Category Archives: Interviews

“Ballot mail is supposed to be treated differently by law. If we put our postmark on it, it’s official ballot mail. It’s not supposed to be delayed. However, if the overall system is seeing a delay, there’s no reason to see that ballot mail won’t be affected by this. I will be advising all votersContinue reading “Onondaga County Board of Elections: Request Ballots Now, Return Them ASAP – WAER”

Students’ right to vote by mail is well protected under federal and state law, said Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Board of Elections commissioner. For any election, students have the option to vote absentee or register to vote in the state where they are attending school.“ It’s been pretty well-settled in the court,” Czarny said. “IfContinue reading “Experts address student concerns on absentee voting during pandemic – Daily Orange”

In the past, absentee ballots were an excuse-based system for voters who were sick or unable to be in Onondaga County on Election Day, said Dustin Czarny, an Onondaga County elections commissioner. New legislation Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed in August extends the illness excuse to include the risk of contracting or spreading the coronavirus. TheContinue reading “New York counties prepare for mail-in voting in November election – The Daily Orange”

More workers are typically needed at polling sites in presidential election years like this one, when voter turnout typically peaks, said Dustin Czarny, an elections commissioner in Onondaga County. This year, counties also need more workers to help wipe down equipment and sanitize surfaces during the pandemic. Onondaga County wants to hire 1,200 poll workersContinue reading “NY recruits poll workers for 2020 election to ease shortage caused by coronavirus – Syracuse.com”

“Election mail is going to be treated as first-class mail,” Dustin Czarny with the Onondaga County Board of Elections said. https://cnycentral.com/news/local/election-officials-working-to-make-sure-absentee-ballots-get-counted

It was postmarked eight days after we dropped it in a mailbox in the town of Van Buren. We talked with Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny after the last piece of mail arrived with a late postmark. That raised alarms for the Commissioner. “If it was postmarked after Election Day,” said Czarny. “We wouldContinue reading “UPDATE: Missing envelope from CNYCentral’s USPS test located – CNYCentral.com”

Democratic Onondaga County Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny welcomed the test as elections workers prepare for an expected record volume of absentee ballots being cast for President and Congressional races this fall. “I believe in two things” said Czarny. “The system does work as it is now. But, also if it didn’t I wantContinue reading “Amid mail-in vote controversy, CNYCentral puts U.S. Postal Service to the test – CNYCentral.com”

“This is the wave of the future,” Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said. “We have a Constitutional Amendment that will make mail-in ballots no-excuse like it is in 34 other states. So, I believe this is something we’re going to be doing a lot more, and I believe we’re ready for it.” https://www.localsyr.com/news/your-local-election-hq/election-reforms-signed-into-law-by-governor/

“Recruiting personnel to actually physically count ballots is probably the hardest part of our recruiting personnel,” said Dustin Czarny, an elections commissioner in Onondaga County and chair of the Democratic Caucus of the New York State Elections Commissioners Association, in an interview. “They need more training and more expertise than, say, a normal election inspectorContinue reading “Can New York Officials Deliver November Election Results in a Timely Fashion? – Gotham Gazette”

Dustin Czarny, the Onondaga County Board of Elections Commissioner, says, “We are preparing for five times the number of absentees that we got in June to be ready for November.” This year, there will be a hefty load for the few people at the Board of Elections who usually work on absentee ballots.“ We areContinue reading “Onondaga County Board of Elections prepares for record breaking number of absentee ballots – CNYCentral.com”