Voters weigh in on proposition to move village election to general election

FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Tuesday March 19 was village election day for many in Central New York. Voters in Baldwinsville and Fayetteville saw propositions on Tuesday’s ballot to change when village elections are held.

“I’m for it. One of the reasons is that this is a lucky day in March for sure to have the weather, but I ran for trustee quiet awhile ago and campaigning in the winter for a march election is just absurd. I am sure that I won only a sympathy vote,” said MaryEllen Letterman, village of Fayetteville voter.

But the Letterman couple says its not just about the weather.

“I think it will bring out a larger number of people,” said Ray Letterman, village of Fayetteville voter.

Onondaga County Elections Commissioner, Dustin Czarny says the villages of Solvay, East Syracuse, Tully and Elbridge changed their election from March to November since 2016. Since the change, Czarny says all four villages saw a significant increase in the year after moving their elections.

Solvay saw a 38.64% increase in its mayoral elections from 2013 to 2017, with 1175 to 1629 votes.

East Syracuse saw a 88.27% increase in its mayoral election from 2015 to 2017, with 179 to 337 votes.

Czarny says non-contested elections also had a big increase in voter turnout.

Tully saw a 762.5% from 2015 to 2017, with 25 to 228 votes.

Elbridge saw an 81.2% increase in its races from 2018 to 2020, with 24 to 207 votes.

Czarny says all four villages have since maintained their higher turnout level in subsequent elections.

But not all voters are in favor of moving months.

“I just think that it should be separate. There will be too many people on the ballot, we have to think about who’s running for the federal, who’s running for state or local. I just prefer it to keep it separate,” said Rosemary Cottrell, a village of Fayetteville voter.

In Baldwinsville, voters have two propositions. One is to move village elections to June, the other is to move to November.