With the June 2nd primary one week away, Hattie Quinn sits down with Eddy County Clerk Cara Cooke — who has worked in the Bureau of Elections since 2007 — for a conversation about process, not candidates.
How does a candidate get on the ballot? What happens when your ballot goes into the tabulator? Why do two locks with two different keys matter? Cara walks through all of it — same-day registration, the new semi-open primary, absentee and permanent absentee voting, and what election workers actually experience on a day that starts at 6 AM and does not end until well after 7 PM.
There is also a frank conversation about voter turnout. The Artesia mayoral race was decided by around 20 votes out of more than 8,000 eligible voters. That conversation is worth your time.
A few things to know before June 2nd: New Mexico does not require a photo ID to vote, unless there is an address discrepancy. Ballots are printed on demand when you check in. And if you see two election officials approach the tabulator at a polling site, that is not tampering — it is simply keeping the tabulator running by freeing up space in the write-in ballot bin.
Early voting runs Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM and Saturdays 8 AM to 4 PM through May 31st at the Eddy County Clerk’s Office, 325 South Main Street, Carlsbad, and the Artesia Sub Office at 602 South 1st Street. Election Day is Tuesday, June 2nd, 7 AM to 7 PM. Sample ballots at nmvote.org.
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