Syracuse, N.Y. – Onondaga County shattered its record for early voting in a local election on Sunday when a final surge brought the total number of early ballots cast to 17,218, according to the Board of Elections.
The total is a 41% increase over the previous record for a local election year set in 2023, said Dustin Czarny, the county’s Democratic elections commissioner.
Sunday’s total of 2,908 ballots cast in Onondaga County also set the record for the highest single-day turnout since early voting began in the county in 2019, Czarny said.
The nine-day early voting period in New York state ended Sunday, Nov. 2. All polls will be open Tuesday, Election Day, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The big turnout in Onondaga County was fueled in part by the four-person race for mayor in Syracuse, where 3,592 people voted early.
About 66 percent of the early voters in Syracuse were Democrats (2,381) compared to 623 independent voters who are not enrolled in a political party (17 percent) and 540 Republicans (15 percent), voting data shows.
Across the county, early turnout overwhelmingly favored Democrats. A total of 10,548 Democrats voted countywide, compared to 5,534 Republicans and 4,301 independents who are not enrolled in a party.
The towns with the highest early voting turnout were Clay (2,543) and Manlius (2,010), according to the data.
In Clay, Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans, 1,101-737. In Manlius, Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans, 988-484.
Manlius voters are casting ballots in a town supervisor’s race between incumbent Democrat John Deer and Republican Danny Liedka, who has previously served as East Syracuse mayor and on the Onondaga County Legislature.
Voters are also choosing among candidates for all 17 seats in the Onondaga County Legislature and for town supervisors across the county.
This year’s ballot includes contested mayoral races in Liverpool and Solvay. Voters also will be asked to choose among candidates for four open seats in the State Supreme Court’s 5th Judicial District.
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