Elections Professional and Activist
In this week’s Zoom with Czarny, I sit down with Blake Carter. Blake is a CNY native and is running for the Onondaga County Legislature District 6, which includes Skaneateles, Spafford, Marcellus and parts of Camillus. He is a long-time political activist and first-time candidate. Enjoy.
Learn more here: https://www.voteforblakecarter.com/
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“State election law does not prohibit using the power of incumbency to promote a candidate’s work. It’s a fine ethical line often judged by the public rather than any enforcer, said Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, a Democrat.”
(As Chair of the Democratic Caucus of NYSECA I will from time to time issue Memorandums of Support on Election bills before the NYS Legislature. I am posting them on my website for lawmakers and the public to know our positions. You can see my caucus’ legislative priorities here as well as the Bi-Partisan Legislative agenda for NYSECA here. This bill is part of a list of bills that we were asked to consider by Assembly members or Senators to support. You can read that list here. If you agree with this bill consider contacting your local representative and asking them to support the bill.)
Memorandum of Support
Sponsor: Gianaris/Walker
Summary: Enacts the democracy preservation act; prohibits contributions by foreign-influenced business entities; requires certification.
Justification: The NYS Election Commissioners Association Democratic Caucus supports S371/A2633, which bans ban political spending by foreign-influenced business entities in New York's state and local elections. Without adequate protections from federal or state law there is a significant risk of influence by foreign owned corporations in our electorate.
The influence of foreign money on an election can be detrimental to the democratic process of a country. When foreign entities are allowed to contribute money to political campaigns, they can sway the outcome of an election by favoring one candidate over another or promoting a particular agenda. This can lead to a loss of control over a country's political system and undermine the trust of the people in their elected officials. Additionally, foreign interference in an election can violate a country's sovereignty and compromise its national security. It is therefore essential to have strict regulations and enforcement mechanisms in place to prevent foreign money from influencing the outcome of elections and to ensure the integrity of the democratic process.
The Democratic Caucus supports this bill. Passing this bill will strengthen the backbone of our bi-partisan election system in New York and we urge the legislature to pass this bill and the Governor to sign it as soon as possible.
This week’s Commissioner in a car I talk about the money in the NYS budget for county boards, the NYS Board of Elections, and the Public Campaign Finance Board. There is a good deal to celebrate. I also run down the results of the hearings on objections and court case that shaped our June primary and November general election ballot. Enjoy.
Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all election news and content updates
(As Chair of the Democratic Caucus of NYSECA I will from time to time issue Memorandums of Support on Election bills before the NYS Legislature. I am posting them on my website for lawmakers and the public to know our positions. You can see my caucus’ legislative priorities here as well as the Bi-Partisan Legislative agenda for NYSECA here. This bill is part of a list of bills that we were asked to consider by Assembly members or Senators to support. You can read that list here. If you agree with this bill consider contacting your local representative and asking them to support the bill.)
Memorandum of Support
Bill: S5943/A725
Sponsor: Skoufis/Hunter
Summary: Modifies the order in which candidates appear on the ballot
Justification: The NYS Election Commissioners Association Democratic Caucus supports S5943/A725, which modifies the order in which candidates appear on the ballot. This bill requires that offices shall be listed on the ballot in descending order based on the size of the electorate and requires certain federal offices to be listed before state, county, or local offices. This will bring uniformity to ballot creation throughout New York State, giving a standard for county boards of elections to follow. It will also right place emphasis on the size of political subdivisions and state and federal offices that most voters are familiar with.
The Democratic Caucus supports this bill. Passing this bill will strengthen the backbone of our bi-partisan election system in New York and we urge the legislature to pass this bill and the Governor to sign it as soon as possible. Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all content and election news updates
Welcome back to #WeeklyWonk. Each weekend I publish an article on a subject relating to elections in Onondaga County and New York State. Often these articles will have detailed stats to consume but sometimes they will be a recap of a prominent issue or on relevant election law. I am turning my eye to the 2023 elections and the political subdivision having races. Today I investigate the Town of Dewitt, the most Democratic Town in Onondaga County.
The Town of Dewitt sits on the Eastern suburbs of the City of Syracuse. Its long western border makes it the Town that shares the longest border with Syracuse. This in part leads to its overwhelmingly blue nature. The makeup of Dewitt is 40% Democrat (7,116 Voters), 25% GOP (4,333 Voters), and 29% non-Enrolled (5,113 voters). This enrollment is the most Democratic of anyplace outside the City of Syracuse. Dewitt elects all their representative’s town wide and not by wards. So, I have carved up Clay into 5 different regions, North 3,679 voters (21%), Center 3,591 voters (20%), West 3,582 voters (20%), South 3,331 voters (19%), and East 3,457 voters (20%).
In a new feature I am bringing to the #weeklywonk this year I am doing a heat map for each political subdivision. I will be looking at the current partisan makeup of each individual ED and heat mapping its partisan lean based on the advantage for the Democrats and GOP. Dewitt is so Democratic only 1 Ed, ED 12 has a GOP lean (between 5-10%). Four more eds, 1,8, 17, & 20, have a borderline (0-5%) Democratic Lean. Eds 4, 13, 15, & 19 have a slight (5-10%) Democratic lean. Eds 6, 7, 9, & 25 have moderate (10-15%) Democratic lean. Eds 10, 21 & 23 have strong (15-20%) Democratic lean. The largest collection of eds, 2, 3, 5, 14, 16, 18, 22 & 24 have overwhelming (+20%) Democratic lean. Theis the largest collection of Overwhelming Democratic eds outside the City of Syracuse.
Since 2009 The Town of Dewitt went from a Town with a Democratic lean to an overwhelmingly Democratic plurality. Democrats have gained 1,165 voters while the GOP lost 1,068 voters. The Non-enrolled has seen a large gain as well of 1,012 voters filling the void left by the GOP. This is the driving factor in the polarization of Dewitt. This is like other suburban towns but a little more exaggerated. Since 2020 though it is noticeable that Democrats have plateaued, losing a little. The GOP has also slowed its loss. The Non-enrolled though continues to gain. It will be worth looking at this town again after the 2024 election of we see any changes to this recent turn.
The regions are mostly reflective of the blue nature of the overall registration. The center region of Dewitt looks a great deal like a city ward with Democrats having a 31.63% Democratic advantage. This is followed by the western region that has a +19.43%. These two regions border the eastern borders of Syracuse which is some of the more Democratic in the county. This is what is leading to Dewitt’s overwhelming blue nature. The Eastern region which borders the other blue town of Manlius has a 13.77% Democratic advantage. All three of these regions the non-enrolled outnumber the GOP. The northern (+7.31% Dem advantage) and the Southern (+6.18% dem advantage) looks more like other suburban regions throughout Onondaga County.
Looking at the growth of voters since the last redistricting cycle we compare it with date from May 2012. The Town of Dewitt grew by 1,807 active voters. The biggest growth is in the western region which gained by 538 voters. The southern region which borders Lafayette and Pompey had the second highest growth of 410 voters. The Eastern region bordering Manlius is a close 3rd at 344 voters. The Center region grew at a similar rate by 303 voters. The least growth has come in northern region with only 212 voters.
The Town of Dewitt Democratic advantage has grown by 11.10% since 2012, outpacing Onondaga County overall. In 2012 every region was Democratic; however, all regions grew in Democratic advantage over the last 10 years. The largest growth has been in the western region with Democrats gaining by 16.90%. The center region democratic advantage grew by 12.05%. The southern region Democratic advantage grew by 11.80%. The eastern region grew the least by just 9.68%. The Northern region grew by just 5.52%.
When we look at the comparative races, we see why Democrats are dominating just about every Town race and Democrats performed better in Dewitt than anywhere outside of Syracuse. In 2019 Dan Kolinski for County Clerk garnered 54.70% of the vote, 9.97% ahead of his Onondaga County rate. President Biden in 2020 64.86% of the vote, 5.98% ahead of his Onondaga rate. In 2021 Anthony Brindisi for Supreme Court garnered 59.50% of the vote, 8.76% behind his GOP rate. In 2022 Governor Hochul garnered 60,78% of the vote, 7.00% ahead of her Onondaga County rate. This has led the GOP to shy away from running in town wide races here and carve it up in County legislative races. In the last head-to-head local race was Town Justice in 2021, the Democrats won it by 16.14%.
In 2023 the Dewitt Town Democrats will look to fill candidates for Supervisor, Clerk, Town Justices, 3 Town Board members and Highway superintendent. The Town of Dewitt Democrats fill their candidates by caucus. The Caucus has not yet been scheduled but can be anytime between now and July 27, 2023. If you are interested in running for any of these offices or want to help the Clay Democrats contact their chairperson Linda Ervin at ervindewittdems@gmail.com.
That is, it for this week’s edition of the #WeeklyWonk. Next week I take a break from the Towns of Onondaga County and look at the village of Liverpool. They held their first Democratic caucus in 20 years last week and will be running a full slate of Democratic candidates in the June election. As always go to dustinczarny.com and subscribe to get all your content and election news updates. I run that website, along with these series of articles, as part of my voter education. I never take ad money or charge subscriptions paying for the site with my own personal funds. Subscribe here.
Raquan Pride-Green and Hasahn Bloodworth were removed Friday from this year’s Democratic primary for Syracuse Common Council seats after their petitions were challenged.
The two commissioners for the Onondaga County Board of Elections agreed with challengers who claimed some of the people passing petitions and some of the people who signed them were not Democrats, Commissioner Dustin Czarny said.
(As Chair of the Democratic Caucus of NYSECA I will from time to time issue Memorandums of Support on Election bills before the NYS Legislature. I am posting them on my website for lawmakers and the public to know our positions. You can see my caucus’ legislative priorities here as well as the Bi-Partisan Legislative agenda for NYSECA here. This bill is part of a list of bills that we were asked to consider by Assembly members or Senators to support. You can read that list here. If you agree with this bill consider contacting your local representative and asking them to support the bill.)
Memorandum of Support
Bill: S4496
Sponsor: Gounardes
Summary: Requires SUNY and CUNY institutions to grant course credit to students who serve as election inspectors, poll clerks, or election coordinators
Justification: The NYS Election Commissioners Association Democratic Caucus supports S4496, which would require the Board of Trustees to consult with boards of elections to adopt a policy requiring that each SUNY campus grant course credit to students for their service as an election inspector, poll clerk, or election coordinator at a polling site in this state. The policy shall include a verification procedure for students claiming credit. The Democratic Commissioners encourage this effort to engage with the student population on the importance of taking an active part of our Democratic process. This will also serve to bolster our poll inspector ranks which is always desirable.
The Democratic Caucus supports this bill. Passing this bill will strengthen the backbone of our bi-partisan election system in New York and we urge the legislature to pass this bill and the Governor to sign it as soon as possible.
Today I sit down with Emily Essi who is running for Onondaga County Clerk. Emily is a Syracuse native who has travelled the world. She has managed multi-million dollar grants, non profits, and has a background in helping people get homes. Now she wants to modernize the County Clerk office and make it more accessible. Enjoy her interview. Learn more at emilyessi.com
Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all election news and content updates
(As Chair of the Democratic Caucus of NYSECA I will from time to time issue Memorandums of Support on Election bills before the NYS Legislature. I am posting them on my website for lawmakers and the public to know our positions. You can see my caucus’ legislative priorities here as well as the Bi-Partisan Legislative agenda for NYSECA here. If you agree with this bill consider contacting your local representative and asking them to support the bill.)
Memorandum of Support
Sponsor: May/Sillitti
Summary: Authorizes county boards of elections to establish county-wide polling places
Justification: The NYS Election Commissioners Association Democratic Caucus supports S5537A/A6939A, which authorizes county boards of elections to establish county-wide polling places where any person entitled to vote in such county by personal appearance may so vote on the day of a primary election or general election, subject to approval by the state board of elections. New York currently authorizes and encourages vote centers for Early Voting. This legislation will allow the county boards with the resources and desire to do so to use voting centers for primary and general election days. Counties wishing to participate will be required to submit a plan to the NYS Board of Elections to ensure adequate staffing and equipment.
Vote centers on election day have become an increasingly popular option for many jurisdictions. These centers allow voters to cast their ballots at any location within their jurisdiction, rather than being restricted to a single polling place. This can be particularly beneficial for those who work or have other obligations on election day, as it provides more flexibility and convenience. Additionally, vote centers can help reduce wait times and lines, making the voting process more efficient and accessible for all. By allowing voters to choose from a variety of locations, vote centers also help to reduce overcrowding and promote social distancing. Overall, the use of vote centers on election day is a smart and effective way to promote greater voter participation and ensure that every vote counts.
The Democratic Caucus supports this bill in our 2023 Legislative Priorities and we note it is also supported by the NYS Election Commissioners Association Bi-Partisan Legislative Agenda. Passing this bill will strengthen the backbone of our bi-partisan election system in New York and we urge the legislature to pass this bill and the Governor to sign it as soon as possible.
Dustin M. Czarny