While there’s still no official winner in NY-22, the three-month-long dive into the miasma of mistakes in the race is helping reformers pinpoint exactly where the state’s election system needs to be fixed.  

According to Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause NY, the mess shined a light on flaws in the system.   

“The only reason these issues have come to light is that this is such a close race,” said Lerner told Capital Tonight. “We fear the Oneida Board of Elections is not unique.”

Lerner and other advocates want to see Governor Andrew Cuomo remove both the Republican and Democratic election commissioners in Oneida County where the most egregious mistakes were made. Two of the county’s biggest errors? Potentially disenfranchising over 2,400 voters and not properly canvassing 1,500 affidavit ballots.

“First, the biggest problem is that county boards are not accountable to anybody,” Lerner said. “It’s pretty shocking that the two commissioners for the Oneida Board of Elections, who completely failed in their obligations...were just unanimously re-upped for two-year terms. So that shows there is no accountability.”

Instead, Common Cause would like to see politics taken out of the administration of elections altogether. Currently, commissioners are political appointees who don’t need any qualification other than, presumably, party loyalty. Lerner wants to see these positions “professionalized”.

Common Cause also wants county boards to report progress processing voter registrations, and establishing a statewide program to provide additional staffing and resources to process delayed voter registrations.

While Republican Claudia Tenney has declared victory in NY-22, the judge in the case has ordered Oneida County not to certify its results until both Tenney’s and Democrat Anthony Brindisi’s appeals have run their course.

Candidates will present these arguments Friday in court.