State assures it’s ‘safe’ for voters to mail ballots to Onondaga County Board of Elections

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The State Board of Elections says voters should not be concerned about returning their completed mail ballots to the Onondaga County Board of Elections as a result of a backlog of unprocessed forms.

NewsChannel 9 reached out to the state agency after it sent a scathing letter detailing “grave concerns” about operations at the Onondaga County Board of Elections and subsequent concern from voters asking whether their ballots could get mixed up in the mess.

“It is safe for voters to return their mail ballots to the County Board,” responds Director of Public Information Kathleen McGrath. “The backlog is related to voter registration forms and ballot requests; not at all related to returned ballots or the canvassing of them.”

McGrath added: “We are confident that the backlog will be resolved in the near future. Voters in Onondaga County can be assured that the State Board of Elections will continue to monitor and provide assistance as needed.”

Nine staff members from the State Board of Elections were dispatched to Syracuse to assist local staff overcome the backlog.

Over email, the Onondaga County Elections Commissioners indicated progress is being made to resolve the concerns.

At last check, 500 voter registration forms were still awaiting processing. That’s significantly down from the 23,000 unprocessed forms waiting at the end of September, which also included applications for absentee or mail-in ballots.

“No, they should absolutely not wait,” said Republican Commissioner Michele Sardo when asked if voters who’ve completed the ballots should hesitate because of the mess.

“We are on daily processing of all mail ballots,” she said.

“That means when a batch comes in, we turn it around in less than 24 hours,” wrote Democratic Commissioner Dustin Czarny. “This includes vote-by-mail applications and online voter registration,” he said.

In New York State, any registered voter can request a ballot to return by mail. In the past, absentee ballots were only allowed under specific circumstances.

In its letter, the state warned Onondaga County it was mandated to report the legal violations to the U.S. Department of Justice. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, a federal spokesperson responded to NewsChannel 9’s request with: “The Justice Department is going to decline comment here.”

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