Doña Ana County commissioners certify the results of the 2024 general election

The Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-0 on Tuesday to certify the results of the 2024 primary election.

The board held a special meeting Friday as the County Canvassing Board.

Results will remain unofficial until reviewed and certified by the State Canvassing Board on November 26, 2024.

County Commissioner Diana Murillo was not present Friday. Murillo was one of three commissioners on the ballot during the June Primary or during the general election.

Murillo lost her seat in the primary, while Commissioners Manuel Sanchez and Susana Chaparro were each re-elected in the general election.

“Having been on the ballot this year, I can empathize with a lot of the other candidates if you push renewal and want to see the results and be done at the end of election night. I know when it doesn’t happen, your patience can be tested,” Sánchez said. “To everyone who applied, thank you for participating in the election, thank you for your patience during the process.”

62% of voters in Doña Ana County cast a ballot

Chief Deputy District Clerk Caroline Zamora presented the results, as District Clerk Amanda López Askin was a candidate for the general election. López Askin defeated Republican Cheryl De Young, receiving 56% of the 80,514 votes cast in the race to earn a final term in office.

Zamora said the County Clerk’s office does not expect any recounts.

By 2024, a total of 85,509 ballots had been cast in Doña Ana province, representing 61.65% of eligible voters. There were 48,864 county residents who voted early and 10,547 who voted absentee.

“Every time we have an election, we continue to grow. We need more and more people to fill and run the elections for us,” said Commissioner Shannon Reynolds. “We can’t thank you enough for the citizen participation and support we receive from everyone in the province.”

By comparison, in 2020 there were a total of 82,959 ballots (64.42% of eligible voters) in Doña Ana County. There were 40,239 county residents who voted early and 27,806 who voted absentee during the pandemic, while only 14,908 residents voted on Election Day.

In 2016, a total of 71,084 ballots (62.45% of eligible voters) were cast in Doña Ana County. There were 40,460 county residents who voted early, 3,456 who voted absentee and 27,168 residents who voted on Election Day.

Statewide, 927,899 ballots were cast in the 2024 general election (67.1% of eligible voters). In 2020, there were a total of 928,230 ballots cast in New Mexico, for a 68.67% turnout.

County details same-day registration delays and Election Day incidents

Zamora said voters were experiencing issues regarding same-day registration. According to the Secretary of State’s office, more servers were brought online throughout the day to address the problem.

There were about 52,000 voters using same-day registration in the state and 25,000 on Election Day.

There were a total of 4,826 Doña Ana County residents using same-day registration: 2,132 during early voting and 2,694 on Election Day.

Zamora also outlined several incidents that occurred at polling places, and spoke out against instances of misinformation and disinformation associated with the county’s nightly processes of counting absentee ballots after the election.

“I really appreciate the staff, and of course (Zamora),” López Askin said. “To say she did her very best is a huge understatement.”

Among the cases cited, Zamora said there was an election challenger who expressed dissatisfaction with the process and was ultimately removed from the City Hall venue after addressing workers instead of the chairman.

Zamora noted incidents in which election challengers, observers and observers either did not have identification or had incorrect identification, describing one case as intimidation requiring the presence of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and a 45-minute delay at a polling place were.

At the Election Warehouse, Zamora said there were a handful of incidents, including a challenger/observer being asked “between four and six times” to stop taking photos, which is not allowed as an election challenger or observer.

“From some of the incidents that Zamora highlighted, we know that we live in a time where politics is hyper-political right now,” Sánchez said.

“I want to give López Askin a lot of credit for his work in building that pipeline and making sure that you have workers coming in and making sure they’re properly trained and making sure they’re paid more so that you can attract more people.”

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: County Commissioners Certify 2024 General Election Results