Early voting for Rio Rancho’s municipal election begins Tuesday, offering residents nearly four weeks to cast ballots before Election Day on March 3.
The election features a contested mayoral race with six candidates, along with a contested race for the District 5 City Council seat. Voters will need to present photo identification under the city’s local voter ID requirement.
Early voting starts Feb. 3 at the Broadmoor Senior Center, 3241 Broadmoor Blvd., which will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Feb. 27. The location will also operate three Saturdays — Feb. 14, 21 and 28 — from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Four additional early voting sites open Feb. 14 and will operate Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Feb. 28.
Those locations are:
- Loma Colorado Main Library, 755 Loma Colorado Blvd.
- Sabana Grande, 4114 Sabana Grande Ave. SE
- The Hub @ Enchanted Hills, 7845 Enchanted Hills Blvd.
- Southern Blvd., 2345 Southern Blvd., Suite C2.
Same-day voter registration will be available at all early voting locations.
On voting day, there will be 14 Voting Convenience Centers throughout Rio Rancho that will be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Six candidates are vying to succeed Mayor Gregg Hull, who is running for governor: Alexandria Piland, Zachary Darden, Michael Meek, Paul Wymer, Aleitress Owens-Smith and Corrine Rios.
City Council races feature Jeremy Lenentine running unopposed in District 2, Bob Tyler unopposed in District 3, and a contested District 5 race between incumbent Karissa Culbreath and Calvin Ward. Robert Cook is the sole candidate for municipal judge.
All positions carry four-year terms.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of votes for a particular office, a runoff election between the top two vote-getters will be held April 14.
The city maintained its March election date and photo ID requirement following a vote by the Governing Body in May that defeated an ordinance to shift elections to November and eliminate the ID requirement. Supporters of the change said it would save taxpayers nearly $500,000, while opponents cited concerns about election integrity and term extensions for current officials.
Rio Rancho requires voters to present current photo identification, including government-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, student IDs, credit cards, passports or voter identification cards issued free by the City Clerk’s office.
Voters must be registered in the City of Rio Rancho to participate. Registration information is available through the Sandoval County Clerk’s Office at 505-867-7577 or online at the state’s voter information portal.
For more information on obtaining a voter ID card, contact the City Clerk at 505-891-5004 or [email protected].