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Onondaga County recorded close to 233,000 in-person votes before polls closed at 9 p.m. on Election Day, though the board of elections may receive absentee ballots through Nov. 10.

The county has already received 53,000 absentee ballots but will not be able to open them until Nov. 9, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections. Final election results may not be known for several days.

Here’s where several local races stand after 100% of in-person ballots were counted in Onondaga County:

New York’s 24th Congressional District:

Rep. John Katko (R-Camilus) is leading against Democratic challenger Dana Balter to represent New York’s 24th Congressional District. Katko has received about 57%, or 155,830, of the congressional district’s in-person votes. Balter received about 40%, or 100,728, in-person votes.

About 20,000 more people in Onondaga County voted for Katko instead of Balter. The three-term incumbent has received 94,979 of the county’s in-person votes, representing about 53% of ballots cast in person. Balter has received about 42%, or 74,072, of the votes.

Despite Katko’s lead, the nearly 70,000 absentee ballots that New York’s 24th Congressional District has received so far trend Democratic. Democrats returned slightly over 33,000 absentee ballots as of Tuesday, while Republicans returned about 16,600, Syracuse.com found. About 53,000 of the district’s absentee ballots were received in Onondaga County.

Katko has represented the district since 2015. He’s pushed to find an alternative to the Affordable Care Act but has also opposed efforts to repeal legislation that lack a replacement plan. 

Balter was a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Balter launched her campaign in 2019 after narrowly losing to Katko by 6% in 2018. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden endorsed Balter in August. 

Balter supports the Affordable Care Act and various police reform and criminal justice policies, including demilitarizing police departments. She also supports ending mandatory minimum sentencing and the use of private prisons and detention centers. 

New York State Senate:

State Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse) is leading by about 200 votes in a close race for New York State Senate’s 53rd District. Both May and Republican Sam Rodgers held about 47% of the district’s votes, though Oneida County’s 12 election districts remain largely unreported. 

May has represented New York’s 53rd District since 2019 and serves as chair of the state’s Senate Committee on Aging and the Commission on Rural Resources. She has co-sponsored legislation supporting environmental protection and women’s health care. Increasing funding for public schools and revitalizing Syracuse’s Interstate-81 corridor are priorities on her agenda. 

Rodgers is a former captain of SU’s football team who currently works as an assistant district attorney in Madison County. He  hopes to prioritize legislation that attracts young professionals to the region, citing central New York’s declining population as a major issue facing the area.

New York State Assembly

Democrat Assemblyman Al Stirpe’s race against Republican Mark Venesky for the 127th Assembly District remained within two percentage points as of midnight on Tuesday. Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County elections commissioner, said absentee ballots could be a deciding factor in the race. The county board of elections cannot start counting absentee ballots until Nov. 9.

Democrat Bill Magnarelli led Republican challenger Ed Weber overwhelmingly with 65% of the district’s votes. Weber held 31% of votes at the end of the night.

Magnarelli has represented the 129th Assembly District, which includes the city of Syracuse and the towns of Van Buren and Geddes, since 1999. During his time in office, he supported the Women’s Health and Wellness Act, a women’s health care coverage law, and helped expand an insurance program to provide senior citizens with low-cost prescriptions. 

Weber is currently a town councilor and deputy supervisor of Geddes. He previously served as a detective in SU’s Department of Public Safety. He plans to repeal the Criminal Justice Bail Reform Act, which eliminated cash bail for those held before trial in New York state, if elected.

Democrat Pamela Hunter led Republican challenger Stephanie Jackson by 21 percentage points in the race for the 128th Assembly District. Hunter has represented the district in Onondaga County since 2015.

Published on November 3, 2020 at 11:29 pm

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