SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Some New Mexico residents have raised concerns about receiving or returning their ballots in time to participate in the June 2 primary election.
“I was expecting mine today, and I have not received it,” University of New Mexico employee Gary Bush said Wednesday. “We’re getting to crunch time,” he said, adding that he requested his ballot more than a week ago.
Election officials have heard similar complaints as thousands of new voters turned to absentee balloting to avoid the risk of the coronavirus, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
About 42,000 people have voted absentee in Bernalillo County, officials said, adding that the county clerk’s office has mailed out more than 110,000 absentee ballots.
The ballots must be returned to election officials by 7 p.m. Tuesday to count under state law but some residents are not confident they will receive them or have enough time to return them.
“We have the same anxiety,” Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover said. “I think it’s the sheer volume of what’s happened. I don’t think people realized that there would be such a response to the opportunity to vote absentee.”
Election officials have pushed for absentee voting to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, adding an extra burden on the mail system which is not only moving the ballots, but applications for absentee voting as well.
“Needless to say, this is a historically challenging moment for clerks’ offices, the vendors that support us, and our regional USPS system,” Dona Ana County chief deputy clerk Lindsey Bachman said.
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, a Democratic candidate for the Senate, has asked Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver to accept ballots as long as they’re postmarked by June 2.
Toulouse Oliver’s office has said state law does not allow that flexibility.
Residents who have not yet received a ballot or have filled out their absentee ballot but have not yet mailed it are recommended to vote or deliver their completed ballot in person.
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