County certifies 'dang good election'

Doña Ana County Deputy Clerk Caroline Zamora was observing a line of early voters at the county government center when her patience as the neutral overseer of elections faced a test. 

Amid the historic turnout in the county, one voter was asked to turn his shirt inside out, wearing a shirt with a candidate's name on it. 

It’s a common occurrence: State law prevents candidates and their supporters from campaigning within 500 feet of the polls. A shirt or hat with a candidate's name or slogan qualifies as electioneering, even if the supporter thinks of it simply like wearing his favorite player's jersey to a big game. 

As is typical, the man complied with the request, Zamora recounted during a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Nov. 15. But as he did, another man standing in line shouted, “White power!” 

The story was one of several Zamora shared during the county board meeting. She presented statistics about voter turnout and outlined challenges, including unruly poll watchers and online misinformation spread by a local candidate and allied activists. 

The absentee allegations stemmed from a Facebook post by Republican state senate candidate Samantha Barncastle Salopek accusing the clerk’s office of “finding votes” when, in fact, the votes were coming in to be counted by the county all night on election night. The post, which the candidate later clarified, was seized on by those in the community that believe elections are fraudulent.

State law mandates that clerks stop counting absentee ballots at 11 p.m., which led some to believe that all ballots would not be counted after 11 p.m. However, regular votes are counted until the night is over. 

Zamora said an unruly poll watcher, whom she did not identify, was removed after the presiding judge tried multiple times to correct their behavior at a polling site. 

“There were also several instances in which challengers, watchers and observers did not have the proper credentials,” Zamora said, adding that these individuals receive training and are told what to bring and where to go ahead of their assignment. 

On the whole, Zamora told the board and about two dozen election workers that this year’s election was a success. 

“We ran a dang good election, and county staff and election workers have done a spectacular job,” Zamora said as the commissioners voted to certify the election. “We are a department that you all can be proud of.” 

Certification votes are normally a routine process but have taken on a new focus in the elections after 2020. That year, Republican candidates, party officials and online influencers questioned the validity of the election despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud, following the lead of then-President Donald Trump. 

That national trend led two New Mexico counties to vote against election certification. In Doña Ana County, then-commissioners Isabella Solis and Ramon Gonzalez voted against certification.  

Doña Ana County elections are also one of many online focal points for election denialism. Since 2018, the county has been targeted in a documentary that falsely reported fraud and articles misrepresenting the clerk’s office. 

Yet this year, the board did not hesitate to certify the results. Commissioners Shannon Reynolds, Manuel Sanchez, Susana Chaparro and Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez voted in favor of certification, receiving applause from the two dozen or so election workers and supporters of the clerk’s office who stuffed the board room. Commissioner Diana Murillo was absent from the vote.

High turnout, same-day registration

Zamora and the other election workers navigated historic voter turnout.

According to Zamora’s presentation and the Secretary of State’s office, voters cast 85,809 ballots. That is about 61 percent of all eligible voters in the county. There has never been an election in Doña Ana County where more people voted.

Part of the boast stemmed from same-day voter registration, which allows people to register to vote or update their information, such as addresses, the day they cast their ballot. The practice was implemented in New Mexico in 2019. 

Zamora said that some 52,000 New Mexicans utilized same-day registration this election, including 4,826 county residents. The heavy use led to long lines on Election Day as some 25,000 state residents and about 2,800 county residents waited to register. 

“We could have never envisioned something (like this) happening. Now we know it can happen, so it’s a good thing,” Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said during a legislative hearing one week after the election. “So many people came out and participated, but it did slow the process down.”

Next, the State Canvassing Board – consisting of the governor, secretary of state and chief justice of the state Supreme Court – must certify the election.