Early voting for this year’s local elections begins Oct. 25, and the Onondaga County Board of Elections is hoping to avoid the backlog of voter registration applications that overwhelmed the office in 2024. Additional staff and a new Republican commissioner have turned things around. Kevin Ryan made his first appearance before the legislature as they reviewed the county executive’s 2026 budget plan.
“As this body is well aware, I am a new commissioner, having taken office only in January, and we're all aware of some of the issues that plagued the Board of Elections last year,” he said.
It was around this time in 2024 that the board had a severe backlog of applications due to a record number of residents registering to vote for the presidential election. The county executive and legislature approved four additional staff members in that budget, but they didn’t start until January. Still, long-time Democratic elections commissioner Dustin Czarny said the results are clear.
“When we brought in the people, the numbers really started going down," he said. "That doesn't mean that there weren't lessons learned from last year, absolutely. And we've been putting those in place.”
In fact, Czarny said, they’re processing registration forms in four days, less than the state mandated seven. He added for the first time in years, he’s pleased with the 2026 budget proposed by the county executive.
GOP commissioner Kevin Ryan said they’re seeking funds for a new higher paying position that serves as a chief registration clerk.
“When I came in, one of the challenges I found first and foremost was the ability to recruit and retain personnel simply because of the pay scale," he said. "A job that starts at $35,000 a year just isn't attractive to a candidate that has any qualifications whatsoever. So not only are we able to recruit and retain personnel, but we're also able to get someone solely to address the registration issues that we have.”
The commissioners say that’s critical as a state law moves many local elections to even years, putting them on the same ballot as congressional, state legislative, gubernatorial, and presidential races.
