Syracuse, N.Y. – Republicans and Democrats in the city and a handful of towns on June 22 will decide their parties’ candidates in races for mayor, common councilor, county legislator and, in two cases, highway superintendent.
But they can start voting before then. During the primary, early voting runs for nine days, from June 12 to June 20.
That’s a long stretch for primaries that, traditionally, don’t draw nearly the number of voters when compared with years with presidential or gubernatorial candidates at the top of the ticket.
So why have nine days of early voting?
“We have to do it,” said Elections Commissioner Michele Sardo. “It’s state law.”
The state requires each county to offer early voting uniformly, from Erie County to New York City, no matter the expected turnout, Sardo said. In New York City, where 13 Democrats are vying to be the next mayor, those nine days make sense.
Here, it could mean just a handful of votes each day.
To prepare, Onondaga County’s elections commissioners have scaled back the staff and number of sites, from six to four, for the primaries. (See locations and times below.)
The commissioners estimate the early primary voting this year will cost $36,000, compared with more than $60,000 last year.
But they can’t decrease the number of days (nine) or the hours each day (eight).
This year, two Democrats (Khalid Bey and Michael Greene) and two Republicans (Thomas Babilon and Janet Burman) are competing for their party’s pick for Syracuse mayor. The winners will face Ben Walsh, who is not enrolled in a party and is running for his second term.
There are six Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for two at-large Syracuse Common Council seats, and two running for the 1st District seat.
There are also Democratic primaries in county Legislature Districts 15 and 16. Republicans are battling for highway superintendent jobs in Skaneateles and Lysander, and two town council seats in Pompey.
Because there are so few races and because early voting is so new, it’s tricky to estimate the early voting turnout for primaries. This will be the third year New York has allowed early voting; it’s only the second year for early voting in the primary.
And last year, with a contentious presidential race and Covid-19, voters upended Election Day norms.
Even so, only about 1,200 people voted early in Onondaga County’s primary, which came after it was clear Joe Biden and Donald Trump would face each other in the general election. At the same time, a record number of people – 26,000 – choose to vote absentee.
So how many will vote in this year’s primary? Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said the office is planning for 50% turnout – but guesses it’ll be closer to 14% to 15%.
That would be about 8,000 voters in the city, many of whom will likely vote on Election Day. (About 1,500 have already requested absentee ballots for the mayoral primaries.)
“I think it’s kind of a waste of money,” Sardo, the Republican commissioner, says.
Czarny, a Democrat, sees it differently.
“We shouldn’t be planning for lower turnout,” he said. “We should be planning for moderate turnout with the ability to surge. We should be willing to accommodate whoever wants to vote.”
Early voting locations in Onondaga County are at:
Camillus Fire State, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus
LaFayette Fire Station #1, 2444 Route 11 South, LaFayette
Armond Magnarelli Community Center at McChesney Park, 2300 Grant Blvd., Syracuse
Syracuse Community Connection, 401-425 South Ave., Syracuse
Early voting for the June 22 primary in Onondaga County is:
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 12 and June 13
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 14
Noon to 8 p.m. June 15 and June 16
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 17 and 18
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 19 and June 20
MORE ON MAYOR’S RACE
- Mayor Ben Walsh would use part of the stimulus to shore up neighborhoods
- Khalid Bey details how city should spend $123 million in stimulus money
- Democrat Michael Greene details his priorities for the $123 million
- Meet Khalid Bey, who leans on Syracuse roots: ‘I’m from here’
- Meet Michael Greene, who set sights on police reform, transportation and tax fairness
- Meet Thomas Babilon, who’s pitching volunteer cops, faster-acting code enforcement
- Meet Janet Burman, who thinks public safety is job No. 1 for Syracuse’s mayor
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