COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Clerk’s Office completed the required canvass process to certify and finalize the results of the 2020 Primary Election, which took place Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
The Canvass Board (Board) met at 1 p.m. Thursday at the LAC Municipal Building. The Board consisted of Mr. Cameron Counters, Mr. James P. Cline, Ms. Danielle Gardner, and Ms. Joann Johnson. Also in attendance were County Clerk Naomi Maestas, Elections Manager Gloria Maestas, and Deputy Clerk Victoria Martinez.
During the canvass process, the Board reviewed and verified the accuracy of the election results from the early and absentee locations, as well as the election day vote centers. The canvassed results proved to be a precise match between the machine tapes and the results posted on election day, with hand tally totals from 14 provisional ballots added as a result of the Board’s review.
The Board issued a certificate of canvass, which will be sent to the New Mexico Secretary of State and others as required by law. The certificate of canvass and official election results have been made available on the County Clerk webpage: www.losalamosnm.us/clerk.
When asked about the process Board Member JoAnn Johnson stated, “Los Alamos is fortunate to have such a dedicated and professional staff in the County Clerk’s Office. They go to great lengths to assure that every vote that is cast is counted in a fair and equitable manner.”
The final count of ballots cast in the 2020 Primary Election totaled 5,911, representing a turnout of 55% among the 10,786 eligible Los Alamos County registered voters. Of the total 5,911 votes; 526 were cast during early voting; 4,577 were cast by mail; 794 were cast on election day; with an addition of 14 qualified provisional ballots.
Clerk Maestas stated, “This election was held under unprecedented times, but the voters of Los Alamos proved that nothing is going to get in the way of their right to vote and that democracy is alive and well, even amongst a pandemic! Voter turnout was the highest it’s ever been and absentee-by-mail numbers soared higher than they ever have in a Primary Election. A huge ‘Thank You’ to the 55 percent of voters who chose to make their voice heard in the fashion that was comfortable to you!”
Elections Manager Gloria Maestas added, “Despite being faced with a pandemic while administering the 2020 Primary election, our election workers stepped up to the challenge and did a phenomenal job in assisting our office with mailing out over 5,000 absentee ballots and servicing over 1,300 in-person voters. I work with amazing Clerk staff and appreciate the support from our election workers to continually have successful elections.”
Clerk Maestas would like to thank all the candidates for their dedication and commitment through this election process – as well as the League of Women Voters of Los Alamos, our partner in promoting voter registration and sharing key election information. She would like to extend a special “Thank You” to all the Election Poll Workers, who spent many hours, from May 5th through the late hours on election day serving voters in a friendly, professional, and efficient manner, during the unprecedented nature of conducting an election during a global pandemic. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the election workers, who are true patriots for their bravery and dedication to the election process! Each and every one of them chose to work this election during a worldwide pandemic. We all are extremely fortunate for their service!” Clerk Maestas said.
Clerk Maestas would also like to extend her appreciation to the employees of Los Alamos County for their fervent assistance this election, along with her sincere gratitude for the hard work of her dedicated staff, who are the other heroes of this election. The amount of work that went into this election and to keep everyone safe is incomparable to any election we have ever conducted, but they were on site each day taking risks for a process they believe in and work hard for.
“A special thank you to each and every one of them,” including Elections Manager Gloria Maestas; Chief Deputy Clerk Adrianna Ortiz; Senior Deputy Clerk Francella Montoya; Deputy Clerk Victoria Martinez; Casual Deputy Clerk Anna Sanchez and Student Ubaldo Barela.
Clerk Maestas would also like to remind those residents who are not registered or have moved, that they can complete a voter registration form at the County Clerk’s Office at 1000 Central Ave., 2nd Floor, Suite 240. Voter registration services and forms also are available at the Motor Vehicle Department or online to eligible New Mexico citizens through the New Mexico Secretary of State website: NMVote.org.
The General Election is set to take place Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
For more information, visit the Clerk’s website at www.losalamosnm.us/clerk or contact the office at 505.662.8010 or by email at clerks@lacnm.us.
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