Category Archives: Interviews

Advocates of the law like Onondaga County Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny believes moving local elections to even-numbered years, it will increase voter turnout. “By having elections aligned to when voters are traditionally Intuned to show up and go to the polls will mean more people will vote on these local offices andContinue reading “‘Even Year Law’ ruled constitutional, sparking debate on voter turnout – CNY Central”

“This decision is a celebration of democracy,’’ said Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County’s Democratic elections commissioner. “This legislation will ensure more voters will vote on more offices and we will have a government that is representative of all the people of Onondaga County and New York State,’’ Czarny said. https://www.syracuse.com/news/2025/05/appellate-court-says-nys-even-year-election-law-is-constitutional-reversing-lower-court.html?gift=0e31d919-3554-479c-be04-0ddfc167bf95 Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all contentContinue reading “Appellate Court says NY’s Even Year Election Law is constitutional, reversing lower court – Syracuse.com”

I appeared in this news clip to explain how OCBOE accepts petitions and challenges. No one wants to throw people off the ballot, it is the least favorite part of my job., We had to do three yesterday. They have an opportunity to go to court and explain why our decisions were wrong. https://cnycentral.com/news/local/alfonso-davis-wont-be-on-democratic-ticket-for-syracuse-mayor-politics-onondaga-county-board-elections-sharon-owens-pat-hogan-chol-majok# SubscribeContinue reading “Alfonso Davis, Jimmy Oliver won’t be on Democratic ticket for Syracuse Mayor – CNY Central”

Czarny said the board’s decisions are made by equally represented Democratic and Republican staff members and election commissioners. “One commissioner alone cannot make this decision,” Czarny said. https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2025/04/onondaga-county-election-officials-boot-2-democrats-from-syracuse-mayors-race.html Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all content and election news updates

Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said the board will now process and review the objections filed and hold hearings toward the end of next week. If the board removes a candidate from the ballot, that candidate can challenge the decision in court. https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2025/04/sharon-owens-backers-seek-to-boot-2-democratic-foes-from-syracuse-mayors-race.html Subscribe to dustinczarny.com for all content and election news updates

“What we’re looking at now is either the witness is wrong, where a whole sheet can be thrown out, or the individual lines are wrong, and that’s where 90% of the objections are going to come in. And we’re literally going to be going line by line once the objections are made,” Czarny said. https://www.waer.org/news/2025-04-08/election-officials-begin-process-of-verifying-petitions-for-onondaga-county-candidatesContinue reading “Election officials begin process of verifying petitions for Onondaga County candidates – WAER”

“A birth certificate replication was over $100 last time I did it. $80 for a passport. These are real costs for people when deciding whether they can afford it or not. It’s the essence of a poll tax, something we’ve gotten away from,” he explained. https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/presidents-trump-executive-order-sparks-controversy-on-voting-in-onondaga-county/

Czarny asked that lawmakers provide more flexibility in the grants they provide and longer time periods for them so election commissioners can do long-term planning to continually upgrade election infrastructure. “We are usually one of the least funded departments in our county governments and a lot of times those funds are evaporate even quicker inContinue reading “Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner urges funding in NY budget hearing – WRVO”

With these statistics in mind, Czarny said New York residents should take advantage of state programs to make voting easier and more accessible in future elections, including by voting by mail and at early voting sites. He also encouraged community members to get involved in the election process more personally, like by serving as pollingContinue reading “Town hall addresses low voter turnout in 2024 presidential election – Daily Orange”