Automatic recounts are scheduled for close races
School board, council contests, ballot question qualify for new tallies
Automatic recounts in several local election contests and one ballot question in New Mexico are headed for automatic recounts Tuesday.
The state Canvassing Board met in Santa Fe on Tuesday to certify the results of the Nov. 2 local elections and ordered automatic recounts for contests in which unofficial results were tied or close enough to trigger a recount under election rules.
The board consists of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Chief Justice Michael Vigil of the New Mexico Supreme Court, who voted unanimously to certify the 2021 local election results.
Under statute, automatic recounts are required when the margin between two candidates is sufficiently small.
The required margin to avoid an automatic recount varies depending on the contest, from one-fourth or one-half percent to 1% of votes cast.
Unofficial results from the local elections included tie votes between candidates for a Village Council seat in House, a position on the Dulce Independent School District board and a public school tax question affecting the Moriarty-Edgewood School District.
Two municipal judge positions in the state came close enough to require a recount. In Anthony, Judge Rafael Ramos, a 2018 appointee to the bench, trailed Sarah Holguin by four votes. A three-way election in Belen to succeed Judge Kathy Savilla left Keith Norwood with a single vote more than Yvette Padilla.
In a race for two positions on the House Village Council, Matthew Cramblett received 24 votes in unofficial results, and two other candidates, Anita Allen and Steven Foust, each received 17 votes.
A few other contests had margins between candidates of one or two votes, such as a school board seats for the Aztec Municipal School District, Bloomfield School District and Clayton Municipal Schools.
In the event that the recounts uphold the tie vote, New Mexico calls for the contests to be decided by lot.