VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Election Day in Syracuse sparks discussion over New York state voter’s access
Thomas Baia, Reporter: Voting is underway in Central New York, but today is bigger than just Election Day for Onondaga County’s Democratic Election Commissioner Dustin Czarny.
Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Democratic Election Commissioner: It’s our Super Bowl. Every election, when we finally get down to election day, it’s a long day.
Baia: One thing Czarny makes sure of is that every election is as fair as it can be.
Czarny: Every step, every process that we have here in New York and at the Onondaga County Board of Elections is bipartisan. So we have two sets of eyes on everything we do.
Baia: But Unite NY, a non-partisan organization, doesn’t have a problem with the fairness of elections. They want New York to be like other states and allow all voters, regardless of party affiliation, to be able to vote in primary elections.
David Green, Unite NY: For example where I’m from Massachusetts, we have the ability for unaffiliated voters to walk in on Election Day and say, ‘Hi, I’d like a Democrat ballot’ or ‘I’d like a Republican ballot.
Baia: Green thinks that taxpayers should be allowed to participate in all elections.
Green: And so we see across the state. 3.5 million people are shut out of these taxpayer funded primaries. So these are things that everyone is paying for and yet they can’t particiapte in half of elections. They can only particiapte in general elections not the primary.
Baia: Reporting in Syracuse, Thomas Baia, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — As polls open across Central New York for Tuesday’s primary, the spotlight isn’t just on the candidates —it’s also on the way the election system works, and who gets to participate.
For Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Democratic elections commissioner, the primary is the culmination of months of planning and preparation.
“It’s our Super Bowl,” said Czarny. “Every election, when we finally get down to Election Day, it’s a long day.”
Czarny emphasizes that fairness and integrity are at the heart of everything the county’s Board of Elections does.
“Every step, every process that we have here in New York and at the Onondaga County Board of Elections is bipartisan,” he said. “So we have two sets of eyes on everything we do.”
While Czarny works to ensure fair elections, a nonpartisan group is calling for broader reforms — especially when it comes to who gets to vote in primaries.
Unite NY, an organization advocating for open primaries, says millions of New Yorkers are being excluded from the process simply because they aren’t registered with a political party.
David Green, a representative from Unite NY, wants New York to follow the lead of other states, where unaffiliated voters can participate in party primaries.
“For example, where I’m from Massachusetts, we have the ability for unaffiliated voters to walk in on Election Day and say, ‘Hi, I’d like a Democrat ballot’ or ‘I’d like a Republican ballot,’” said Green.
Green argues that New York’s closed primary system shuts out too many voices — 3.5 million of them, by Unite NY’s count.
“These are things that everyone is paying for,” Green said. “And yet they can’t participate in half of elections. They can only participate in general elections, not the primary.”
The debate over voter access is likely to continue long after the ballots are counted Tuesday. But for now, officials like Czarny remain focused on ensuring that every eligible vote gets counted — and that the democratic process runs smoothly.