Updated: Dems speak out against city clerk

Two city councilors, a mayoral candidate and a former lieutenant governor — all Democrats — met with reporters this morning to slam City Clerk Amy Bailey’s handling of the special-election underway in Albuquerque.

The criticism came after Bailey on Tuesday announced that she won’t count any ballots returned to her office without the voter’s signature, even if the person shows up later to sign it. She based her decision on a city ordinance that prohibits her from making any “arrangements for voters to sign unsigned ballots after they have been returned to the city.”

Some of this morning’s speakers said Bailey ought to count every ballot, even if it’s unsigned, because she bears some responsibility for confusion over what the requirements are. Others said she should, at the least, not turn people away who show up to sign their ballot after realizing they failed or refused to do so before mailing it in.

“It’s been clear there’s some confusion,” Councilor Isaac Benton said during the news conference. “What we need is to accommodate people who walk in and say I want to vote.”

Councilor Rey Garduno urged Bailey to count every vote, even unsigned ballots, because of the “multiple confusing messages” from her office about the voting procedures.

Federal law requires “one person, one vote,” he said, not “one person decides who votes.”

Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish accused the city of advocating “voter suppression.”

The city clerk is appointed by the mayor, with confirmation from the City Council.

“These things don’t happen by coincidence,” Denish said of Bailey’s decision on ballot signatures. “… My message to Mayor Berry is, Let the people vote.”

Mayoral candidate Pete Dinelli, a former city councilor, said the ballot instructions to voters are “totally inadequate.”

“We need to count the votes — each and every one of them,” he said.

I’ll seek comment from the the mayor and Bailey and update this post when I can.

UPDATE: 11:28 a.m.

Bailey said in an interview that she’s simply trying to comply with the city’s voting ordinance.

“In any election,” she said, “you have to follow the law, and the law requires the signature in order for the vote to be counted.”

Bailey said the ordinance also prohibits her from arranging for people to sign unsigned ballots. She had initially said people could come in and sign their ballots. Twenty-nine people did so.

“I have to follow the law. I made a mistake, and I have to correct it,” she said.

Bailey said the decision on unsigned ballots was hers, not Berry’s.

The “mayor did not have any involvement with this,” she said.

As for whether the instructions to voters are confusing, Bailey said:

“I don’t believe it’s a valid criticism. I do understand that some people may not have understood the directions. However, the vast majority of people who returned ballots have returned them correctly, and the mailing envelope also had a statement that they could contact my office if they had any questions.”