Municipal elections in Erie County, New York (2020)

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2022
2019
2020 Erie County elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: April 2, 2020
Primary election: June 23, 2020
General election: November 3, 2020
Election stats
Offices up: District attorney, Erie County judge, family court judge
Total seats up: 3
Election type: Partisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2020

Erie County, New York, held general elections for district attorney, one county court judge, and one family court judge on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for June 23, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was April 2, 2020.[1]

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

New York modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee voting eligibility in the general election was extended to any voter who was "unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease causing illness to the voter or to other members of the public." The state launched an absentee ballot request portal.
  • Candidate filing procedures: The filing deadline for independent nominating petitions was extended to July 30, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Candidates and results

District attorney

General election

General election for Erie County District Attorney

Incumbent John Flynn won election in the general election for Erie County District Attorney on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
John Flynn (R / D / Conservative Party / Working Families Party / Independence Party / Serve America Movement Party)
 
99.1
 
432,374
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.9
 
3,749

Total votes: 436,123
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent John Flynn advanced from the Democratic primary for Erie County District Attorney.

County Court

General election

General election for Erie County Court

Incumbent Kenneth F. Case won election in the general election for Erie County Court on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Kenneth F. Case (R / D / Conservative Party / Working Families Party)
 
99.6
 
433,321
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
1,694

Total votes: 435,015
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kenneth F. Case advanced from the Republican primary for Erie County Court.

Family Court

General election

General election for Erie County Family Court

Kelly Brinkworth won election in the general election for Erie County Family Court on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Kelly Brinkworth (R / D)
 
99.6
 
416,920
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
1,856

Total votes: 418,776
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: New York elections, 2020

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About the county

See also: Erie County, New York

The county seat of Erie County is Buffalo.

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Erie County, New York
Erie County New York
Population 954,236 20,201,249
Land area (sq mi) 1,042 47,123
Race and ethnicity**
White 77.1% 62.3%
Black/African American 13.1% 15.4%
Asian 3.8% 8.6%
Native American 0.5% 0.4%
Pacific Islander 0% 0%
Other (single race) 2.2% 8.6%
Multiple 3.3% 4.7%
Hispanic/Latino 5.7% 19.1%
Education
High school graduation rate 92% 87.2%
College graduation rate 35.1% 37.5%
Income
Median household income $59,464 $71,117
Persons below poverty level 13.7% 13.6%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Eighteen of 62 New York counties—29 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Broome County, New York 2.01% 5.31% 8.02%
Cayuga County, New York 11.64% 11.40% 8.48%
Cortland County, New York 5.58% 9.11% 9.96%
Essex County, New York 1.14% 18.77% 13.32%
Franklin County, New York 5.45% 26.07% 22.23%
Madison County, New York 14.20% 0.89% 0.87%
Niagara County, New York 17.75% 0.84% 1.00%
Orange County, New York 5.50% 5.65% 4.13%
Oswego County, New York 21.99% 7.93% 2.44%
Otsego County, New York 11.13% 2.72% 5.91%
Rensselaer County, New York 1.41% 12.19% 9.34%
St. Lawrence County, New York 8.82% 16.71% 16.33%
Saratoga County, New York 3.21% 2.44% 3.40%
Seneca County, New York 11.01% 9.08% 2.60%
Suffolk County, New York 6.84% 3.69% 5.99%
Sullivan County, New York 11.23% 9.02% 9.46%
Warren County, New York 8.47% 2.32% 2.64%
Washington County, New York 18.40% 1.90% 0.81%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won New York with 59 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 36.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1792 and 2016, New York voted Democratic 45.6 percent of the time and Republican 35 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, New York voted Democratic all five times.[2]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in New York. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 114 out of 150 state Assembly districts in New York with an average margin of victory of 46.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 99 out of 150 state Assembly districts in New York with an average margin of victory of 50.3 points. Clinton won four districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 36 out of 150 state Assembly districts in New York with an average margin of victory of 10.5 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 51 out of 150 state Assembly districts in New York with an average margin of victory of 17.6 points. Trump won 13 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

See also

Erie County, New York New York Municipal government Other local coverage
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External links

Footnotes