LIVE BLOG: Keep up with Election Day in Las Cruces

Las Cruces Sun-News

2:23 p.m.

From Reporter Jason Groves: In the five-person race for Anthony Trustee, what Doña Ana County Clerk Dr. Amanda López Askin described as "human error" one resident received the incorrect ballot. Monica Venegas voted at the City of Anthony Library polling location, but the ballot she received only had candidates for school board and not the trustee election. Venegas pointed it out to election workers.

López Askin confirmed the error occurred and that Venegas was one of 15 voters who were assigned the wrong precinct part following redistricting in 2020. While Venegas will not be able to vote in the municipal election, López Askin said the glitch has been corrected and that the other 14 voters in the same precinct part will be issued the correct ballot if they show up to vote today.

"One voter believed that she should have voted in the Anthony municipal election and she was correct," López Askin said. "Like I said to the voter, even one is too many. But we were able to fix it. No other voters will be affected."

López Askin said Tuesday has ran smoothly so far.

"There has been nothing out of the norm so far," she said. "We have had to remind some candidates to respect the boundaries at some polling locations."

2 p.m.

From Reporter Leah Romero: Doña Ana Community College's East Mesa Campus is a new Election Day polling location, replacing Sonoma Ranch Elementary just up the road. Poll Watcher Kate Mangelsdorf, with the League of Women Voters, said the location has been steadily busy all day. There is about a 10 minute wait to get through the line and receive your ballot.

Mangelsdorf and Myr Dawson, a voter, said the location was simple enough to find, just different to their norm.

Several people said they were not necessarily motivated to vote this year based on a particular race, but the duty to vote in general. Sebastian Indacochea is originally from Peru and said the law is that people are taxed if they do not vote in the South American country. When he became a U.S. citizen, he continued this mentality.

Dawson added that she believes ranked choice voting is a good idea and saves the time and expense of holding runoff elections.

"Maybe your first choice doesn't get it but maybe your second choice does, so I think it's a good idea," Dawson said.

1:55 p.m.From Reporter Justin Garcia: At the Dona Ana County Government Center, dozens of residents were in line during the 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. hour. The flow of voters is nonstop.It takes about 15 minutes to get through the line right now and about 30 minutes to an hour to compete same day voter registration. Some voters here have expressed disappointment that they can’t vote in municipal elections because they live outside city limits.

1:04 p.m.

The New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State updated the numbers for how many people have voted so far across the state. In Doña Ana County, 15,461 total people have voted so far. Of this number, 5,080 people voted on Election Day.

Three hundred people who voted today have taken advantage of same day registration in the county.

1:09 p.m.

Check out Photojournalist Meg Potter's photos from today's polling locations.

10:30 a.m. Doña Ana County Clerk announces changes to election night procedures

Due to legislation that was passed in January and took effect in June, the absent voter election board will recess at 11 p.m. on election night if not all votes have been counted, and continue to count votes if needed from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on each subsequent day.

In previous years, the Election Board would not adjourn until all votes were counted.

“With new legislation comes changes that we want voters to be aware of,” Doña Ana County Clerk Dr. Amanda López Askin said in a news release.

“Please know that when you are waiting for election results, there are hundreds of community members that are working hard to get those results to you as quickly as possible while always prioritizing adhering to the law and processes that protect the integrity of our elections.”

10:15 a.m. Las Cruces mayoral race: Get to know the candidates

The Sun-News profiled the Las Cruces mayoral candidates over a series of weeks.

Here's a look at each of the names on the ballot and where those candidates stand on the issues.

7 a.m.

Voting locations throughout Las Cruces are now open. Eligible voters can visit any number of voting locations.

If you have not been following Las Cruces Sun-News coverage of local races, you can find a quick recap of candidates, their views and other important election information in our local election guide.

LOCAL ELECTION GUIDE: Everything to know to vote in Las Cruces local elections

Find a voting location near you on the map below:

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: LIVE BLOG: Keep up with Election Day in Las Cruces

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