Marcus Buchanan

A sitting Chautauqua County legislator is accused of violating election law, although his current position in office is unlikely to be affected.

In a news release by the Sheriff’s Office, it states that Marcus Buchanan, 56, of Dunkirk was charged with illegal voting. “The charges come as the result of a lengthy investigation into a complaint made to the Sheriff’s Office. It is alleged that Mr. Buchanan violated the New York State Election Law pertaining to the use of absentee ballots during the 2023 election cycle,” the news release stated.

Buchanan was issued an appearance ticket and will answer the charge in the City of Dunkirk Court.

County District Attorney Jason Schmidt discussed the police report in a phone interview.

He said it is alleged that during the last election cycle, Buchanan was going around the city, registering voters and at the same time getting them to apply for an absentee ballot. “You can’t do that. You have to be a registered voter (before you can apply for an absentee),” Schmidt explained.

Schmidt said he believes the Board of Elections provided Buchanan the proper information and he either didn’t understand it or chose to ignore it.

Schdmit said the charges do not warrant Buchanan from being removed from office or go to jail. “I don’t look at Marcus Buchanan as a criminal. He’s not. I can see clearly the election law violations. We can all see it. A complaint had been filed and we investigated it,” he said.

Schmidt wants all candidates running for office to know that the practice of registering voters and then getting them to simultaneously apply for an absentee ballot is illegal. “You have to follow the rules,” he said.

In 2023, Buchanan, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Kevin Muldowney. The race went down to absentee ballots.

Buchanan is running for re-election unopposed.

In 2024, Sally A. Jaroszynski, who was running for Family Court Judge, was charged with two counts of misconduct in relation to election petitions.

Jaroszynski’s case was transferred to Erie County where she was cleared of all charges.

Before she ran for Family Court Judge, Jaroszynski was the judge for the town of Ellicott.

Schmidt said because Jaroszynski was a judge in a community where he prosecutes cases, he had her case transferred to Erie County.

He has no plans to transfer Buchanan’s case.