SANTA FE—The Office of the Secretary of State has informed both the Bernalillo and Santa Fe County Clerks that they must comply with federal and state law—and ensure that ballots go out to servicemen and women today, Saturday, September 20.
Both county commissions and both county clerks know what is at stake, and they know exactly how many ballots need to be mailed tomorrow,” said Secretary of State Dianna Duran, “the latest count we have is that 124 ballots need to be mailed by Bernalillo County and 48 by Santa Fe County.”
Duran added that “both counties have delayed this by court action, so they know exactly what the questions are and exactly how many precincts are involved. The ballots are designed and they will receive their final proofs shortly. There are no surprises. They only need to proofread a small number of ballots. There is no excuse at all for not getting these ballots out the door and in the mail tomorrow.”
Bernalillo County has missed the deadline for getting ballots to servicemen and women for the past three consecutive elections. It is the only county to have missed that deadline. Santa Fe County has been in compliance.
Both Bernalillo County and Santa Fe County filed suit last week to change their ballots, thus delaying the final design by several days.