CHENANGO COUNTY – State Senator Fred Akshar (R-C-I-Colesville) is pushing legislation to consolidate primary election dates, which the local Board of Elections says may translate to big savings for Chenango County.
The New York State Senate last week passed legislation that creates a single August primary date for state and Congressional races. The bill, sponsored by Akshar, would merge the current June federal non-presidential primary and September state primary into a single election on the third Tuesday in August.
Combining those two primary elections would save the state an estimated $25 million and bring the state into compliance with federal election requirements for overseas balloting, according to Akshar.
Locally, the Board of Elections insists Chenango County taxpayers could see a savings of nearly $25,000 per year if the bill passes the Assembly.
“If they combined the June federal and the September local and state into this mid-August timeframe, it would save a lot of money here in Chenango County,” said Chenango Republican Party Commissioner Mary Lou Monahan.
Monahan added that similar legislation sponsored by the Assembly was passed by the Assembly in previous years but was stalled in the Senate. With the Senate passing legislation this time around, hopes are high that the proposal will reach the governor’s desk by early June.
“There may be a problem because of disagreements downstate; but if the Assembly has always passed it in the past, we’re certainly optimistic,” Monahan said.
Senator Akshar, who also serves as chair of the state Elections committee, said the bill may even draw more voters to the polls.
“We have a responsibility to our constituents to eliminate government waste, save taxpayer dollars, and make it easier for the people to make their voices heard at the polls,” he said. “A consolidated primary date will increase voter turnout and make it easier for our brave men and women serving in our armed forces to participate in the electoral process. I was proud to sponsor this bill.”
In 2012 – the last presidential election year and the first year local governments were mandated to hold two separate primaries – Chenango County taxpayers fronted nearly $25,000 more than was necessary in order to meet expenses of presidential and Congressional primaries. And with 2016 primaries just months away, Chenango County and many other counties are fighting to curb this year’s election costs.
Chenango County paid out more than $49,000 on two federal primary elections in 2012: $25,114 for a presidential primary in April, and $23,895 for a Congressional primary in June. Had those two elections been combined, the county could have saved the entire cost of one of those primaries, Monahan said.
A low voter turnout only worsens the financial impact. When it comes to elections, high voter turnout means lower per vote expense. But in recent years, many voters have seemed indifferent. Of the 12,640 voters eligible to cast a ballot for the 2012 April primary, the Board of Elections reports that only 1,621 actually voted. When associated costs are factored in – including fuel and truck rental to transport voting machines to polling sites, pay for poll workers and voting machine technicians, absentee ballots, postage, poll booklets and ballot booklets – cost to the county was $14.74 per vote. Similar trends were seen during the June primary.
“It always worked better to have one election,” said Democratic Party Commissioner Carol Franklin. “Having just one primary election again is something that would benefit everyone.”
Fourteen other states currently hold state and Congressional primaries in August. Akshar said that setting a date for these elections earlier in the year would interfere with the state budget and end-of-session state legislative work that takes place, hindering the ability of current elected officials to perform their legislative responsibilities.