FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville’s village election on March 19 will include a ballot proposition asking whether the month of the municipality’s elections should be changed from March to November.
The petition proposing a shift to Fayetteville’s election date was brought forward by a group that calls its campaign VEIN, an acronym standing for “Village Elections in November.”
A village resident belonging to that group said that judging by data collected of other local villages that was shared this month by Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, a November election is likely to increase turnout in village elections compared to the number of people that vote in March.
Furthermore, the argument in favor of November elections hinges on the fact that in November residents are given 10 days of early in-person voting, whereas in March they are allotted only 15 hours to vote in person, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. that Tuesday.
Another reason VEIN is citing in support of the change is that for November elections, absentee and early mail ballots will still be counted if postmarked on Election Day and received no later than seven days afterwards, while only early by-mail or absentee ballots received on Election Day count in March.
In addition, the representative from that group of petitioners asserted that candidates running in a November election have the advantage of better weather and more daylight during the summertime, and therefore more flexibility and comfort when it comes to meeting with, listening to and engaging with constituents.
Because campaigning for a March election tends to take place in the snowy, more frigid days of winter around these parts when nightfall occurs as people are leaving work, it was stated that it’s tougher for Fayetteville candidates to go door to door as is, especially when it’s dark out and people are naturally more hesitant to answer the doorbell as a result. On top of that, this VEIN member brought up that there are times during the winter months when driveways are not shoveled, not to mention icicles hanging from gutters and slippery walkways or porches.
They argued that those factors taken together discourage competition from going up against incumbent candidates, dissuading, for example, people running for the first time who are trying to get their name out there if they aren’t as well known around the community.
Those who support keeping Fayetteville’s elections in March have argued that having villagers vote then allows them to singularly focus on issues related to the village, as opposed to voting in November, when the contemplation of village issues could potentially get overshadowed or lost in the shuffle amid the implications of coinciding national, state, county or town elections.
It has also been said that in keeping track of those separate elections, voters may not direct as much time or attention to the people concurrently running for village office. With that, it was argued that candidates for higher levels of government could have more resources and pull at their disposal when it comes to advertising space, mailers and signage, causing the recognition of village candidates to be diminished in comparison.
It has also been contended that the alignment of Fayetteville’s elections with those other elections, for which the Democratic and Republican parties have more of a stronghold, might lead to the village’s elections becoming more partisan and therefore more off-putting to unaffiliated voters and candidates running on an independent line.
Moreover, a concern is that village candidates would have to compete with other levels of government for campaign volunteers and donations residents are willing to give.
Fayetteville’s elections in March have traditionally coincided with the municipality’s fiscal timeline as well. If a new mayor or trustee was installed in January instead of in April, they would be jumping into the responsibility of assembling the municipal budget almost right away instead of coming on board when the budget has been finalized, the latter of the two scenarios providing them more time to get acquainted with the position before being tasked to put together the annual budget.
Another pro of March elections mentioned is that March isn’t as close to the holiday season, while a November election takes place in a stretch of weeks that can be a busier time for some, with Thanksgiving fast approaching and Veterans Day sometimes falling later that same week.
Fayetteville’s March elections currently have all voters cast their ballot at only one physical location—the village hall at 425 E. Genesee St.—while multiple polling places would be open to choose from in November for someone casting their ballot for village, town, state and national elections being held then, a circumstance that could possibly cause greater confusion.
A Village of Fayetteville official surmised that although there may be an increase in overall voter turnout among residents for a November election, the individual local candidates may not receive as many votes because their names would appear further down on the ballot.
Depending on which side of the coin people find themselves regarding the proposition, the earlier jumpstart recommended for candidates running in November could be viewed as a pro or a con, or a little bit of both.
A campaign season of six months is considered normal for garnering attention leading up to a November election, while three months of proper campaigning is commonplace for a Fayetteville candidate prior to a March election.
On one hand, the extra campaigning requires more effort, but it would take place for the most part
during the warmer-weather months.
According to Onondaga County Republican Elections Commissioner Michele Sardo, municipalities in Onondaga County that have moved their elections from March to November include Camillus, East Syracuse, Elbridge, Solvay and Tully.
Alongside Fayetteville, the other villages in the county currently holding March elections are Baldwinsville, Fabius, Marcellus and Minoa.
Sardo said that within Onondaga County there is no record in recent history of a municipality putting a proposition on their ballot to move their elections from March to November and having it rejected by voters.
She also said that regardless of what month it is, voter turnout can often be affected by a race being contested or not.
“If there is opposition for a position and the village residents want to go out and vote, they will go out and vote no matter what, whether it’s in March or whether it’s in November,” Sardo said.
Though Fayetteville’s upcoming March 19 election will be handled by the Onondaga County Board of Elections, the associated election fees will still cost the village approximately $1,350 due to it being held in March. There would be no cost to the village if its elections were held in November, however.
The referendum will appear on the Fayetteville ballot as such: “Should the month of the General Village Election for the Village of Fayetteville be changed from March to November and held on the Tuesday in November when Federal, State and Local Elections are held as set by the applicable authorities and overseen and run by the
Onondaga County Board of Elections?”
