Category Archives: Interviews

Dustin Czarny, elections commissioner in Onondaga County, New York, cited statistics showing that many election officials have reported facing physical threats and harassment. A substantial percentage of lead elections officers have left their positions, leaving newcomers in charge, Czarny said. “And they’ve all left because of the harassment, because of the targeting that it’s happenedContinue reading “Threats that led to Jan. 6 riot persist, lawmakers and watchdogs warn – Spectrum News”

“The Big Lie continues to this day,” said Dustin Czarny, elections commissioner of the Onondaga County Board of Elections in New York, on Capitol Hill on Friday. “It resulted in decreased resources for Boards of Elections to do their job. I’m hopeful that we could see legislation in this next year in the states andContinue reading “‘The Alternative to Democracy Is Dictatorship,’ Warns Biden – Common Dreams”

For the first time this year, voters in New York will be able to do early voting by mail, something Czarny says New York did during the pandemic. His message to those who are skeptical: “We have a bipartisan team that is doing all of this. And that’s the other thing that prevents fraud —Continue reading “Turbulence in presidential race prompts big voter turnout expectation in New York – CNY Central”

Newcomer Emily Essi has won the job of Onondaga County clerk over incumbent Lisa Dell after a hand recount was completed today, according to Dustin Czarny, an Onondaga County Board of Elections commissioner. Essi, a Democrat, won by 298 votes, according to today’s results. Final vote counts aren’t available until the certification is complete later this week,Continue reading “Emily Essi wins Onondaga County clerk race, election official says – Syracuse.com”

Czarny said he had previously mentioned to the caucus his intent to schedule an opportunity for the bill sponsors to discuss the legislation, which he personally supports, with the commission. Czarny noted that lawmakers typically come to an annual meeting in Albany to discuss their bills, but could not provide specifics on when lawmakers metContinue reading “Senator asked commissioners to support bill changing elections – Times Union”

“After going through one of the worst turnout years in the last decade, the problem with selecting local leaders in low turnout years (is that) you get a body that’s not necessarily reflective of the view of the entire electorate,” Czarny said, speaking on his own behalf and not on behalf of the caucus. http://BipartisanContinue reading “Bipartisan opposition from Albany County BOE on even-year election bill – Times Union”

“Doing a 91,000 ballot hand count is not something that is brand new to us,” Czarny said. “We’re going to be following a lot of the guidelines we got from the court last year, as well as lessons we learned last year to get this done. We have a good plan in place.” https://www.waer.org/news/2023-11-20/onondaga-county-board-of-elections-prepares-to-manually-recount-ballots-in-close-clerks-race

The race had been too close to call after voting on Election Day, Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said at the time. Olson drew criticism on Election Day after circulating a misleading flyer that claimed he had support from a local union. CSEA Local 384 slammed Olson, saying the union had declined any endorsementContinue reading “Olson wins Onondaga County Legislature 10th district by a few dozen votes – Syracuse.com”

“I would love younger people. You’re working from 5 a.m. To 10 p.m., it’s a long day. A lot of people have jobs they can’t get away from, family obligations,” Czarny said. “A lot of times the people that have the ability to do that are the older generation that have a little bit moreContinue reading “‘We need you’: Onondaga County Board of Elections begins searching for 2024 poll workers – Newschannel 9”

According to Czarny, ballots will be recounted to ensure accuracy. In a tweet Wednesday, Czarny said, “Over the next week we will certify all non close races and prepare 90k ballots to be hand counted for the County Clerk race and any other race that might be within the hand count margin of .5% orContinue reading “Close races in Onondaga County may not have official outcome until December – CNY Central”