The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

Dustin Czarny has been an outspoken advocate for election reform since the 1990s. 

Since taking over as Onondaga County Democratic election commissioner in January 2013, Czarny has overseen several election reforms, including increased early voting and online and automatic voter registration. Those updates have proven crucial to running an election in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, Czarny said.

“One of the things I hate is when my staff would say ‘Well, that’s the way we always did it,’” Czarny said. “I’m like ‘No, we’re doing it differently because this is better.’”

Born on Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, Czarny grew up in Syracuse and attended public elementary and middle schools. After spending his freshman year of high school in Florida, Czarny moved back to New York, living in the small farm town of Cato. Czarny finished the final two years of high school in Skaneateles, before moving down to Florida once again to raise his newborn daughter.

His experiences shaped his political beliefs, he said.

“I started off in inner-city schools, went to a southern school, went to a farm school and then ended up at 90210 on the lake there in Skaneateles,” Czarny said. “That’s why I believe I’m a Democrat, because I got so much diversity growing up.”

In 1994, Czarny moved back to the Syracuse area and became involved in local politics. He raised his daughter on his own, worked a second job and attended Onondaga Community College at the same time before joining the Onondaga Democratic Committee, where he served as chair of Syracuse’s First Ward, in 1998.

In 1994, Czarny moved back to the Syracuse area and became involved in local politics. Courtesy of Dustin Czarny

“I was working on campaigns almost as an apprenticeship type of thing, where I could learn a lot of real life skills,” said Czarny. “I didn’t like finance, I didn’t like ad-crafting and messaging — I liked (Get Out the Vote), getting our people to the polls.”

In 2001, he headed mayoral candidate Matt Driscoll’s Get Out The Vote campaign. When Driscoll won, Czarny was appointed Syracuse city chair for the Onondaga County Democratic Committee. Under his leadership, Democrats swept the 2003 elections for city council, school board, auditor and mayor for the first time.

Czarny moved to Syracuse’s Eastside in 2006 and became chair of the 17th Ward, a prestigious position given the ward’s status as the “mighty 17th,” Czarny said.

He was appointed to his current position as Democratic election commissioner in 2012 and has pushed for sweeping voting reform ever since. He also serves as the Democratic Caucus chair for the New York State Election Commissioners Association.

In 2019, New York implemented early voting as well as automatic voter registration, under which New Yorkers turning 18 who interact with a government agency are registered to vote unless they opt out. New Yorkers can also register to vote online through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

All of these reforms are meant to make voting easier for his constituents so they can better enact the change they want, Czarny said.

“When they fill in those ovals, they are filling those ovals in with hopes and dreams,” Czarny said. “This is what they want out of life. This is the leaders they want who represent the ideology that they want.”

In a time where election integrity is being questioned, Czarny has ensured Onondaga County’s election results and processes remain transparent. Czarny operates a Facebook page on behalf of his office, publishing voting numbers, answering questions and explaining the system on a daily basis for anyone to see.

In a time where election integrity is being questioned, Czarny has ensured Onondaga County’s election results and processes remain transparent. Courtesy of Dustin Czarny

His “flawless” election record is a testament to his focus on transparency, said Pam Hunter, chair of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee.

“It’s not about party, it’s about making sure we are transparent to our community and that we’re doing our job correctly,” said Julie Cook, Czarny’s deputy commissioner.

Czarny is the most “hands-on” commissioner that Cook has worked with, she said.

Presidential election season or not, Czarny tirelessly updates his constituents on the status of their vote through the program “Commissioner in a Car” on his Facebook page. Every Tuesday at noon, Czarny posts a video taken from his car to his Facebook page, providing election results, deep dives into voter registration data and election news.

Cook pointed to technological advances, increased transparency and a willingness to adapt as several features of Czarny’s tenure as commissioner. When a COVID-19 outbreak among election officials caused several of his employees to quarantine during the absentee ballot count, Czarny worked constantly to make plans for his staff despite the closure of the Board of Elections Office.

Above all, Czarny’s focus is constant improvement of the voting system.

“We cannot wait for pandemics and for natural disasters and for exigent circumstances to happen for us to move forward with election reform,” Czarny said.

Published on January 5, 2021 at 3:20 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu