Joseph T. Burns

Joseph T. Burns is a partner at Holtzman Vogel, specializing in election law and political law. He represents candidates and party committees in election cases across New York State. Previously, he served as Deputy Director of Election Operations at the New York State Board of Elections, where he was involved in the state's transition from lever to optical scan voting and represented the Board in court proceedings. Burns has also held roles as an attorney for the Erie County and New York State Republican Committees and has represented candidates for various public offices, including U.S. Congress and New York State Supreme Court. Additionally, he served as Deputy Administrative Director for the Erie County Water Authority from 2018 to 2024 and as Secretary to the Authority from 2015 to 2018. A lifelong resident of Upstate New York, Burns has been active in local governance, serving as vice chair of the Erie County Charter Revision Commission in 2016 and as a member of the Erie County Advisory Commission on Reapportionment in 2021. He is also a frequent commentator and author on New York State and national politics and election law.