NY-22 Minute: How Oneida County should address its election commissioners By Luke Perry
Both Oneida County election commissioners, Carolann Cardone (D) and Rose Marie Grimaldi (R), were reappointed amidst months-long NY-22 election turmoil. Each party renominated their commissioner at different times (Grimaldi in October, Cardone in December) with different considerations in mind.
Subsequent back and forth between party leaders regarding which commissioner is most competent doesn’t move us closer to fixing the electoral problems in NY-22 and reflects how the partisan basis of this position can hinder progress toward better Board of Election leadership and norms. Instead, we need increased bipartisan dialogue about how to soberly assess the root causes of these problems.
Photo from WKTV
Partisanship aside, it is virtually impossible to make a sound argument that Oneida County commissioners, who disenfranchised over 2,000 voters, and failed to follow state law in numerous instances, engender public confidence and should retain their position.
Local leaders are buying time, citing a need to withhold a full review of the situation until the NY-22 court case is over. Still, even Judge DelConte dismissed the notion that commissioners did their best in administering the ballot count and demonstrated “careless or inadvertent failure to follow the mandate of state and case law.”
When significant and widespread systematic failures occur in government, resignations often do and should follow. This is only the first step to restoring public trust. More of the same, with just minor adjustments, is clearly insufficient under these circumstances.
Republican and Democratic party leaders should then: 1) create new committees to nominate their respective election commissioners and include outside experts and professionals as well as partisans; 2) develop a guide to basic tenets and best practices of electoral administration to increase professionalism and standardization over time and throughout the district; and 3) hire a professional consultant to conduct a full autopsy of 2020 and implement all necessary structural reforms.
Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Political Science at Utica College
