ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – We’re weeks away from election day, and early voters and the requests for mail-in ballots are already rolling. News 13 spoke with county clerks in Albuquerque and Santa Fe to find out more about how this election cycle is shaping up.
“All local elections are always a disappointment to me because there’s not a big turnout, and I get so anxious over that because, to me, this is the most important election we have,” stated Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover.
Come November 7, eligible voters across the state will have the opportunity to make their voices heard through voting, but Stover said of the 430,000 eligible voters in Bernalillo County, only about a quarter will vote. So far this year, Stover said voter turnout has been slow.
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“As of last night, we’ve had 279 early voters. This Saturday, we open up for early voting, and we’ll have 20 locations all over Bernalillo County; and hopefully, it’ll pick up then,” Stover stated. Bernalillo County has also had nearly 14,000 absentee ballots requested.
For more information about voting in Bernalillo County, visit their site here.
The numbers are looking up in Santa Fe County. Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark claimed they’ve already had nearly 5,000 absentee ballots requested and around 400 people have already voted.
“All 109,000-ish voters got a notice of election, so a lot of them have decided to apply for absentee ballots, so we do have record-breaking numbers for a regular local election,” Clark stated.
Clerks from both counties stress the importance of voting in this local election:
“The people we elect in the local elections are the people that serve you every day in your government. They’re the ones making laws that affect you immediately; they’re the ones that decide your taxes go up and down locally. You need to know who these people are. How often do you call the president and say, ‘Hey, Mr. President. I got a problem at my park’? Local elections is where you need to be,” Stover commented.
For more information about voting in Santa Fe County, visit their site here.
The last day to request an absentee ballot is October 24.
