I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Statistics released today by the Doña Ana County Bureau of Elections indicate that, as of this morning, 633 people who requested absentee ballots had yet to vote, suggesting that problems here may not be as great as many feared.
A news release from the county said 7,908 absentee ballots were requested in Doña Ana County. Before today’s mail came in, 7,275 of those people had voted.
That included 5,291 who had returned their absentee ballots and 1,984 who took advantage of the option to vote early because they hadn’t yet received their absentee ballots.
The county expected the absentee ballots for most of the remaining 633 to arrive at the Bureau of Elections office today or Tuesday. Ballots could arrive in the mail or people could opt to hand-deliver them before the polls close on Tuesday.
Those who requested an absentee ballot but hadn’t received it at all or in time to return it can also vote in person before 5 p.m. today at the county clerk’s office or between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday at their polling place. Voters living overseas who didn’t receive an absentee ballot in time to mail it back can still vote. They should call the Elections Bureau at (575) 647-7428 and request that a ballot be sent via e-mail or fax.
There has been widespread concern about absentee ballots in Doña Ana County since it was learned on Friday that the county hadn’t complied with a law that requires absentee ballots be mailed within 24 hours of requests for the ballots.
The severity of the problem wasn’t clear until today. Some Republicans charged that 3,000 to 5,000 ballots weren’t mailed out until Friday and that thousands of voters might be disenfranchised. The county maintained that the problem was much less severe and worked, along with other groups, to emphasize alternative voting methods for those who hadn’t received their absentee ballots.
The exception are those who live in other states but not stationed there for military purposes. That could include college students who are registered to vote at their parents’ address in Doña Ana County, but who attend school somewhere else in the United States and aren’t present to vote in Doña Ana County on Tuesday.
