Democracy daze
Election Day 2020 is less than a month away and this year’s contentious presidential race is matched in some of the local and state races seen across New Mexico.
Only one major local race is in contention for Taos County voters – the one between Democrat Kristina Ortez and Republican Linda Calhoun to represent the region as state representative for District 42. But the race for a congressional Senate seat that opened when Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., decided not to run for reelection, like the presidential race, is divisive. In Taos, presidential race signs put up in private yards in support of Democrat contender Joe Biden and
President Donald J. Trump, a Republican, have been stolen.
This week’s Taos News is packed with information about candidates and ballot issues local voters will decide. The mill levy for Holy Cross Medical Center is one of the big ballot questions for Taos County voters. In section C of this edition, find bios on many of the local candidates and a brief explanation of the bond questions and constitutional amendments thanks to the efforts of the League of Women Voters-New Mexico.
Similar to many counties around the state, a record number of people in Taos County have requested absentee ballots and the county clerk began mailing them out Oct. 6.
In the last presidential elec
tion, 40 percent of registered voters – 8,559 – cast ballots. Taos is already well along to matching that if not surpassing that number through mailin votes alone if all 5,182 people who’ve requested absentee ballots in Taos County thus far fill them out and send them in.
In the first day of early voting Oct. 6, a total of 357 people cast their votes at the Taos County courthouse, including 268 Democrats and 34 Republicans. Other sites will open for early voting around the county beginning Oct. 17.
Read on in these pages for more information on candidates and ballot questions. Plus, find a sample ballot on page C12 and instructions on how to find your own sample ballot.