Voters fill out their ballot at the Doña Ana Community College East Mesa Campus in Las Cruces on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM)
With Donald Trump winning the presidency, many of the false claims of election fraud that disrupted vote certification in New Mexico and beyond have disappeared, and for county boards it is business as usual.
Otero County commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday to certify last week’s election results, with none questioning whether they should fulfill their legal obligation to do so. Just a day earlier, further north, in Torrance County, the commissioners there also did their duty.
But not so long ago, this routine process didn’t run so smoothly.
In 2022, several Republican-led county boards — including in Otero and Torrance counties — voted against certifying the midterm results. The New Mexico Supreme Court had to order them to do so.
Since Election Day, counties have been counting and canvassing, the process of verifying every valid vote is counted. Sometimes this includes asking voters to correct minor errors in their ballots, such as forgetting to sign a ballot or converting a digit to an ID number.
In New Mexico, counties with populations of less than 150,000 are required by state law to certify results within 10 days of the election. Counties with larger populations have until thirteen days after the election to send results to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office.
Both Doña Ana and Sandoval counties will meet Friday afternoon, Nov. 15, while the Bernalillo County Commission will meet Monday.
Once all 33 counties have submitted results, the State Canvassing Board — made up of the governor, secretary of state and chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court — will meet on the third Tuesday after the election and announce the official results.
Upcoming County Certification Meetings:
Doña Ana County Commissioners will meet at the County Government Center on Friday, November 15 at 1 p.m.
Sandoval County Commissioners will meet in the commission chambers on Friday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m.
Bernalillo County Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 18.
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