Elections Professional and Activist
Onondaga County (New York) Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny spoke on the impact automatic voter registration would have on the reforms New York lawmakers already passed this year.
“Automatic voter registration would supercharge pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-olds, early voting and other reforms passed this year,” he said. “These policies are strongest when they work in concert together.”
“We will save on paper,” Czarny said. “We won’t be printing up on poll books. The voter experience will be easier, less affidavit ballots to process, so less man-hours. We will also have less man-hours on the post-election end, as voter history will be downloaded in a matter of seconds, as opposed to three to 20 days of data entry.”
Czarny said it will also make it easier for people who show up at the wrong polling place.
“We will be able to go in there and see where they’re supposed to vote, print them up directions, or send a direction via text to their phone,” Czarny said. “They may have to drive down the block to get to the new polling place, but then their vote will count, and they will be able to vote on the machine.”
“Thousands of people come to or pass by OCC every day, making it both a convenient and accessible place to vote,” they wrote. “Also, the large population in the northern part of the county — with the towns of Cicero and Clay — would benefit from an additional site. Cicero Town Hall is available as a possible location. But without question, OCC should be designated as an early voting site.”
“If we automatically register them to vote, use the DMV, use Medicaid, use whatever social agencies we can, and start working towards that process…we will have a better voter role, we will have a more accurate list, and more importantly, we’ll have a more engaged public,” Czarny said.
“It’s the best way to fight gerrymandering and to make sure one political party can’t draw districts to benefit themselves. The citizens get to draw it,” Czarny said. “There’s no better example of the use of government power.”
Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny says a lot has changed since then.
“Populations have shifted. Communities have shifted. We have a huge, growing New American contingent growing on the north side. How those communities have changed is important, and that’s what redistricting is about. And for the first time, the citizens are going to have direct input on this.”
“Syracuse will become the first city east of the Mississippi to enact this incredible reform. This will put the power of redistricting back into the hands of the people and will prevent gerrymandering and any other kinds of abuses that we’ve seen nationwide,” said Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Elections Commissioner.
“It’s just a shame that we’re going to throw away $60,000 in New York state funding to not serve our citizens as properly as we can”
My testimony in front of the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Elections in favor of Automatic Voter Registration.
https://www.facebook.com/dustinmczarny/videos/898917260442311/
You can see the entire hearing here:
Prepared Remarks
Testimony before The New York State Senate
Standing Committee on Elections
Thursday May 30, 2019 1pm
Dustin M. Czarny, NYSECA Democratic Caucus Chair
Thank you for letting me testify today. My name is Dustin Czarny and I am an Elections Commissioner in Onondaga County and the Democratic Caucus Chair of the New York State Elections Commissioner Association. NYSECA represents the diverse 62 counties throughout New York State. I have been an advocate for election reforms for the better part of the last decade. To say that electoral reform has been slow in New York would be a massive understatement. New York fell behind other states both in voter convenience and voter turnout. I believe there is a strong correlation between access and participation. However as other states enacted voting reforms over the last decade, New York has moved forward at a glacial pace.
This year has seen a virtual flood of legislation aimed at modernizing our electoral system. Early Voting, consolidating our Local & Federal Primaries and moving it to June, Electronic Poll books, On Demand Ballot printing, expanded paid time off for voting, and Universal Transfers of Registrations were all passed effective this year. In 2020 we will add Pre-registration of 16 & 17 year olds as well as uniform primary hours. In 2021 we look to finish the constitutional process for Same Day registration, No Excuse Absentees, and institute an expanded online voter registration system.
With all these changes being enacted it would be tempting to rest on our laurels however there is one reform that can super charge all the other reforms and truly put New York on a path to leading the nation, rather than just catching up. That reform is Automatic Voter Registration. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted an “opt-out” rather than “opt-in” registration. Enacting AVR in New York will place us on the vanguard of voter access and show us to be a leader on electoral reform.
AVR will address the biggest barrier to voter participation: accurate and proper voter registration. This initial barrier is one of the reasons New York has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of eligible citizens registered to vote. In New York over one third of eligible citizens who could register are not. Many of them who would like to participate choose to do so after the voter registration deadline and face long lines for court orders that are not guaranteed or risk having their vote not counted in the affidavit process. Further complicating voting is our registration system remains out of date and may not be accurate in terms of a voter’s residence. We live in a mobile society and voters may not notify the Boards of Elections upon moving. This could cause their registration to go in active making it more difficult to vote on Election Day.
Switching to an opt-in system will rectify many of these problems without adding significant costs. If a voter is automatically registered when interacting with a New York State agency then the initial barrier of registration is eliminated. Furthermore changes in addresses will be automatically sent Boards of Elections making our voter rolls more accurate for the convenience of voters and campaigns. Pairing this reform with the pre-registration of 16 & 17 year olds will address younger voters and their lagging participation in the electoral process. Many 16 & 17 year olds will interact with the DMV as they obtain driver’s licenses and permits. Automatically registering them and updating their registration as they move will specially benefit these voters as they transition from living at home, to college, to independence.
Lastly this will also assist the Board of Elections in how we handle elections. Accurate voter rolls will keep voters from falling into inactive status and possibly being purged. Keeping voters active will eliminate extra mailings, affidavit ballots, and court orders. This will ultimately save Boards of Elections money, it will minimize voters who want to participate in our Democracy. We expect an initial surge of registrations as we transition to AVR, ongoing costs should be minimal as we are already processing registrations on a daily basis. In fact we are often sending out registration forms to those who interact with the DMV but choose not to register. AVR will all but eliminate that costly process.
The time is now to pass AVR and have it effective in 2020. The presidential election of 2020 is expected to be the highest turnout election in our lifetimes. Making sure all voters have as much access as possible in this pivotal election should drive all of our electoral decisions. Having AVR in place for 2020 will also assist Boards of Elections in redrawing of Election District lines after the Census and redistricting in 2021 and beyond. Having accurate voter rolls will allow us to craft election district lines and place Early Voting and Election Day polling places in areas that benefit the true population of voters.
Our caucus took no position on “Front End” versus “Back End” processing of AVR. It does seem a hybrid approach for New York State is warranted. Party registration is an important part in a closed primary state like we have in New York. Given the increasing emphasis on enrollment deadlines and party primaries we should allow agencies that have the ability to ask for voter enrollment to keep voters from being barred from primaries accidentally.
Thank you very much for your time and I hope the NYS Senate and Assembly will pass a form of AVR this year.
Onondaga County Elections Commissioner (D) and NYSECA Democratic Caucus Chair Dustin M. Czarny’s remarks to the City of Syracuse. Commissioner Czarny testified in favor of Syracuse adopting a charter change to enact Non-Partisan Independent Redistricting. This will be voted on June 3rd, 2019 at noon. Join us at the Syracuse Common Council Chambers at City Hall.
There were no written remarks prepared for this testimony
Dustin M. Czarny