Albuquerque sees more than 128K voters in runoff election

And Cathy Cook

More than 129,000 people voted in Albuquerque’s runoff election Tuesday — several thousand fewer than the regular local election last month, according to unofficial election results.

Bernalillo County officials said 129,400 ballots were cast, a 35% turnout, in the runoff election, which saw incumbent Mayor Tim Keller win a historic third consecutive term.

The runoff didn’t see quite the crowds, or long lines, the regular local election did on Nov. 4. That election saw 134,227 ballots cast in the mayor’s race.

There were 18,079 absentee votes and 65,393 early votes cast in the lead-up to Tuesday’s runoff. There were more absentee and early votes cast Nov. 4, 21,323 and 62,460, respectively.

Unlike during the regular local election, when long lines led to delays in ballot counting, those casting a vote in the runoff had few lines to contend with a breezier walk to the booth.

Lori Ward and her daughter Kaitlyn cast their ballots at the Daskalos Center on Menaul. The pair said they both voted for mayoral candidate Darren White. The Wards said they were ready for a change in city leadership, with homelessness being a top concern for them.

“It’s ridiculous that you can’t drive down any street in Albuquerque without seeing encampments,” Lori Ward said.

She voted for incumbent Keller when he ran for the first time in 2017.

“We were severely disappointed,” Ward said. “We haven’t voted for him since. We believe there should be a term limit. We don’t think it’s right to continue on and on and on. If there’s term limits for other positions there should be for mayor.”

Kaitlyn Ward has a master’s in political science, and some of White’s policy ideas resonate with her, like his stances on immigration and his plan to “crack down on homeless camps,” she said.

“I do think that it’s good that he’s hoping to reinforce a lot of the police involvement in those situations,” Kaitlyn Ward said.

White had promised to change Albuquerque’s approach to immigration. Under Keller’s leadership, local law enforcement and city officials do not use city resources to assist in federal civil immigration enforcement like raids or information-sharing, unless legally required.

White’s comments about changing the city’s sanctuary city status also helped voter Paloma Lee-Mock make her decision at the polls. Lee-Mock cast her ballot for Keller.

“Considering the overall state of the federal government, I don’t really think that that was the right approach,” Lee-Mock said.

In the November election, Lee-Mock voted for Alex Uballez. She wasn’t excited to vote for Keller in the runoff, although she does think some of his ideas around city planning are coming to fruition.

David McRill said he also voted for Uballez last month but was happy to cast his ballot for Keller in the runoff.

“Between Keller and White, to me, it’s no choice,” McRill said. “To me that’s just like, do you vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? To me, there’s no choice. You vote for Kamala Harris.”

While McRill voted for a different candidate than the Wards, he also wants to see homelessness addressed.