By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. — Nearly 5,000 Sandoval County voters have already cast ballots for the Nov. 3 election. Starting Saturday, everyone else gets a lot more places to do the same.
Early voting expands to 21 more sites across the county on Oct. 17, including five in Rio Rancho. Until now, the only early voting site has been the county clerk’s office in Bernalillo.
As of Oct. 14, 4,940 county voters had cast ballots, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office. Of those, 3,845 voted in person and 1,095 mailed back absentee ballots. That ranks Sandoval fourth among the state’s 33 counties, behind Bernalillo, Doña Ana and Santa Fe. Statewide, 52,988 people have voted.
Democrats cast 54% of the county’s ballots so far, Republicans 28% and voters who decline to state a party 17%, according to the state data. More than 6,800 requested absentee ballots haven’t come back yet.
Thirty-two people in the county have registered and voted in the same visit. Same-day registration is available at every site with a photo ID and proof of address. Any registered Sandoval County voter can vote at any site.
Most of the new sites are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Oct. 31. The clerk’s office in Administration Building D stays open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays through Oct. 30. It’s also open Saturdays, Oct. 17, 24 and 31, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Campaigns, take note: The clerk’s office asks for no electioneering at the polls. State law bans signs, buttons, hats and asking for votes within 100 feet of a polling place. Violating it is a petty misdemeanor.
Oct. 20 is the last day to request an absentee ballot. On Election Day, 42 vote centers open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Not sure what you’re voting on? The full Sandoval County ballot is below.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sandoval County, as of Oct. 14:
- 4,940: ballots cast
- 3,845: in-person early votes
- 1,095: absentee ballots returned
- 7,947: absentee ballots requested
- 32: same-day registrations
- 4th: Sandoval’s rank among New Mexico counties for ballots cast
Party breakdown of ballots cast:
- Democrats: 2,668
- Republicans: 1,380
- Decline to state: 855
- Libertarian, Green, Forward and other: 37
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
Federal
- U.S. Senate: Ben Ray Luján (D), Larry Marker (R)
- U.S. House District 1: Melanie Stansbury (D), Ndidiamaka Ekwua Charlene Okpareke (R)
- U.S. House District 2: Gabriel Vasquez (D), Gregory Cunningham (R)
- U.S. House District 3: Teresa Leger Fernández (D), Martin Zamora (R)
Statewide
- Governor/Lieutenant Governor: Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard (D); Gregg Hull and David Gallegos (R)
- Secretary of State: Amanda López Askin (D), Ramona Goolsby (R)
- Attorney General: Raúl Torrez (D), Samuel Kane Sr. (R)
- State Auditor: Joseph Maestas (D), Joshua Lawrence (R)
- State Treasurer: Laura Montoya (D), James Ellison (R)
- Commissioner of Public Lands: Juan Sanchez III (D), Michael Perry (R)
- Court of Appeals Position 1: Kris Houghton (D), unopposed
State House (your district depends on your address)
- District 23: Alan Martinez (R), unopposed
- District 41: Yolanda Jaramillo (D), unopposed
- District 43: Christine Chandler (D), unopposed
- District 44: Kathleen Cates (D), Adam Prior (R)
- District 50: Sarah Boses (D), Kenneth Brennan (R)
- District 57: Chriselle Martinez (D), Catherine Cullen (R)
- District 60: Luke Jungmann (D), Joshua Hernandez (R)
- District 65: Derrick Lente (D), unopposed
Sandoval County
- Sheriff: John Paul Trujillo (D), Victor Rodriguez (R)
- Assessor: Gerred Prairie (D), Lawrence Griego (R)
- Commission District 1: Paul Madrid (D), Rebecca Skartwed (R)
- Commission District 3: Frank Smith Jr. (D), Edwin Linson (R)
- Probate Judge: Donna Tillman (D), Rebecca Torres (R)
- Magistrate Judges (all unopposed): Ann Marie Maxwell-Chavez (D), F. Kenneth Eichwald (D), Delilah Montano-Baca (D)
Judicial retention (yes or no; each judge needs 57% to stay)
- Supreme Court: Justices David Thomson and Shannon Bacon
- Court of Appeals: Judge J. Miles Hanisee
- 13th Judicial District: Judges James Lawrence Sanchez, Amanda Sanchez Villalobos and Christopher Perez
Constitutional amendments
- Amendment 1: Ends the governor’s pocket veto and requires written veto explanations
- Amendment 2: Lets school bond and mill levy questions go on general election ballots
- Amendment 3: Creates nominating committees for university regents
- Amendment 4: Pays legislators a salary tied to the state’s median household income
State bonds
- Bond 1: $21.6 million for senior centers
- Bond 2: $19.3 million for libraries
- Bond 3: $352.2 million for higher education, special schools and tribal schools
Sandoval County bonds
- Bond 1: $3.4 million for libraries
- Bond 2: $9 million for a fire training facility and stations
- Bond 3: $22 million for a secure Bureau of Elections storage facility
Early voting sites (from Oct. 17):
- Rio Rancho: Living Word Church, 1901 17th Ave. NE; Community of Joy Lutheran Church, 841 Saratoga Dr. NE; Our Lady Queen of Angels, 1701 Tulip Road SE; Amazing Grace, 4131 Barbara Loop SE, Ste. D-2; St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2903 Cabezon Blvd. SE
- Bernalillo: Sandoval County Administration Building D, 1500 Idalia Road (first-floor conference room); Our Lady of Sorrows Gym, 319 S. Camino del Pueblo
- Corrales Community Center, 4324 Corrales Road
- Placitas Community Library, 453 Highway 165
- Sandia Pueblo Community Center, 481 Sandia Loop
- Tamaya Wellness Center, 225 Ranchitos Road, Santa Ana Pueblo
- San Felipe Pueblo Headstart, 10 Meadow View Road
- Santo Domingo Pueblo Community Center, 134 Tesuque St.
- Cochiti Pueblo Community Center, 225 Cochiti St.
- Zia Pueblo Community Center, 135 Capital Square Dr.
- Jemez Pueblo Community Resource Center, 129 Canal St.
- San Ysidro Public Safety Room, 372 Highway 4
- Village of Jemez Springs Municipal Office, 80 Jemez Springs Plaza
- Sandoval County Fairgrounds, 37 Rodeo Road, Cuba
- Torreon Chapter House, Highway 197, mile marker 26
- Ojo Encino Chapter House, 1435 Starlake Road
- Counselors Chapter House, 9828 Chapter House Road 14
Find your sample ballot and voting record: nmvote.gov
Sandoval County Bureau of Elections: 505-867-7577
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