Here’s a big “thank you” to the 32 New Mexico county commissions that behaved like normal sane people and certified the primary election so that the orderly process of constitutional democracy could go forward.
Then there’s Otero County. This county, home of Alamogordo, White Sands National Monument, Holloman Air Force Base, the Space History Museum and pistachio nuts, has put New Mexico in an unfortunate national spotlight as the county that refused to certify the primary election until forced by the State Supreme Court.
Looking at this inexplicable brouhaha, I’m curious, what could have been hidden in this election that led commissioners to the accusation of possible fraud?
In 2020, conspiracy theorists claimed votes were changed so former president Trump lost in districts he should have won. That included districts where Republicans won seats in Congress and state legislatures.
So were the unidentified (actually nonexistent) perpetrators brilliant enough to steal a presidential election but too stupid to realize that they could also fix other races on the same ballots?
Otero County has 27,079 registered voters of whom 7,371 voted in this primary, as reported by the Secretary of State.
This was a primary in a non-presidential year. If someone were going to falsify the results, what would be their motive? This little county will not pick a governor or an attorney general. The decisive contests are all local: Republicans against Republicans for a nomination.
The county is heavily Republican. Total votes cast in the Republican primary for governor were 5524; on the Democratic side, where Michelle Lujan Grisham was unopposed, votes totaled 1544. That adds up to 7068, meaning 303 voters did not bother to make a selection.
If I were suspicious, which I am, I would wonder whether one or more of the commissioners is unhappy with the results of one or more local races. That would be a reason for claiming nonexistent fraud.
The three incumbent commissioners are Gerald Matherly, District 1; the infamous Couy Griffin, a/k/a the Cowboy for Trump, District 2; and Vickie Marquardt, District 3. Only Matherly is on the ballot for another term. He had a primary challenger and won renomination handily by roughly 2 to 1. He is unopposed in November.
Commission District 2 had a 50-50 split on the Republican side (the Republican will likely win in November). Former Republican Party of Otero County head Amy Barela beat Alamogordo Center of Commerce Executive Director G.B. Oliver by 801 to 790, or 11 votes. The Alamogordo Daily News said a recount is expected.
A few other local races were close to 50-50.
In the state representative race for District 51, incumbent Rachel Black vs. John Block (yes, Black vs. Block), Block won by 49 votes. Legislative districts 53, 54 and 56 had no primary contests.
The judgeship for the 12th Judicial District had a 53-47 split. The magistrate judge position, Division 1, was 51-49. Again, these are all Republican primary results.
New Mexicans have a right to be furious that state resources have been wasted on the legal battle that the Secretary of State quite correctly initiated. But if you live in Otero County, maybe you know something the rest of us don’t.
If you could corrupt the voting machines, why would you? Is the race between Barela and Oliver, or between Black and Block, so hotly contested as to invite that level of criminality? Behind these bland election returns, is there a family feud or or a secret love affair gone wrong?
I don’t know about Otero County local politics, but I suspect not. The fracas was just a few egomaniacs trying to show off that they too can destroy democracy.
And it reflects the absurdity of what passed for reasoning among these conspiracy theorists.
Triple Spaced Again, © New Mexico News Services 2022