County clerks ask for primary by mail

More than two dozen county clerks in New Mexico — including Quay County’s — have asked the state Supreme Court for an order that would allow the June 2 primary be conducted by mail.

The clerks said they otherwise face an impossible choice — putting voters' and election workers' lives at risk or violating their oath of office.

"The state of New Mexico faces a public health emergency unprecedented in modern times," the clerks stated in their petition, filed Monday.

Quay County’s Ellen White was among the petitioners.

White stated in a letter Tuesday to Quay County’s Republican and Democratic chairs that more than 90% of buildings used for New Mexico’s elections are closed because of the pandemic, and clerks face a May 2 deadline to inspect and certify those sites.

She also stated many precinct workers are age 60 and over — a high-risk segment for the virus.

“Workers do not want to and should not be asked to be exposed to this virus unnecessarily and put their lives at risk, much less expose thousands of New Mexicans, including my staff and vendors,” she wrote.

The 27 clerks — mostly Democrats but including five Republicans — argued that poll workers are scared to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The clerks would open some sites to aid voters who must vote in person and for people to drop off ballots. But the election otherwise would happen by mail, with ballots sent to each active voter.

Immediate action is required, the petition argues, because of approaching deadlines. Absentee and early voting begin May 5, though overseas voters are mailed ballots in April.

“The facts are, we have a health crisis in this country that has led the federal, state and local governments to adhere to health orders,” White wrote. “At the forefront, buildings have been required to close and social distancing has become enforceable by law. In the midst of this, New Mexico has a Primary election to conduct in June with many deadlines and requirements that must happen long before that day.

She said the state’s county clerks “hammered out what we believe was the safest and best way to move forward” with the primary.

“Let me tell you, this is absolutely not how we prefer to handle this election,” she wrote of the mail-in proposal. “It’s hard, it’s expensive, it requires a lot of additional work, guidelines and procedures. Not to mention voter education, which I am asking you all to help with. All of us would much rather be conducting this election without the hurdles and impossible scenarios.

“Let me remind you, we have conducted three very successful mail ballot elections in Quay County. All three had a higher voter turnout than most regular elections. We process thousands of absentee ballots during primary and general elections already. We do it proficiently and without a single audit finding. I am confident this will be no different.”

The Albuquerque Journal contributed to this report.