Residents in the village of East Syracuse can now expect to vote for their village mayor, trustees and justices in November rather than March, following a vote from the East Syracuse Village Board to merge village elections with Onondaga County elections in November.
For about the past six months, Mayor Robert Tackman said he has been in contact with Onondaga County Board of Elections officials because they have been encouraging villages to make this change.
Tackman said there are several reasons East Syracuse decided to make the switch: cost and resource savings for the village; an increase in voter turnout; candidates will be able to campaign in the warmer months rather than in winter; and elected candidates will have more time to get accustomed to their position before the spring budget season.
At the April 4 village board meeting, the board voted unanimously on three resolutions: to turn over the village elections to the Onondaga County Board of Elections; to change the date from March to November for village elections; and to extend the terms of the current elected officials.
Tackman said his term, as well as Justice Joseph Zavaglia and trustees Daniel Wagner and Carol Para, were originally set to expire in March 2017 but instead will expire Dec. 31, 2017. Trustees James Carr and Janet Mattox will have their terms extended from March 2019 to Dec. 31, 2019.
Voter turnout in the March 2015 East Syracuse village elections, which included contested village trustee races, was only 159. On average, Tackman said the village spends close to $2,500 when March village elections occur, and cost for elections will likely increase because lever ballots the village traditionally has used are no longer legal and the village would have to look to alternate ballot methods.
“The turnout for general elections in March is just dropping, and I think it’s important for residents to be involved and have a say in their local governments,” Tackman said. “I believe this will make it easier for residents to come out and do that.”
Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner, said they have been pushing this change to villages in the county for a few years now. All villages in New York state have the option of merging their elections with their county, and of the 15 villages in Onondaga County, only four have made the switch or are seriously considering it. Czarny said Camillus has held their village elections in November since 2009 and East Syracuse and Tully recently made the switch, while Solvay is seriously considering it.
Czarny said on average, village elections in Onondaga County only get about 10 to 15 percent of voters during March or June, while voter turnout for November elections averages around 30 to 40 percent.
“We already have elections in November and 100 percent of the cost would be brought to the county. It’s one of those rare instances where you can save money but also increase voter turnout,” said Czarny. “We see this as something very beneficial to the voters.”
This change was supported by the New York Conference of Mayors, said Tackman.
Czarny said this decision is subject to a permissive referendum, which means if enough village residents show that they are opposed, a public vote must be held.
For more information, contact the East Syracuse Village Clerk at 437-3541 or visit the village offices at 204 N. Center St. in East Syracuse.
