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Albuquerque Voter Turnout Surges

Albuquerque voters cast more than 97,000 ballots in Tuesday’s election, according to Bernalillo County.

The election was the first of its kind since the statewide adoption of the Local Election Act last year which combined city, county, school board, and other local elections into one.

Twenty-three percent of registered voters in Albuquerque participated this year. Compare that to only 6.6% in 2015 when the city ballot included council members, bond, and tax questions. That same year, for the Albuquerque schools and CNM board elections fewer than 3% of people voted.

According to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office, lawmakers combined the elections to increase turnout, to save money, and to make elections more consistent for voters. 

Kaveh Mowahed formerly produced our weekly live talkshow, "Let's Talk New Mexico" and still fills in on. He's also a substitute host on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.