Statistics released today by the Doña Ana County Bureau of Elections indicate that, as of this morning, 633 people who requested absentee ballots had yet to vote, suggesting that problems here may not be as great as many had feared.
A news release from the county said 7,908 absentee ballots were requested in
That included 5,291 who had returned their absentee ballots and 1,984 who took advantage of the option to instead vote early because they hadn’t yet received their absentee ballots.
Of the 633 who requested ballots but had not yet voted, the county expected that most would have their ballots arrive in the Bureau of Elections office today or Tuesday. Ballots could arrive in the mail or people could opt to hand-deliver them before the polls close on Tuesday.
Those who requested an absentee ballot but haven’t received it at all or in time to return it can also vote in person today before 5 p.m. at the county clerk’s office or on Tuesday at their polling place between 7 a.m. at 7 p.m. Voters living overseas can still vote if they haven’t received their absentee ballot or didn’t receive it in time to mail it back by calling the elections bureau at (575) 647-7428 and requesting that a ballot be sent to them via e-mail or fax.
There has been widespread concern about absentee ballots in Doña Ana County since it was learned on Friday that the county hasn’t complied with a law requiring that absentee ballots be mailed out within 24 hours of the office receiving requests for the ballots.
The severity of the problem wasn’t clear until today. Some Republicans charged that 3,000 to 5,000 ballots weren’t mailed out until Friday and that thousands of voters might be disenfranchised. The county maintained that those numbers were exaggerated and the problem was much less severe. The county worked, along with other groups, to emphasize alternative ways to vote for those who hadn’t received their absentee ballots.
The only people who have no alternative method of voting if they haven’t received their absentee ballots at all or in time to return them are people currently residing in other states but not stationed there for military reasons. That could include college students who are registered to vote at their parents’ address in Doña Ana County but attend school somewhere else in the United States and aren’t present to vote in person in Doña Ana County on Tuesday.