Poll workers ready for Election Day, after lukewarm early voting turnout

SANTA FE — Poll workers across New Mexico spent the last few days preparing for Election Day, after a final barrage of campaign mailers and advertisements from candidates seeking election to local office.

Voters in municipalities including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, Gallup and Taos will select their mayors on Tuesday, while also picking new city council and school board members.

Numerous local ballot questions will also be decided, including tax levies for hospitals in Artesia, Eunice and Cibola County.

While the deadline to register electronically to vote has already passed, eligible state residents who have not yet registered can still cast a ballot on Election Day via same-day voter registration.

After issues last year with processing same-day voter registration applications led to long lines and delays in some parts of the state, elections officials have made additional preparations this year.

Nathan Jaramillo, the bureau of elections administrator for the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office, said that includes a hotline room with 15 trained workers, along with more staffers on standby.

“I am confident these measures will help ensure a smooth process for voters and poll workers alike,” Jaramillo said Monday.

However, there will likely be fewer voters this year than during last year’s presidential election, as early voting turnout rates were tepid across much of New Mexico.

In Albuquerque, about 20.1% of registered voters ended up casting their ballot via early or absentee voting before the end of early voting on Saturday.

That means a hefty Election Day turnout will be required in order for the city to surpass the 32% turnout mark from Albuquerque’s last mayoral election in 2021.

In Santa Fe County, roughly 14.9% of registered voters cast their ballots before Election Day, while early voting turnout was about 11.4% in Taos County, where former Mayor Dan Barrone is seeking a return to office.

Election observers trained by Observe New Mexico Elections, a nonprofit group, visited 39 polling places in 11 New Mexico counties during early voting and also plan to be on hand at voting sites on Election Day.

The group plans to release a post-election report detailing whether state election laws and procedures were appropriately followed.

While state law sets voting timelines for local elections, many cities and towns are able to use their own voting formats.

Santa Fe, for instance, has used ranked-choice voting in recent election cycles to determine a winner on Election Night, while Albuquerque and some other cities use a runoff election system.

Under that system, if no candidate receives at least 50% of the votes cast in a race, the two top finishers advance to a runoff election at a later date. This year, such a runoff election would be held Dec. 9.

In Albuquerque, incumbent Mayor Tim Keller is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term, but has faced steady criticism from his five opponents for his handling of crime and homelessness in the state’s largest city.

In response, Keller has touted a recent drop in Albuquerque’s violent crime rates, along with his administration’s efforts.

“It’s easy to just talk about the problem or say things that there is no way you can deliver on,” Keller said during a recent mayoral candidate roundtable at the Journal. “What’s hard is to actually do the real work.”