Early voting in Rio Rancho’s March 3 municipal election is tracking ahead of 2022 levels, City Clerk Noel Davis told the Governing Body during a work session Tuesday.
Davis said 692 voters cast ballots during the first days of early voting at the Broadmoor Senior Center, which opened as the sole early voting site Feb. 3. That figure exceeds the comparable period from the last municipal election cycle.
“We’re trending ahead in week one, which was good,” Mayor Gregg Hull said during the meeting, reviewing the year-over-year comparison Davis presented.
Davis said that as of Monday, a total of 1,645 voters had cast early ballots across five locations. The Hub at Enchanted Hills has been the busiest site, followed by Loma Colorado Library. She noted that the Sabana Grande location has seen lighter traffic because it does not benefit from the same built-in foot traffic as other sites.
One notable shift from 2022 is a decline in absentee voting. Davis attributed the drop partly to lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, which had inflated absentee participation in previous elections. She also cited confusion stemming from a state policy change creating a permanent absentee list — a list that applies only to statewide, federal and presidential elections, not to local municipal races.
“I’ve had several phone calls today with people inquiring where their absentee ballot is,” Davis said. Tuesday was the final day for voters to request an absentee ballot. She directed residents to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website to make requests.
Davis said Rio Rancho has just over 83,000 registered voters in Sandoval County.
Governing Body members expressed optimism about maintaining the pace through Election Day. One member noted the Southern Boulevard polling location, at 2345 Southern Blvd., Suite C2, is a newer commercial site that voters may not yet be aware of.
“It’s really hard to find commercial locations that are willing to work with the city that are also reasonable,” Davis said.
Early voting information
Extended early voting is underway at five locations through Feb. 28. The additional four sites — which opened Feb. 14 — operate Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
— Loma Colorado Main Library, 755 Loma Colorado Blvd.
— Sabana Grande, 4114 Sabana Grande Ave. SE
— The Hub @ Enchanted Hills, 7845 Enchanted Hills Blvd.
— Southern Boulevard, 2345 Southern Blvd., Suite C2
The original early voting site, the Broadmoor Senior Center at 3241 Broadmoor Blvd., remains open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Feb. 27 and on Saturdays — Feb. 21 and 28 — from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Same-day voter registration is available at all early voting locations. Voters must present current photo identification under the city’s local voter ID requirement. Acceptable forms include government-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, student IDs, credit or debit cards, insurance cards, union cards, passports, professional association cards or voter identification cards issued free by the City Clerk.
What’s on the ballot
Six candidates are vying to succeed Mayor Hull, who is running for governor: Alexandria Piland, Zachary Darden, Michael Meek, Paul Wymer, Aleitress Owens-Smith and Corrine Rios.
City Council races include Jeremy Lenentine running unopposed in District 2 and Bob Tyler unopposed in District 3. District 5 features a contested race between incumbent Karissa Culbreath and Calvin Ward. Robert Cook is the sole candidate for municipal judge. All positions carry four-year terms.
Voters will also decide three general obligation bond questions totaling $18 million for roads, public safety and quality-of-life facilities. City officials say no property tax rate increase would result from approval because previously issued bonds have been retired. If rejected, property owners would see an initial tax reduction of approximately $277 annually on a home valued at $300,000.
If no candidate in any race receives more than 50% of votes, a runoff election between the top two vote-getters will be held April 14.
On Election Day, March 3, 14 voting convenience centers will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across Rio Rancho.
This article shows just how much people want change. Early voting is already outpacing 2022 numbers and that says something.
For years, it felt like we only had two candidates and everyone knew “The Machine” was going to slide back in, so people asked themselves, why even vote?
This time we have six candidates in the mayor’s race alone. That kind of competition energizes voters. When people believe their vote actually matters, that real change is possible, they show up. The turnout numbers reflect that.
Maybe that’s why we’re seeing current Governing Body members and others tied to “the machine” being so vocal in defending the incumbent and throwing around words like “divisive.”
If wanting change is divisive, then I guess a growing number of voters are feeling pretty “divisive” right now.