We have about three and a half months until the general election.<\/p>\n
New Mexico should have no patience with anyone who waits until after the election and then cries foul. If you have doubts about our election procedures, get your questions answered now.<\/p>\n
Following the recent hubbub in Otero County, I posed this question:\u00a0 when county commissioners certify the election, what exactly are they certifying? \u00a0I got help from Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Albuquerque), a recognized election expert and the director of the state\u2019s association of county clerks.<\/p>\n
The answer is that commissioners verify a report from the county clerk that all ballots are accounted for and the numbers match, such as:<\/p>\n
It is known how many voters are registered in every precinct. Usually, fewer votes are cast than the number of registered voters.\u00a0 If more votes were cast in a particular precinct than the number of voters registered, that would be a problem and it would have to be reconciled. \u00a0(See my column on voter registration, February 2018).<\/p>\n
Mail-in ballots are only sent to registered voters who have requested them.\u00a0 The county clerk tracks the count. Some mail-in ballots might not be returned, because a voter did not mail the ballot in time or changed his mind and voted in person. There could be fewer mail-in ballots returned than the number mailed out, but there should never be more.<\/p>\n
And so on through other procedural details, all of which must be verified.<\/p>\n
Voter databases are updated in real time.\u00a0 If you receive a mail-in ballot but then vote in person, whichever vote was recorded first is the only one counted. In this example, the mail-in ballot will be rejected. The system will not let anyone vote twice.<\/p>\n
While your votes are confidential, the fact that you voted is not.\u00a0 For mail-in ballots, the outer envelope identifies the voter.\u00a0 At polling places, voters check in by name.<\/p>\n
If a discrepancy is found, the county clerk\u2019s job is to resolve it, and the commissioners review the clerk\u2019s work.\u00a0 Then the commission\u2019s duty is to certify the election. Commissioners do not have the right to demand a recount.\u00a0 Only candidates have that right.<\/p>\n
Our election system has multiple built-in checks and balances.\u00a0 The commission\u2019s review is one of three.\u00a0 There are separate reviews at the local precinct and at the state level, plus paper ballots backing up everything.<\/p>\n
After the polls close, local election boards at the precincts prepare at least three copies of the returns.\u00a0 One copy is posted at the polling place.\u00a0 At my local precinct, a paper tape showing the results is posted on a window, visible to the public.<\/p>\n
The second copy is in a pouch that goes to the county clerk.\u00a0 The third is mailed to the secretary of state.<\/p>\n
Ivey-Soto noted that local election boards must be multipartisan, and are not employed by the county clerk.\u00a0 For fraud to occur, these multi-party board members would have to conspire to commit it.<\/p>\n
There is much more detail in the law. You can read it in the state statutes, Chapter 1, Articles 13 and 14.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has a booklet about the conduct of post-election canvasses at www.eac.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t trust the results, there is no reasonable way you can trust any of them. \u00a0It makes no sense to cast doubt on \u2013 for example — who won the governor\u2019s race while supporting the legitimacy of your local county commission race. They are all on the same ballot.<\/p>\n Finally, anyone who thinks election results are not legitimate should not be running for office and asking you to vote for them.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t believe their own victory will be legitimate, how can they?<\/p>\n Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have about three and a half months until the general election. New Mexico should have no patience with anyone who waits until after the election and then cries foul. If you have doubts about our election procedures, get your … Continue reading