Village courts are one of the oddest parts of New York’s notably byzantine court system. Justices are tasked with deciding cases involving traffic fines, evictions, criminal misdemeanors, and some civil matters. Unlike other judges in the state, village court justices do not need to have any formal legal training. But like all other trial judges in New York, they must be elected.
Apparently most citizens of Onandaga County did not care to vote for their village justices, and exactly zero citizens in the villages of Spafford and East Syracuse could be bothered to formally seek the position. As a result, the winner of each town’s election prevailed with fewer than 20 write in votes.
Anthony Albanese, who won the East Syracuse election with 16 write-in votes (and aided by 1,181 blank ballots), is reportedly “undecided” whether to take the position, which pays $9,000 annually.
(h/t Election Law Blog)
The Interdependent Third Branch 