Mail ballots could still swing Onondaga primary races, board says

Hundreds of mail and affidavit ballots remained in play in Onondaga County, and the final scan set for June 30 could still change two Democratic primaries decided by fewer than 100 votes. Maurice “Mo” Brown led Bill Magnarelli 3,365 to 3,283 in Assembly District 129, an 82-vote margin, while Charlene Tarver held a 73-vote edge over Nyatwa Bullock in County Legislature District 16, where she had 54.5% of the vote shortly after midnight on June 24.

The Assembly District 129 winner will take a seat in Albany for a district that has long been represented by Magnarelli, while the District 16 winner will help steer county action on lead poisoning, health disparities, housing and poverty. District 16 was also an open seat after Legislator Charles Garland stepped down earlier in 2026, making the race a direct test of who will inherit that county post.

New York’s June primary rules allowed mail ballots to count if they were postmarked by June 23 and received by the Board of Elections by June 30. County election officials had already finished counting election-day and early-voting ballots, but 459 mail-in ballots could still be added to the Assembly District 129 tally if they met the deadline. Onondaga County’s early voting ran from June 13 to June 21, followed by the primary on June 23 and the general election set for Nov. 3.

The Assembly District 129 contest drew unusual attention because Magnarelli had not faced a contested Democratic primary since first winning the seat in 1998. Brown pressed a case for fresh perspective, while Magnarelli leaned on his experience, and the two candidates debated on June 18. In District 16, Tarver and Bullock also debated during the campaign, with Tarver’s lead narrow before the county’s final June 30 scan.