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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

County Disqualifies 420 Ballots in Wilson-Madrid Congressional Race

By Melanie Dabovich/
Associated Press
      Bernalillo County officials disqualified roughly 420 ballots Tuesday in the tight race for the 1st Congressional District, leaving Republican Rep. Heather Wilson with the 1,487-vote lead she has maintained since last week — but with fewer outstanding ballots for challenger Patricia Madrid to overtake her.
    The disqualified ballots included roughly 400 provisional ballots and 20 so-called in-lieu-of ballots — ballots given to voters who had requested absentee ballots but showed up at polls to vote anyway on Election Day.
    The disqualifications leave about 3,336 ballots uncounted and in limbo, with the actual tallying of qualified ballots to begin as early as Wednesday, election officials said. More than 200,000 voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election.
    County elections administrator Jaime Diaz said the disqualification of most of the 400 or so provisional ballots came because the voter listed was not registered in Bernalillo County. He said officials would double-check later this week to be certain the disqualified ballots were correctly deemed so.
    In addition, election officials were considering another 150 or so ballots "suspended,'' meaning the final decision on whether they were disqualified was pending.
    Going into Tuesday, there were 3,756 ballots outstanding.
    Democrats have said the provisional ballots could benefit Madrid's campaign to unseat Wilson, who declared victory last Thursday.
    As tension ran high at the warehouse where ballots are being held, one contentious issue has centered on how signatures figured in to whether a provisional ballots should be disqualified.
    The political parties had agreed Sunday on ground rules for counting the provisionals. But on Tuesday, the secretary of state's office affirmed that only one signature from a voter who cast a provisional ballot is needed to qualify that ballot.
    Bernalillo County Deputy Attorney Patrick Trujillo said Sunday's discussions were only hypothetical and that the county requested the secretary of state make the determination.
    GOP attorney Pat Rogers complained Tuesday that the rules were being changed midway through the counting process.
    "Changing the rules because they're behind strikes most people as unfair,'' he said.
    John Boyd, an attorney for the Democrats, wouldn't comment on whether the decision by the secretary of state would benefit Madrid. "We really need to get to a place where people are committed to make sure votes are counted,'' he said.
    Voters were asked to sign their provisional ballots three times: a voter roster maintained by poll workers, a form attached to the ballot envelope affirming they had not voted elsewhere and a voter registration card on the envelope.
    Wilson's campaign manager, Enrique Carlos Knell, said if voters didn't sign the form swearing they hadn't voted twice, the ballot should be disqualified.
    Ray Baray, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office, said his office had sought legal advice from the attorney general's office on the matter but ruled on its own that only one signature is needed. Knell said the attorney general's office should not have chimed in on the issue — since the office is headed by Madrid.
    "It's clearly a conflict of interest,'' he said. "Patricia Madrid ruled in a way that is in her personal interest and is not consistent with the law or maintaining the integrity of the election.''
    Assistant Attorney General Chris Coppin said he gave the legal advice and did not consult with Madrid.

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