Rio Rancho voters are heading to the polls Tuesday, March 1, to weigh in on several city offices, including mayor, along with bond measures and charter amendments. The city says its absentee board has rejected a number of ballots.
Rio Rancho requires a photo ID to vote. For absentee voters, the ballot includes instructions to enclose a photocopy in the return envelope, and then sign it.
City Clerk Rebecca Martinez says several voters this election didn’t follow instructions.
“In the case of most of these, these were absentee ballots that were returned through the mail,” she said.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 109 ballots had been rejected, accounting for nearly 16% of those that had been cast, though voters can continue to drop them off until polls close at 7 p.m.
Martinez says, due to state election code, election officials cannot notify voters immediately that their ballot has been rejected, though they’ve been advocating at the legislative level for the ability to do so through an absentee ballot curing process.
Instead, they’ll send letters out the day after the election letting voters know their absentee ballot was rejected and why.
“We also provide them the various opportunities to come and remedy the situation,” said Martinez. “They will have through March 11, which is when the county canvassing board convenes to certify the election results.”
Rio Rancho voters who are concerned their ballot may have been rejected and want to take care of it on Election Day can call the city clerk’s office to check at (505) 891-5004.
This story is part of our Your New Mexico Government project, a collaboration between KUNM and New Mexico PBS. Support for public media provided by the Thornburg Foundation.
