Voters deserve assurances their votes are being counted
I’m Clay Pryor and I am running for Bernalillo County clerk. My wife, Michelle, and I were born, raised and have spent all but one year of our lives in Albuquerque. That one year away was spent working for IBM in Des Moines, Iowa, after I earned my MBA from the University of New Mexico’s Robert O. Anderson School of Management.
In addition to IBM, I have worked for the Air Force Weapons Labs, the state of New Mexico, and Sandia National Labs. I programmed computers all those years starting at the lowest level at the Air Force Weapons Labs and progressing to principal member of technical staff at Sandia where I led small teams developing enterprise web database applications.
In 2019 Sandia rewarded me with the “FY18 Top 3 Improvements Recognition Award — Team Lead.” Of course my team members were recognized for their roles, as well.
As a software developer for several decades, I know that I can write code to implement just about any algorithm you can think of. I also know that I can make mistakes, which can lead to erroneous results. So, I have always had doubts about our voting systems.
Several years ago, when I cast my vote at an early vote center, I asked the people at the tabulator how I can know that my vote was recorded as I intended. One of the nice people responded with “did you hear the ding?” I responded “yes I heard the ding,” which would indicate that my ballot was registered.
However, my question is how can I know that my votes were cast as I intended them to be cast? A second person at the tabulator responded that I can’t know. This was an honest answer.
However, now that I have had the opportunity to investigate how the tabulators are used in Bernalillo County, I have a much better answer. We may not be able to know directly how our vote was cast but there are measures in place to detect faulty tabulators during the counting process so we can have confidence that our votes are counted as intended.
Please keep in mind that we the people can monitor and participate in elections and I strongly encourage everyone to do so. Please contact me through my campaign website referenced below if you need more information on how to participate.
I realize the County Clerk’s Office is responsible for more than just elections. I believe my MBA and decades of experience in understanding, adjusting, and automating business systems, in addition to leading technical teams, gives me the ability to appreciate and lead staff in all aspects of county clerk services.
While I believe the County Clerk’s Office is doing great work, it is always a good idea to review and improve administrative processes. This applies to our election systems, as well as all other functions of the Clerk’s Office.
Given the requirements of the job and my relevant background and experience, I believe I am the best candidate for the county clerk position. Please consider voting for me.
You can learn more about my campaign and I at www.ClayPryorforNM.com
Thank you.
Clay Pryor, of Albuquerque, is a Republican candidate for Bernalillo County clerk. He faces Robert Kwasny in the June 4 GOP primary. Incumbent County Clerk Linda Stover may not run for reelection due to term limits.