Judge: Candidate should be on ballot

Ruling directs secretary of state to put Montoya on general election ballot as a Republican

State District Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled Thursday in favor of a man seeking an open seat on the state Court of Appeals, finding Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver should have listed him as a candidate despite his failure to file a required form.

As part of his ruling, the judge ordered Albuquerque attorney Thomas C. Montoya to be placed on the general election ballot as the Republican candidate for the appellate court vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Linda Vanzi.

Following a nearly four-hour hearing, Biedscheid said he didn’t believe the Secretary of State’s Office had been “unreasonable” or “improperly motivated” in choosing to disqualify Montoya as a candidate.

But the judge added that given the short time frame Montoya had to declare his candidacy after the primary, the form he had to submit by June 25 wasn’t available on the Secretary of State’s website until June 19, the confusion created by the coronavirus pandemic and other actions Montoya had taken to comply with candidate rules, he should be listed as a candidate.

Biedscheid said his ruling was only a decision on the specific facts of this case and should not be interpreted the form the candidate failed to file was irrelevant going forward.

Biedscheid acknowledged his ruling was influenced in part by an opinion published Tuesday by the New Mexico Supreme Court, which overturned his decision in a similar case in which he’d ruled in favor of the Secretary of State’s Office and against a congressional candidate whose nominating petitions were rejected because they were submitted on forms containing the wrong heading.

The judge found there was no basis for

Montoya’s second claim, which asserted that if his paperwork problem disqualified him, it should also disqualify his Democratic opponent, Jane Yohalem.

But the judge said he felt Montoya made a good-faith effort to comply with the requirements and could see how Montoya could have reasonably been confused by the paperwork.

“I’ll leave it to voters to decide how concerned they are with that fact,” Biedscheid said.

Neither Montoya nor Yohalem could be reached for comment immediately following Thursday’s hearing.

Secretary of State spokesman Alex Curtas said the office was pleased the judge said Toulouse Oliver did not appear to have been improperly motivated when she didn’t list Montoya as a candidate.

Curtas said the Secretary of State’s Office had not yet decided whether it would appeal the ruling.