Voters in Onondaga County show up to polling stations like the one here at Mundy Branch Library. This year marks the first Congressional election cycle since 2020, when Onondaga County voters posted a record high turnout rate of 77%.(c) 2022 Michael O'Connor

City of Syracuse

Onondaga County Voters Are Given More Accessible Voting Methods

By michael o'connor

Video

MICHAEL O’CONNOR: Election Day brings voters to polling stations of all shapes and sizes. Some go to large churches or community centers, while others end up at smaller, more intimate settings like the one here at Mundy Branch Library. James Stever has been working elections in Onondaga County for almost 50 years. He says the biggest change he’s seen during that time has been the simplification of the voting process.

JAMES STEVER: Everything is accessible – totally accessible. It’s good access in and to the voting area.

O’CONNOR: Registered voters like Uri Krawec, who has been voting right here at the Mundy Branch Library for as long as he can remember, says this was the easiest election process he’s experienced.

URI KRAWEC: Oh a lot easier – a lot easier. I mean you just fill in whoever you want and you walk away

O’CONNOR: In addition to providing an easy and accessible voting process at the polls, the county has continued to offer early and absentee voting to residents that can’t make it to voting stations on Election Day.

STEVER: People now have the ability to go out earlier to vote at different locations throughout the county, which is again a convenience – that setup.

O’CONNOR: And the data is there to prove it. During the last round of congressional elections in 2020, Onondaga County experienced a record high 77-percent voter turnout at polling stations like the one here at Mundy Branch Library, a trend that county officials hope will continue this year thanks to more accessible voting methods like the Imagecast and early access to voting during the weeks leading up to election day. In Syracuse, I’m Michael O’Connor covering Democracy In Action.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (DIA) — Polling stations across Onondaga County have been open since October 29 for voters to cast their ballot in this year’s 2022 election cycle.

Some polling stations are in massive public spaces, while others are tucked away in small, intimate settings like the one at Mundy Branch Library in Syracuse.

James Stever, the site manager at the library’s polling station, has been working elections in Onondaga County for almost 50 years. He says the biggest change during that time has been the simplification and digitization of the voting process.

“When I first started voting, you’d use an operational flip button to pick out candidates,” Stever said. “Once you were satisfied with what you had you’d pull the handle back.”

A diagram clearly explains how the voting process works on Election Day.

Voters are given clear instructions on how to vote thanks to signs like this one posted above each voting station. (c) 2022 Michael O’Connor

Uri Krawec is another local resident who’s been showing up to the Mundy Branch Library for decades – only instead of working the ballots, he fills them out. Krawec says while this year was the easiest voting experience he’s had, he hopes to share it with the younger generation.

“I think it’s very important for the younger generation to understand that they have the privilege to vote in this country,” Krawec said. “I hope they don’t take it for granted.”

 

While voter turnout in the younger generation is a concern, the county is coming off a record-high 77% voter turnout rate during the 2020 election cycle. Stever says the record may have been caused in part by more accessible voting methods.

“People now have the ability to go out earlier to vote at different locations throughout the county,” Stever said.

The County won’t have publicly available data on this year’s election and voter turnout until after the results come in but voting statistics dating back to 2012 are available on the Onondaga County Board of Elections website.

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