Should Gov. Bill Richardson be doing more to ensure the November election runs smoothly in New Mexico? In an article published today, Trip Jennings of the New Mexico Independent explores that question.
“New Mexico stands on the cusp of a possible election day meltdown that could turn the Land of Enchantment into the Florida or Ohio of 2008,” Jennings’ article, “Jet-setting guv courts Election Day disaster,” begins. “But Gov. Bill Richardson, the self-proclaimed go-to guy in New Mexico’s hour of need, has been traveling the world in service to Barack Obama and has done little to ensure that New Mexico will have a smooth election. He even has joked about voting in New Mexico.”
The governor’s office, Jennings writes, is directing questions about elections preparedness to the secretary of state. But, as Jennings points out, there are already problems in that office, including “having no state elections coordinator in place for months.”
Meanwhile, Jennings points out the long list of places around the world Richardson has traveled in recent months. The list includes Montana, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Oregon.
The article is a hard-hitting piece that suggests the governor has fixed problems in the past when he put his mind to it, but he hasn’t “fixed the broken voting system in his home state.”
“And the system shows many serious signs of possible failure, from unmaintained machines that may malfunction, to lack of guidance from the Secretary of State’s office on voting on tribal lands, to the agency sending 11,805 voters faulty addresses or locations for their polling places,” Jennings wrote.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told Jennings that the governor “takes the election process very seriously and he has agreed — as a member of the Board of Finance and during the recent special legislative session — to provide additional funding requested by the Secretary of State and county clerks for the primary and general elections.”
But, Jennings wrote, “Richardson’s ostensible distance from the issue of New Mexico’s elections preparedness appears to run counter to his demonstrated penchant for getting involved when he wants something done.”
The governor’s office wasn’t happy with Jennings’ article.
“Who, besides Trip (Jennings), is suggesting that the governor isn’t doing enough?” Gallegos asked me. “That’s his opinion. The governor worked with the Board of Finance to provide emergency funding for the primary election, and he responded to concerns from the secretary of state and county clerks by pushing through emergency funding during the recent special session to ensure that election officials have the resources to effectively run the general election.”
“The secretary of state is elected by voters to oversee elections,” Gallegos said. “Nevertheless, the governor has been responsive to concerns and has acted accordingly.”
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Richardson had traveled to South Africa in recent months.
Should Gov. Bill Richardson be doing more to ensure the November election runs smoothly in