The Rio Arriba County Clerk’s office reported Saturday that a voter signing in to vote early at the Rio Arriba Health Commons Clinic in Española was told he had already voted three days earlier, on Wednesday, October 29, at 11:24 AM.
The Saturday voter told poll workers he had not voted, and asked to see the signature of the Wednesday voter. After looking at it, he informed poll workers that it was NOT his signature. Then officials of the Rio Arriba County Clerk’s office and the Secretary of State’s office confirmed that the signature of the Wednesday voter did not match the legal voter’s signature on file.
Poll workers offered the man an opportunity to vote on a provisional ballot, which he did. Elections officials will have to determine whether this voter’s provisional ballot can be counted, given that two ballots will have been cast under his name.
“The poll workers and the Rio Arriba County Clerk’s office did a good job in responding to the situation, following all the procedures available to them,” said Bobbi Shearer of the Secretary of State’s office, “I have nothing but praise for their efforts to try to ensure integrity in the election. It is just that under current law there are no means available to poll workers to help them determine if a voter is actually the person he says he is.”
Shearer went on to point out that what has happened is that “a fraudulent voter’s vote has already gone through a tabulator and cannot be identified or separated from all the legitimate ballots in the machine. When people say there is a system in place to prevent this kind of thing, they are wrong.”
Secretary of State Dianna Duran said, “It is disheartening to me to hear stories of people being told they’ve already voted, when they obviously have not. I want people to call us and let us help them ensure that they get to vote. Vote stealing is a crime, and I want to stop it as soon as it happens. I don’t want any New Mexican to be disenfranchised.”
Duran added that she is required to report this crime to law enforcement. “I will be reporting this incident to the District Attorney,” said Duran.
The Secretary of State’s office reminds voters to be vigilant in signing in to vote, as elections officials have no legal means of actually verifying signatures or confirming identification of a voter. If voters have any concerns or wish to report an irregularity of any kind, they are encouraged to call the toll free number at the Secretary of State’s office: (800) 477-3632.
Information from NM Secretary of State's Office
More information:
Research on voter fraud finds 31 incidents between 2000 and 2014 out of more than 1 billion votes cast.