Joseph T. Burns was born and raised in Central New York and became active in
Republican politics at an early age. Shortly after graduating from Syracuse University
and Albany Law School, he began working for New York State Senator John A.
DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
After working for Sen. DeFrancisco for four years, Joe was hired to be the Deputy
Director of Election Operations at the New York State Board of Elections. In that role,
Joe worked with county Boards of Elections, candidates, and party committees, and
most importantly, he was involved in New York State’s historic transition from lever to
opticalscan voting machines.
Since leaving the New York State Board of Elections in 2015, Joe has represented a
number of candidates for elective office in election cases throughout New York State
and has served as an attorney for the Erie County and New York State Republican
Committees. In October 2022, Joe was elected to be the Treasurer of the New York
Republican State Committee.
Joe currently resides in the Town of Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, New York.
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