ready to vote there is no need to delay as you can request another ballot or vote in person if you change your mind closer to Election Day.  

You may have been mailed multiple absentee ballots due to the combining of Elections

The combining of elections for Democrats may cause you to have been mailed multiple ballots.  If you applied for an absentee before March 23rd you may have already received a Presidential Absentee Ballot. This election was postponed and now is being held concurrently with the Local (Congressional & City Court) primaries.  All voters who applied for the original April 28th primary will now receive an absentee ballot envelope with both Presidential and local ballots in it. This takes the place of your original ballot, fill them out and return them.  (If an original ballot is returned and not replaces it will count for the Presidential Election only).  City of Syracuse voters who already received an absentee ballot may be issued another one this week as a candidate that was removed from the ballot has been restored.  If you already submitted a ballot that will be counted unless you submit a new ballot and the newer ballot will then count. Voters in the NY 50 Senate district may have received a Special Election ballot before March 23rd.  That ballot is now null and void as that election has been cancelled.

There still will be In Person Voting options

In Onondaga County we plan to open 6 in person Early Voting sites and over 150 in person Election Day sites.  The Early Voting sites are designed to allow any voter from any part of the county to be able to vote when they show up that day.  We have Early Voting sites in the North and south side of the City of Syracuse as well as North, South, East, and West areas of the county.  Hours of Early Voting are 10-3 on weekends and either 106 or 12-8 on weekdays. On Election Day our polling sites will be open from 6am to 9pm. We are working with our county health department to provide PPE and sanitizing equipment to all sites and are dedicated to maintaining social distancing and a safe as possible voting environment.  Visit onvote.net to get information on the Early Voting center nearest you and your polling location.

Absentee Ballots won’t be counted until 7-10 days after Election Day

It is important to remember that with more absentee ballots being processed, the less likely we will have a definitive winner on Election Night.  Because a voter can change their mind and decide to vote in person and we have until 7 days after Election Day to receive a ballot Boards of Elections can’t even open absentee ballots until after voter history is processed and enough time is given to receive absentee ballots turned in on Election Day or being delivered by US mail.  These means absentee ballot openings are usually not until 7-10 days after Election Day. Absentee ballot opening are supervised by the candidates (if they wish) and held every year regardless of proximity of results.  They are then combined with our Election Day results and make up our certification of an Election done 14-20 days after Election Day.  This certification is the official declaration of a winner and nothing is official until the results are signed off on both Elections Commissioners.

Finally it is important that you as a voter help us get proper information out to your friends and family.  This is one of the more confusing elections due to the changing dates and rules I have ever administered.  Make sure you only get information from your Board of Election sources and share only accurate information.  As always in Onondaga County you can find reliable information at onvote.net or by calling our office at 315-435-VOTE.

Judge boots GOP lawyer from Dem primary for Syracuse judge, cites fraud in petition drive – Syracuse.com

Zeigler had collected enough signatures to be certified by the county’s Board of Elections. But Lamendola’s ruling removed the candidate from primary ballots, which are being mailed starting this week, county Democratic election commissioner Dustin Czarny said.

https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2020/05/judge-boots-gop-lawyer-from-dem-primary-for-syracuse-judge-cites-fraud-in-petition-drive.html

Connections: How can we hold reliable elections during a pandemic? – WXXI

Can we hold reliable elections during a pandemic? In June, New York State will hold primary and special elections. November is, of course, the general election. The pandemic means there will be voting from home, voting by mail, and new ways of trying to get out the vote. But will voting be truly accessible to all?

Our guests discuss this vital issue:

https://www.wxxinews.org/connections/2020-05-11/connections-how-can-we-hold-reliable-elections-during-a-pandemic