VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Onondaga County expecting more voters in November election due to increased registration
Paul Lamonaca: Onondaga County has seen a massive increase in voter registration as New York state prepares for early voting beginning Oct. 26. Since Aug. 1, Onondaga County Board of Elections has received over 10,000 new registrations. As Onondaga County is seeing an increase in registration, neighboring Cayuga County is seeing a slight difference.
Keith Batman: And our numbers, registration numbers, are a little less than 2020 but not by much. Registrations are quite a bit higher than 2022, and this is true also for early voting and absentee balloting.
Lamonaca: While voter registration has increased substantially, this does not guarantee that more voters will come to the polls by next week.
Dustin Czarny: It’s hard to tell. We have made it easier than ever to register to vote. We usually expect 75% to 77% in Onondaga County in a presidential year and that’s what we expect again, however with 10,000 more voters than in 2020, that means a higher raw number of voters.
Lamonaca: The county’s election website has made it easily accessible for people to gather all of their election needs.
Czarny: You can register online, you can request a ballot online and you can check your registration to make sure it’s been processed and get your polling places online as well.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Onondaga County officials are expecting large voter turnout this election season. The Onondaga County Board of Elections has seen over 10,000 new voters register since Aug. 1. This is a sharp increase in voter registration as the county only saw 1,000 new voters between the months of January through July said county officials.
While Onondaga County has seen an increase since the last presidential election, neighboring counties are seeing different trends.
“Our [registration] numbers are a little less than in 2020, but not by much,” said Keith Batman, the Democratic chairman for the Board of Elections in Cayuga County. “Registrations are quite a bit higher than in 2022, and this true also for for early voting and absentee balloting.
With registration much higher than usual in Onondaga County, officials expect voter turnout to be greater than in previous years.
“We usually expect somewhere between a 75-77% voter turnout in Onondaga County in a presidential year, and that’s what we expect again,” said Dustin Czarny, the Democratic chairman for the Onondaga County Board of Elections. “However, with 10,000 more voters than in 2020, that means a higher raw number of voters,” said Czarny.
Onondaga County has promoted its government website, ongov.net, to help voters easily access information such as requesting ballots, checking registration status and viewing local polling stations.