Mystery flyer touts track voter switch

RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. (KRQE) - A flyer of mysterious origin is adding to the controversy surrounding a special election next week in Lincoln County that will determine the future of the area's racetrack and casino.

The flyer in question tells people from out-of-state they can cancel their registration in their home state, register in New Mexico to vote in the special election and then reregister when they head back home. It also gives instructions on how to go about registering to vote here.

“It certainly gives me heartburn,” Lincoln County Clerk Rhonda Burrows told News 13.

The special election asks voters to approve or disapprove a 3/16 of 1 percent increase in gross receipt taxes that will subsidize the struggling Ruidoso Downs. Up to $750,000 would be raised from the tax increase every year for the Downs, which says it has been losing about $1 million annually.

Downs officials have threatened to leave the county for a new location if the tax doesn't pass.

Following the flyer’s advice is technically legal, as long as voters are not registered in two separate states at the same time, Burrows said.

“To register in New Mexico, there’s no requirement that you reside for a specific period,” she said.

Still, the clerk isn't thrilled about the flyer's advice.

“In my personal opinion (it’s) unethical,” Burrows said.

Unethical or not, the flyer has fanned the flames in a county already divided over whether to help the struggling racetrack and casino.

“It’s basically bailing out a business that should not be bailed out,” said Kathryn Minter, president of a political action committee opposed to the tax hike.

But supporters of the tax hike proposal say it’s a must.

“Ruidoso Downs is going to leave unless we’re able to help them out,” said John Underwood, president of the political action committee supporting the tax hike.

The Downs brings in an estimated $45 million to the local economy every year, he said. The track’s biggest race, the All American Futurity, attracted about 50,000 people over the Labor Day weekend.

Underwood denied any connection to the flyer.

“I would never be supportive of anything that says ‘Why don’t you register here now and then change after the election,’” Underwood said. “I don’t think that’s a fair statement of the law.”

Minter said she also doesn't know who the flyer's origins.

“It could be that somebody handed it out without getting permission from somebody, but it was handed out at the track,” Minter said.

Track officials also said they had nothing to do with the flyer.

In a written statement, General Manager Jean Stoddard insisted the “organization is committed to an open and fair process in the special election."

The county clerk said 115 new voters with previous addresses from out of state met the August 24 deadline to vote in the special mail-in election, which ends Sept. 21. More than half of the new out-of-state voters were from Texas, she said.