Category Archives: Interviews

With less than 50 days until Election Day on November 3rd making sure your informed is important. Onondaga Election Commissioners Dustin Czarny (D) and Michele Sardo (R) talk about what you should know about the upcoming election season. https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/what-to-know-this-election-season/

“it was a total abdication of responsibility by the federal government to not include further election funding in another COVID relief package,” Czarny said. “States are out of money. Counties are out of money. The only government source that could have provided this funding is the federal government and they failed to do so.”” https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2020/09/14/county-election-boards-election-charity

“When it comes to the elections, we embrace technology, we embrace change, and that has helped us,” Czarny added. “That being said, we’re about to go into times we’re in mandatory overtime, we have mandatory weekends. We’re going to be working as hard as we can to get the job done.” https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/politics/2020/09/10/onondaga-county-board-of-elections-in-overdrive-as-election-nears

“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”