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Patrick Neary arrived at the Spiritual Renewal Center on Lancaster Avenue at 5 a.m. and prepared his poll site, which covers four districts in the 16th and 17th Wards, to open. 

Polling sites across Onondaga County opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday for Election Day. Neary, a part-time instructor in Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies, said the early start was necessary for certain members of the community.

“It’s important to make sure everyone has access to the polls. That’s how our democracy works,” Neary said. “People have jobs or school and are juggling all sorts of things. Being open from 6 (a.m.) to 9 (p.m.) gives people a chance (to vote) at some point in the day.”

This election cycle brought the mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Ben Walsh and challengers Khalid Bey and Janet Burman. Walsh ultimately retained his position with a lead over Bey with over 60% of the vote. 

Five constitutional amendments were also on the ballot, proposing to expand voting ease and environmental protections. Two of the five New York Constitutional amendments on the ballot passed. The right to clean air and water will become part of the state constitution after Proposal Two was passed with 67% of the vote, the largest margin of any of the proposals. 

All 17 seats of the Onondaga County Legislature were also up for election, with a contested race in every seat, as well as a number of Syracuse Common Council seats and a variety of suburban municipal offices.

Katie Ducett voted in her home district in Geddes and said she prioritized the more locally based initiatives this election cycle.

“Sometimes the smaller things matter more, especially locally,” Ducett said. “There were amendments I had to vote for in my district, so it’s important to research and then speak your voice.”

Neary, in addition to teaching at SU, studied mathematics as a graduate student at the university. He said the bubble that surrounds the campus community inspired him to start working on election day.

“It certainly felt at the time that the university is very insulated, and I’ve always been someone who wants to be civically active,” Neary said.

Gina Tette, a sophomore at SU, put particular emphasis on the race for commissioner of education when she voted at the Huntington Hall polling site. Three democratic candidates were chosen by voters: Twiggy Billue, Nyatwa Bullock and Karen Cordano.

“I am really into (education) policy. And I would like to do (education) policy law, so I really delved deep into those candidates and specific policy focuses,” she said.

Neary expected around 300 people to vote at the Spiritual Renewal Center, though a presidential election year would have over 1,500. Last year, during the presidential election, Neary said there was a 45-minute-long line at the door before the polls even opened.

“Especially with a local election, the people that come out to vote tend to be people who are paying more attention to when and where voting is happening, so we have more early voting,” Neary said.

On Election Day, voters can only go to the site for their district, but for early voting they can go to any site, Neary said. Early voting began on Oct. 23 and ran through Oct. 31.

For the mayoral election primaries in the summer, voter turnout was the lowest in 36 years. On Tuesday, about 30% of registered voters participated in the election, according to a tweet from Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny. About 93,000 people cast a ballot.

Joe Lento voted at the polling location at Cicero Elementary School, which serves Districts 19 and 23. His experience as a member of the United States Marine Corps shaped his attitude towards voting, even locally, he said.

“That’s our right, and we need to protect it,” Lento said. “When I was in the military, that’s what we talked about — defending our right to vote.”

Although this election centered around local issues and candidates, Ellen Paradise said she was proud to participate. She voted at the Spiritual Renewal Center at around 6:30 a.m.

“You have to be involved in what’s going on in your local community to make it better,” she said.

Published on November 3, 2021 at 1:00 am

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2