Automatic recounts in some New Mexico election contests to proceed Nov. 30

Automatic recounts in several local election contests and one ballot question in New Mexico are headed for automatic recounts on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

The state canvassing board met in Santa Fe on Nov. 23 to certify the results of the Nov. 2 local elections and ordered automatic recounts for contests in which unofficial results were tied or close enough to trigger the recount under election rules.

The board consists of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Chief Justice Michael Vigil of the New Mexico Supreme Court, who voted unanimously to certify the 2021 local election results.

Under statute, automatic recounts are required when the margin between two candidates is sufficiently small. The required margin to avoid an automatic recount varies depending on the contest, from 1/4 or 1/2 of a percent to 1 percent.

Unofficial results from the local elections included tie votes between candidates for a village council seat in House, a position on the Dulce Independent School District board and a public school tax question affecting the Moriarty-Edgewood School District.

Two municipal judge positions in the state came close enough to require a recount. In Anthony, Judge Rafael Ramos, a 2018 appointee to the bench, trailed Sarah Holguin by four votes. A three-way election in Belen to succeed Judge Kathy Savilla left Keith Norwood with a single vote more than Yvette Padilla.

In a question selecting two other positions on the House village council, Matthew Cramblett received 24 votes in unofficial results while two other candidates, Anita Allen and Steven Foust, each received 17 votes.

A few other contests saw margins between candidates of one or two votes, such as school board seats for the Aztec Municipal School District, Bloomfield School District and Clayton Municipal Schools.

In the event that the recounts uphold the tie vote, New Mexico calls for the contests to be decided by lot.

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.

Others are reading:

• This Carlsbad tiny house was named No. 1 new property in New Mexico by Airbnb

• The home of Clara Belle Williams: Cultural Property title gives family peace after father passes

• Las Cruces looking to rename street that includes term identified as a slur by federal agency

• Longtime NMSP captain declares run to be Doña Ana County's next sheriff

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Automatic recounts in some New Mexico election contests set for Nov. 30