Unsigned ballots are unacceptable

City Clerk Amy Bailey says she cannot count any ballots from voters who failed or refused to sign the oath on their election envelope before returning it to the city.

The clerk had initially advised people to come in and sign the envelopes after the fact, if they’d returned the ballot without a signature. Twenty-nine people did come in to sign their envelope after initially having failed to do so. Their ballots won’t be counted.

“The review of the body of law that I did was, unfortunately, incomplete,” Bailey said Tuesday in an interview. “I am sincerely sorry that that portion of the ordinance was missed.”

As of Monday, the clerk had received nearly 4,500 ballots lacking signatures, or 8 percent of the total. About 51,000 signed ballots have been returned.

Paul Broome, spokesman for the group that sought the election, said Bailey shouldn’t turn away people who show up to sign their ballots.

“I find the fact that they’re disenfranchising people who’ve taken the initiative to go and vote disturbing,” Broome said.

The signing mixup comes as Albuquerque conducts its first all-mail election in 14 years. The election, which will cost about $550,000, was required after supporters of a City Charter amendment circulated petitions last year.

The special election will determine whether municipal candidates must get at least 50 percent of the vote to win office. The requirement is now 40 percent, or the top two candidates compete in a runoff election.

Albuquerque voters have until 7 p.m. Monday to return their ballots to the clerk’s office.

Bailey advises people to mail their ballots by Friday to ensure they arrive on time. Don’t forget to affix a first-class stamp.

The ballots can also be hand delivered to the city clerk’s office at 600 Second NW. Only the voter, the voter’s immediate family or the voter’s caregiver may hand deliver ballots.

And don’t forget to sign the envelope, where there’s space for the voter’s oath.

“It is absolutely critical that the voters sign before they put it in the mail or hand deliver it to my office,” Bailey said.

New Mexico’s county clerks have apparently allowed people to come in and sign their ballots, even if the ballots are mailed or returned without a signature initially, Bailey said, but an Albuquerque city ordinance doesn’t allow it.

The ordinance not only prohibits the clerk from counting unsigned ballots but also says “the municipal clerk shall not attempt to locate voters who returned unsigned ballots, nor make arrangements for voters to sign unsigned ballots after they have been returned to the city.”

There will be no polling places on Monday. The city is conducting the election entirely by mail to save money.
— This article appeared on page C01 of the Albuquerque Journal