State elections officials were forced to step in to avert a near-disaster that could have led to thousands of voters being turned away at the polls in a key congressional district.
Nine staffers had to be dispatched from Albany this week to help alleviate a backlog of nearly 20,000 voter registration forms and other paperwork in Onondaga County, with the state Board of Elections calling the matter a “grave concern.”
It marked the first time the state had to provide direct last-minute support to a county elections board.
The county is at the center of the battleground 22nd Congressional District race, pitting incumbent GOP Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) against Democratic state Senator John Mannion.
“With the assistance of the State Board of Elections, the backlog was resolved late yesterday. We remain onsite today to assist with additional processing tasks,” a state BOE spokesperson wrote in a statement Thursday.
Paperwork began piling up after the Onondaga County Board of Elections transitioned to a new software to manage voter registrations, absentee ballots and its other functions following the June primary.
This all while Vice President Kamala Harris took over for President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket and voter outreach efforts ramped up in the swing district.
Democratic Onondaga Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said the county board brought on additional staff to clear the backlog and had been through roughly 80% of it by Monday, when the state cavalry arrived.
“I’m happy to have had cleared this backlog for the voters of Onondaga County. I’m proud of my staff who has worked tirelessly for the last two months to do so and grateful for the assistance of the New York State Board of Elections,” Czarny told The Post.
It wasn’t the only snafu for the county election board, though — 188 people who requested mail-in ballots for the June primary were mistakenly sent them again for the general, Czarny confirmed.
“We are contacting each voter by mail and by any means we have on file to advise them of their rights to ensure they can properly cast their vote this election,” Czarny said.
“They will be allowed to vote by mail if they choose by filling out an application or vote in person on the machine at an election day or Early Voting polling place,” he continued.
“We have flagged these voters in our system and will take special care in making sure that their rights our protected.”
The election board’s flubs triggered flashbacks to 2020, when it took months after Election Day for courts to work out ballot challenges in the 22nd CD, which has since been redistricted to include Onondaga County.
Onondaga County, home to Syracuse, contains the largest share of Democrats in the district currently represented by Williams.
Statistically, the central New York seat is Democrats’ best chance to flip a district in the Empire State.
Cook Political Report rates it as “Lean Democrat,” the only Republican-held district assessed as such nationwide.
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