Editing Cortland County, New York (section)

==Government and politics==
{{PresHead|place=Cortland County, New York|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|11,706|10,290|67|New York}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|10,789|10,370|520|New York}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|9,900|8,771|1,573|New York}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|8,695|10,482|447|New York}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|9,678|11,861|381|New York}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|11,613|10,670|477|New York}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|9,857|9,691|1,178|New York}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|7,606|9,130|2,713|New York}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|7,782|7,815|5,254|New York}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|10,934|7,673|162|New York}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|13,691|6,438|95|New York}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|9,885|6,176|1,987|New York}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|11,222|6,947|131|New York}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|12,885|5,234|37|New York}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|10,209|5,791|801|New York}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|6,149|11,110|11|New York}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|12,305|5,921|9|New York}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|14,085|3,612|0|New York}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|13,985|4,079|24|New York}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|10,433|4,614|236|New York}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|10,450|4,967|24|New York}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|12,233|5,147|31|New York}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|11,718|4,606|313|New York}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|9,859|4,425|301|New York}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|11,960|3,662|247|New York}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|10,032|2,170|839|New York}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|9,606|2,541|369|New York}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|4,521|2,693|422|New York}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|2,959|2,283|2,157|New York}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|5,090|2,616|470|New York}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|5,222|2,649|373|New York}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|4,895|2,773|358|New York}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|4,939|2,574|278|New York}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|4,134|2,907|676|New York}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|4,732|3,163|560|New York}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|4,042|2,774|487|New York}}
|}

Cortland County is a bellwether county, having voted for the national winner in every presidential election from 1980 to 2016. The city of [[Cortland, New York|Cortland]] itself, the largest city in the county, leans [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]].

[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Ronald Reagan]] scored landslide wins in the county in 1980 and 1984. Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] carried the county with pluralities in 1992 and 1996. Republican [[George W. Bush]] carried the county in 2000 and 2004, defeating [[Al Gore]] by less than 1% in 2000, and [[John Kerry]] by just over 4% in 2004. In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] defeated [[John McCain]] 54-44%, and in 2012 he defeated [[Mitt Romney]] by a similar margin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/statesub.php?year=2008&fips=36023&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - State Data}}</ref> The last Democrat to win a majority in Cortland County prior to Obama was [[Lyndon Johnson]] in 1964.

In 2020, Cortland County's streak of voting for the winner ended, as [[Joe Biden]] defeated Republican incumbent [[Donald Trump]]. Had the streak continued, it would have been tied with [[Clallam County, Washington]] for the longest active streak in the nation, as the streaks of longstanding bellwethers [[Valencia County, New Mexico]] and [[Vigo County, Indiana]] also ended in 2020. Cortland was one of five counties in the state that Trump carried by less than 500 votes.

Cortland County's lawmaking body is the legislature, which consists of 17 members. All are elected from single member districts.