Erie County Clerk
November 3, 2026 · Erie County, New York · County · general
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: Low · 16 out of 100
This district is large for its type, so each vote is a smaller slice of the outcome. About 950,622 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(2,631,580 ÷ 950,622) ÷ ln(2,631,580 ÷ 5,089) = 16.3, comparing counties in NY (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
Low representation + unknown decisiveness → Below average vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
County Clerk is responsible for:
- Keeping official county records, such as marriage licenses and property filings
- Running elections in many counties
- Handling business filings, permits, and licenses that state law assigns
Affected Areas: Anti-Corruption, Government Efficiency, Election Integrity, Data Privacy
Candidates
Michael P. Kearns
Republican · Incumbent · declared
Michael P. ‘Mickey’ Kearns is the Erie County Clerk and a 2026 Republican and Conservative candidate for reelection. He previously served on the Buffalo Common Council and in the New York State Assembly. His record emphasizes Auto Bureau modernization, customer access, office surplus revenue, pistol-permit processing, veterans services, foreclosure prevention, disability access, mobile outreach, records digitization, and REAL ID compliance.
Records: Data Privacy 2 for, Government Efficiency 10 for
Steven G. Meyer
Democratic · declared
Steven G. ‘Steve’ Meyer is an elected Village of Williamsville trustee, small-business owner, husband, father, and Democratic and Working Families candidate for Erie County Clerk. His campaign emphasizes restoring trust, transparent records and compliance, ethical standards, office modernization, digital constituent services, accountability, and wider county access to clerk services.
Records: Anti-Corruption 3 for, Government Efficiency 5 for
Election sources
Source: elections.erie.gov
Source: elections.erie.gov
Source: elections.erie.gov
Source: www3.erie.gov