Edgewood voters will decide anti-abortion ordinance by mail-in election

Jan. 25—The third time's the charm for a ballot measure in Edgewood on an anti-abortion ordinance, Mayor Ken Brennan says.

Voters in the town will decide March 21 whether to overturn an ordinance restricting access to the abortion pill and related items. All voting will be by mail-in ballots.

The Town Commission approved the ordinance, which conflicts with state law, in a 4-1 vote in April.

The following month, Edgewood residents who opposed the measure submitted a petition with several hundred signatures calling for the referendum. State law required the town to hold an election on the issue by late August, but the town missed that deadline after a "miscommunication," said Brennan, a former commissioner who has since become mayor.

Town officials then moved to put the issue before voters in November, but the Santa Fe County clerk and the Secretary of State's Office said the ordinance question could not go on the local election ballot in November because the ordinance is considered an "advisory measure" with no legal weight.

The Town Commission voted unanimously this month to finally carry out its statutory duty, said Commissioner Jerry Powers, who introduced a resolution to proceed with the special election.

The election will cost the town an estimated $39,200 for voting systems, ballots, supplies and the election board, County Clerk Katharine Clark wrote in an email.

Former Mayor Audrey Jaramillo criticized commissioners' decision to hold the special election, saying the referendum will cause more "angst" and division in the community.

The commission should have waited for a decision in a state Supreme Court case that could make the outcome moot, added Jaramillo, who voted in favor of the ordinance in April.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez has argued in the Supreme Court case anti-abortion ordinances passed by a handful of Eastern New Mexico cities and counties — Clovis and Hobbs and Lea and Roosevelt counties — are preempted by a state law prohibiting local governments from restricting access to abortion care.

It remains unclear when justices will make a final ruling in the case, a spokeswoman from Torrez's office said Thursday.

The cities and towns that approved anti-abortion measures, including Edgewood, invoked the federal 1873 Comstock Act, which prohibits mailing medications or other materials that might lead to abortion.

Edgewood's ordinance, which has remained inactive, would not only ban the distribution of abortion pills through the mail but would allow a resident to sue anyone who violates the ban. People found guilty of violating the ordinance would face a minimum fine of $100,000.

Attorney Frank Coppler advised town commissioners at a meeting this month the town must hold a referendum on the ordinance, even if the ordinance is legally dubious.

"The issue of ... whether or not it was a wise decision to pass the ordinance is long gone," Coppler said. "That horse has left the barn."

To participate in the special election, eligible voters must be registered to vote by Feb. 22. People can register online at NMVote.org.

The county clerk will mail ballots to registered voters Feb. 22, and the ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. March 21.

People can return their ballots through the mail, at a secure drop box at the County Clerk's Office, 100 Catron St. in Santa Fe, or at a drop box the county plans to open at the Edgewood Senior Center, 114 Quail Trail, Clark said.