Political roundup

Days until the primary election: 32

Deadlines: Tuesday, May 8, is the deadline to register to vote in the primary election.

Early voting at county clerks’ offices will begin the same day.

New Mexico has what are known as closed primaries, meaning only voters who are registered as Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary. The same goes for Republicans or Libertarians and their respective primaries.

Voters who did not select a party on their voter registration cannot vote in the primary elections.

The Secretary of State’s Office launched a new website this week, nmvote.org, where New Mexicans can register to vote, request an absentee ballot and find a polling place.

Voters also may register at the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office, 102 Grant Ave.; Main Library, 145 Washington Ave.; Southside Branch Library, 6599 Jaguar Drive; or Motor Vehicle Division, 2546 Camino Entrada.

Democrats at odds: A congressional candidate and former chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico is facing accusations from a former Democratic official that she failed to address a misconduct claim.

Nicole Bagg, a former member of the national platform committee, said Thursday that former state party Chairwoman Deb Haaland ignored her complaint involving a former Doña Ana County commissioner who later resigned over misconduct accusations.

In a statement, Haaland disputed Bagg’s story and said she helped push for the first statewide sexual harassment policy for the state Democratic Party.

“We had no official complaints filed in my two years as chair, but I knew that was a problem because nowhere in America is free from harassment of women,” Haaland said.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico also said it received no formal complaints while Haaland was chairwoman from 2015-17.

According to Bagg, John Vasquez, then a Doña Ana County commissioner, and two of his friends invited her to brainstorm about politics in October 2016 after watching the presidential debate. Bagg said an inebriated Vasquez made racist comments and derogatory remarks about women.

Haaland is running in six-way primary next month in the Albuquerque-area congressional district.