Early voting set to begin in New Mexico amid wariness over possible disruptions
– Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
After more than a year of campaign announcements and candidate intrigue, early voting is finally set to begin for a high-stakes general election cycle in New Mexico.
County clerks around the state will begin sending out absentee ballots Tuesday to more than 62,000 registered voters on New Mexico’s permanent absentee voter list, a Secretary of State’s Office spokeswoman said Monday.
In addition, Tuesday marks the first day of early in-person voting at county clerks offices. Expanded early voting will begin Oct. 17 with the opening of additional voting sites.
Bernalillo County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh said she’s expecting high voter turnout after the state’sfirst semi-open primary election boosted turnout to near record-high levels in June.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Copper Mine near T or C gets closer to reopening after 45 years
– Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A copper mine about 30 miles southwest of Truth or Consequences that ran briefly in 1982 is getting closer to reopening, though several permits are still pending.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Australian owned New Mexico Copper Corp. has worked for more than 15 years to reopen the Copper Flat Mine near Hillsboro, New Mexico – a village of around 100 residents.
An approval from the state Environment Department and the Bureau of Land Management are still needed, along with a permit from the state’s Mining and Minerals Division who held a public meeting there last month.
The New Mexican reports that residents have concerns over water use, noise, pollution and whether the highway into the village is fit for heavy trucks when grocery deliveries are sometimes turned around because of their weight.
The company and some residents touted the new jobs that would bring money to the community, including more than 1,100 construction and 270 full-time operators.
Studies, however, cast doubt on the concentration of copper at the site, calling its value into question.
The Mining and Minerals Division is accepting public comments until October 16th.
Gregg Hull unveils multistep plan to repeal New Mexico personal income tax system
– Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
With Election Day approaching and New Mexico facing another budget windfall, Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull unveiled his plan Monday for what would be the state’s biggest tax cut in decades.
Specifically, the former Rio Rancho mayor said he would push if elected to gradually phase out New Mexico’s personal income tax system, starting with taxpayers who make less than $25,000 per year — or $50,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
The proposal, which would require legislative approval, could ultimately cost the state more than $2 billion per year if fully implemented.
But Hull said the tax policy shift could help New Mexico reverse a trend of healthcare professionals leaving the state, while also delivering financial relief to state taxpayers.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
Twelve rural homes in Socorro County cut off by flood waters
– KOAT-TV
The tiny community of San Francisco in northeastern Socorro County has been isolated by flooding from the nearby Rio Puerco.
KOAT-TV reports that 12 homes are cut off due to the main access road being flooded and full of sinkholes.
San Francisco is located in the valley, where the river flows nearby into the Rio Grande.
Socorro County officials told the television station that repairs along Ramon Lopez Road can’t begin until the road is dry.
2 New Mexico GOP lawmakers continued paying canvasser accused of harassing Democrat, documents show
– Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Two Republican state lawmakers seeking reelection continued to employ a New Mexico campaign canvasser accused of harassing their Democratic colleague even after another GOP candidate fired the man over his behavior, campaign finance records show.
Last month, New Mexico state Rep. Sarah Silva (D-Las Cruces) accused Adalberto Rodriguez, whom her Republican opponent hired as a canvasser, of harassing her and her husband at public events.
At several public events between April and July, Silva said Rodriguez approached her and her husband, independent journalist Heath Haussamen, while brandishing a tripod and a phone or camera and filming. Rodriguez can be seen on several videos Silva provided calling the lawmaker “baby” or “princess” and repeatedly insulting Haussamen’s testosterone levels and appearance as he tries to intervene.
Silva and Haussamen filed a police report in late July regarding Rodriguez’s behavior, which she described as “disruptive, offensive and dangerous in its escalation.” The Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office ultimately declined to bring charges.
Silva’s Republican opponent Ben Luna, Jr. previously told Source NM he fired Rodriguez in July due to his behavior and because he wasn’t meeting his quota as a canvasser. Luna also said he reached out to fellow Republican candidates in New Mexico who hired Rodriguez in some capacity to tell them about Rodriguez’s misbehavior.
In a social media post in early September, Silva shared videos of the encounters and accused House Minority Floor Leader Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) of failing to intervene to ensure candidates’ safety. Armstrong, in a previous statement, told Source NM that she considered the matter to be “already-resolved” by the time it came to her attention.
However, recent Secretary of State’s Office filings show that two southern New Mexico lawmakers — Reps. Luis Terraza (R-Silver City) and Jenifer Jones (R-Deming) — continued to employ Rodriguez until at least September.
Jones and Terrazas paid Rodriguez more than $8,000 between June 28 and Sept. 7, according to campaign finance reports.
Terrazas paid Rodriguez more than $6,300 for unspecified “campaign contract labor” in seven installments between July 9 and Aug. 26. Jones paid Rodriguez nearly $1,900 on Sept. 1 for “campaign paraphernalia/misc.,” the documents show.
Rodriguez did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment Monday, though he previously told Source NM that he deleted one of the videos he posted of his encounters with Haussamen and Silva. Rodriguez controls social media accounts called “The Border Gazette.” The handle has roughly 75,000 Instagram followers and primarily contains posts regarding Mexico politics and sports.
Terrazas declined to comment Thursday afternoon, saying he was heading into a debate with his Democrat opponent Raul Turrieta for the District 39 seat. He did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment Monday.
Jones told Source NM that she was unaware that she’d hired or paid Rodriguez.
In an emailed statement Friday afternoon on behalf of Terrazas and Jones, Armstrong did not address Source NM’s questions about what services the lawmakers procured from Rodriguez or why they continued to employ him.
“This is a blatant attempt by Source New Mexico and Sarah Silva to distract from the growing scrutiny of Silva’s critical support for Project Jupiter,” Armstrong said, referring to the controversial data center project in Doña Ana County.
Both Terrazas and Jones have successfully held their seats in recent elections despite serving districts in which Democrats outnumber Republicans. Democrats currently outnumber Republicans 42-26 in the state house.
Sila Avcil, campaign manager for Jones’ District 32 opponent Democrat Laura Parra, told Source NM on Friday that she was immediately concerned for her candidate after seeing Jones’ financial reports.
“Our immediate reaction was just being appalled at the fact that she had hired someone like that knowingly after another Republican had just fired him for harassment,” she said. “Right after that, we were slightly concerned for Laura’s safety.”
Avcil said she and Parra ultimately opted not to hire additional security, but that they are “keeping an eye on the situation.” They have not seen Rodriguez at any campaign events or other public appearances, Avcil said.
Turrieta, Terrazas’ opponent, also told Source NM he has not had any safety concerns.
Still, Silva told Source NM on Friday that Rodriguez continuing to serve on campaign shows that Armstrong continues not to take the matter seriously.
“Leader Armstrong and my opponent had both said at the time that this was taken care of,” Silva said. “Clearly, it wasn’t taken care of, and that bothers and worries me.”
Early voting begins Tuesday. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Northern NM group receives nearly $200K for virtual fencing pilot program
A conservation group has received a grant to pilot a virtual fencing program on federal land in Northern New Mexico.
The Taos News reports that the Friends of Río Grande del Norte National Monument has received a nearly $200,000 grant to set up virtual fencing along grazing allotments.
Virtual fencing uses GPS and digital mapping software to contain and guide animals without physical wire fences.
The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is composed of more than 240-thousand acres of public lands that was designated a national monument in 2013.
New Mexico Democrats accuse Senate Republicans of violating AI campaign law on misinformation
– Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Democratic Party has asked the State Ethics Commission to investigate whether state Senate Republicans’ use of AI-generated images in recent social media posts violate a 2024 state law aimed at curbing political misinformation.
The Senate Republicans and state Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho) have published or shared artificially generated images of Democrats in recent weeks as part of a campaign accusing the majority Democrats of being corrupt.
Some of the images include a fake jail mugshot of Senate Pro Tem Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) wearing a hammer-and-sickle lapel pin and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland embracing an unspecified man in an orange prison jumpsuit.
The fake mugshot suggests Stewart was charged with “hit and run,” a reference to an automobile crash between Stewart and a pedestrian in 2024 that has recently surfaced in news reports. Stewart was never issued a citation or booked into jail, and she stayed on scene until police arrived, interim Santa Fe Police Department Chief told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
In a complaint to the ethics commission the Democrats provided Friday, DPNM Chair Sara Attleson said the images violate House Bill 182, which imposes strict disclaimer requirements on AI-generated campaign materials. The law requires artificially generated images to carry conspicuous disclaimers with the following text: “This image has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.”
In a statement, Attleson called on the Ethics Commission to investigate and impose any penalties as quickly as possible. State law provides for $1,000 fines for each violation.
“Voters should not be misled by public officials or their official offices about what is or isn’t real,” Attleson said. “We are asking the Ethics Commission to enforce the law that is meant to protect faith in our elections.”
None of the images on social media carried the required disclaimer, though Facebook has since labeled both as AI generated. Block, who originally posted the fake mugshot of Stewart, also noted that his image was AI-generated at the end of a lengthy Facebook post Sept. 22.
Block told Source NM on Monday that the SEC complaint is Democrats’ effort to distract from the real corruption the images seek to highlight. He also defended his post as protected speech under the First Amendment.
“I can’t believe they’re crying over that when they refuse to hold themselves accountable,” Block said of Democrats. “It’s called free speech.”
Late Friday, after New Mexico Democrats announced they’d filed the ethics complaint, Senate Republicans republished their post with the contested images along with the required disclaimer.
Still, Sen. Minority Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington), in a statement, called the matter “funny.”
“The Democrat Party, that consistently fails to hold their own members to account when it comes to breaking the law and violating ethical standards, is taking exception to our efforts to expose their failed leadership and lack of accountability,” he said.”
