“The public is going to have to understand that the results are going to be delayed,” Czarny said. “We’re not going to know the results of these elections in total until seven, 10, 14 days after the elections, because we have until then to receive these absentee ballots.”
Anyone can get an absentee ballot for June voting in NYS and it’s as easy as an email – WSYR9
Czarny explains to NewsChannel 9 how it’s done in Onondaga County, “You can get a word document that you can download, or a fillable pdf, whatever is easier for you, save it, email it to absentee@ongov.net and we will then mail you out a ballot.”
https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/anyone-can-get-an-absentee-ballot-for-june-voting-in-nys-and-its-as-easy-as-an-email/
Commissioner in a car: The New Normal edition.
Go to onvote.net to apply for your absentee ballot by email for June primary.
https://www.facebook.com/dustinmczarny/videos/2292678651026168
Sunday Thoughts: Coalition Building
When the Democratic Primary for President started I made the supposition that the eventual winner would be the one who could best navigate the diverse coalition of the Democratic Party. What I never thought would happen is the quick coalition around Joe Biden and perhaps I underestimated him. What has become obvious is Biden is not only good at rolling out these endorsements but his team values them and their symbolism.
The cynics will obviously point to the unseen hand of the DNC or other boogeyman to downplay this, but I would posit they are the same people who believed that winning 305 of the primary vote would be enough to unite the party. And no this is not just about Sanders. Every candidate in the Democratic field seemed to make this play. Moderates as well as liberals looked hyper triangulate the democratic coalition by focusing on one part of it and then hoping they could convince the other parts at a contested convention or late in the primary system.
Only Biden seemed to make a play to unite larger segments of the party together. His coalition of moderate older white voters, African Americans, and suburban women voters turned out to be a sizable advantage. However Hillary Clinton had the same coalition yet didn’t have the enormous success of coalescing the Democratic Party as Joe has. Part of that is surely due to Trump. His presence in the race is unifying in and of itself, and anyone who achieved front runner status. However HRC’s camp treated endorsements as obligations where it seems Biden views them as capitol and investing in them.
Endorsements don’t just happen. They take tons of work behind the scenes and coordination by surrogates and yes, the candidate himself. One would be tempted to write off the endorsements of Buttigiege and Klobuchar right before Super Tuesday as moderates coalescing. And if they ended up being the only ones, then it could be a fluke. However after Super Tuesday nearly every former presidential candidate ended up dropping out and endorsing Biden.
Again being the front runner after Super Tuesday can be an explanation, but it is also clear in looking back on these endorsements is that time and energy was invested in gaining them and rolling them out. Each endorsement added to Biden’s coalition. Booker helped cement his support in African American communities, Beto Orourke mad an appeal to center left idealists, Yang and yes even Gabbard cemented fringe parts of the coalition. All of these former rivals where not only given time and space to endorse, but they were not vilified while they took time to make up their mind. Kamala Harris is the best example of this. She left the race months earlier but was never vilified by the Biden team for staying neutral as Warren was by parts of the Sanders coalition.
Biden’s endorsement strategy culminated with the Sanders, Obama, Warren and yes Manchin endorsements over the last week. As Biden built a commanding lead he never attacked Sanders personally and allowed him to be the FIRST to endorse him after he dropped out. It would have been tempting to have Obama go first, but he gave Sanders the prime spot to bring in as many of his coalition as he can. Then he followed that up with Obama to reengage the only coalition that received majority support for Presidential candidate since 2004. Warren’s endorsement was again an appeal to women in the party. And finally the Manchin endorsement once again reaches out to moderates and conservative Trump Obama voters in rural communities.
Will any of this matter in November? Well that is the work that Biden needs to do now. He still has an age issue. Voters under 30 may not vote in large numbers but they can be a tipping point in an election and Biden must now start the long work of winning over a group that is skeptical of him. He can do that through policy positions during the convention and maybe a younger Veep pick. It’s the last part of the Democratic coalition he hasn’t been able to get…yet. It shouldn’t be written off and looking at what Biden has done over the last two months I don’t think he will.
State Legislature needs to open up absentee balloting
On March 29, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo postponed the planned presidential primary and special elections to June 23. The postponement was supported by both Republican and Democratic elections commissioners throughout New York State.
The move protected poll workers and voters from exposure to Covid-19 and the combination of both elections saved local governments much-needed funds. However, this order alone is not enough. New York must allow more of its citizens to vote from the safety of their homes during this crisis. The state Assembly and Senate should not end its session without fixing our absentee voting procedures in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.
The New York State Election Commissioners Association called upon the governor and Legislature to expand absentee balloting when a state of emergency exists due to pandemic disease. Currently, New York State law requires an excuse to vote by absentee. Most common excuses are temporary or permanent illness/infirmity and being absent from the county you live in on Election Day.
There is a movement to alter the constitution of New York State to remove the excuse option but because of our arcane constitutional amendment process the earliest this can be done is in 2022. However, the Legislature could act today to alter the current absentee language to address the needs of voters now.
There are two bills in the New York State Senate that would meet this moment in history.
Senate Bill S8015A, sponsored by State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, would add threat of spreading communicable disease in a pandemic to the temporary illness section of NYS Election Law 8-400. This would assure voters that they have a right to choose this option to request an absentee.
Senate Bill S8130, sponsored by State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, would allow email receipt of absentee ballot applications. This could eliminate postage costs for the first step in the absentee ballot process and make it easier for boards of elections and voters to process the larger amount of absentees that can be expected this year.
It is imperative the Legislature pass these bills immediately so the measures can be in place for all elections in 2020. While it is hoped that the Covid-19 crisis will be better in June, many experts posit that some amount of social distancing will still be needed well past November.
At-risk citizens afraid of being infected by this deadly disease deserve the right to cast their vote safely without risking challenge from partisans hoping to win an election. Reducing the Election Day population by allowing a more accessible absentee process, as well as early voting measures passed last year, can help us protect workers, voters and the democratic process.
published here:
Absentee ballot voting option extended to all NY primary election voters – CNYCentral.com
Using more absentee ballots should reduce the number of people gathering to vote at polling places, according to Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny.
Commissioner in a Car: you get an absentee edition April 13, 2020
I talk about the changes to expand absentee balloting amidst the covid crisis in New York.
https://www.facebook.com/dustinmczarny/videos/509788399910042
Changes to how NY votes to prevent spread of COVID-19 – Capitol Pressroom
Amid COVID-19 concerns, the Governor took action to allow more New Yorkers to vote by mail in June’s primaries and general elections. Dustin Czarny, Democratic Commissioner of the Onondaga County Board of Elections, explained what needs to happen to implement this change and the resources needed from the state and federal governments.
Legislature Urged To Codify Absentee Ballot Order -Spectrum News
“The Governor’s actions to expand the reason for absentees to include the COVID-19 crisis and allow email applications for absentees was an important first step to protect voters for the June combined primaries,” said Onondaga County Board of Elections Co-Chairman Dustin Czarny. “The legislature now needs to act to ensure we have these protections in place for the November election and beyond.”
New York Advocates Want Changes To Elections During Pandemic Permanent – WAMC
“Our association, the New York State Elections Commissioners Association, voted overwhelmingly to support these two pieces of legislation so we could then move forward, because we are getting more than double, more than triple the types of requests that we usually get,” said Czarny.
Dustin M. Czarny 