(updated 9/5/2007)
Anyone who wants to vote in this election must be registered to vote in the City of Albuquerque. You must be registered to vote with the County Clerk by Tuesday September 4 to vote in the October 2 Municipal Election. If you are not already registered to vote, you may obtain a voter registration application form from various places including, the Bernalillo County Clerk, all public libraries and the Motor Vehicle Division offices. The County Clerk's address is One Civic Plaza NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The County Clerk's office is located on the 6th Floor at the intersection of Fifth and Marquette. For questions about voter registration call the County Clerk's office at 768-4085.
In 2005 Albuquerque voters overwhelmingly voted for an amendment to the City Charter establishing an Open and Ethical Elections Code. The Code establishes voluntary limits on campaign spending and equal public financing of campaigns for mayoral and city council elections. Participation from the candidates is voluntary. To qualify to receive funding from the public financing fund candidates have to gather $5 donations from 1% of the registered voters in their district. The $5.00 donations collected by the candidates are deposited in the public financing fund that is supplemented by contributions from the city's operating fund. In general, candidates who elect to participate in public financing receive from the fund $1 for every registered voter in their district to fund their campaign for public office. In exchange for getting disbursements from the fund, candidates are not allowed to accept or spend private campaign contributions. The participating candidates may accept in-kind contributions totaling a value not to exceed 10% of the amount the candidate received from the Open and Ethical Election Fund.
Pursuant to City Charter Article XVI, Section 17, the following list of candidates have qualified as participating candidates and have agreed to the terms and conditions of the Open and Ethical Elections Code: District 2: Debbie O'Malley, District 4: Paulette de' Pascal, District 6: Kevin Wilson, Rey Garduņo and Joan Griffin.
Is identification required when I register?
You need to present identification when you register to vote only if you are registering for the first time in your county and you register by mail. If you do not submit the proper identification, you will be asked to provide it before you vote in your first election. Accepted identification if you are registering for the first time by mail includes a copy of any current and valid photo ID, a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or any other government document that shows your current and valid name and address. If you do not provide the required identification before Election Day you will be required to show identification at the polls, or provide copies when you mail your absentee ballot.
What identification is required when I vote?
In February 2006 the U.S. District Court struck down the Albuquerque voter identification requirements approved by the voters in the October 2005 election as unconstitutional and enjoined the City from enforcing the ordinance. The case is currently on appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
When voting in person, the voter shall announce their name and address in an audible tone of voice and locate his/her name and number in the registered voter list posted for such purpose. An election clerk shall locate the person's name and number in the signature roster. The person shall then sign his/her name in the signature roster, or if ther voter is unable to write, the election clerk shall sign the voter's name in the signature roster that shall be then initialed by an election judge.
Any person qualified to vote may vote by absentee ballot. Apply by phone, 768-3030, or mail for an absentee ballot with the Albuquerque City Clerk's Office, located in the Basement of One Civic Plaza NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The City Clerk's office will verify the application information and mail your absentee ballot to you. Friday, September 28 is the last day the City Clerk's Office will mail out absentee ballots. The ballot contains instructions for completion and return. You no longer need to have your absentee ballot notarized. Beginning September 5 if you have received your absentee paper ballot you may cast that ballot in person, rather than mailing it to the clerk, only at the City Clerk's office.
Your completed ballot must be received in the City Clerk's office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, October 2. Absentee ballot packets delivered in person to the City Clerk's office must be delivered by the voter or by members of the voter's immediate family. Immediate family means spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters.
Any person qualified to vote may vote early, in person on a paper ballot. Early Voting is available at four locations:
Early voting at all locations begins at 8:00 am on September 12 until 5:00 pm on Friday, September 28. The hours of voting will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. When voting early your ballot will be placed in a secrecy envelope and counted with the rest of the absentee ballots on election night. You do not need to give a reason to vote absentee. Your own convenience is reason enough.
Write-in voting is permitted as long as the Office of the City Clerk certifies the person you are voting for as a write-in candidate.
This is the first city election to use only paper ballots, not voting machines. The tabulation of the paper ballots is by a machine. It is important that voters wait until the tabulation machine has accepted their paper ballot before they leave the polling place. If the tabulation machine does not accept a ballot, the election judge will issue a new ballot to the voter. The rejected ballot will be stored separately and returned to the City Clerk. The rejected ballots are not counted.
Voters are obligated to report voting offenses to the City Clerk or the District Attorney. Voting offenses are:
On October 2 the polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Your registration card carries your precinct number where you are registered. If you do not know your precinct number, the City Clerk (768-3030) or the League of Women Voters (884-8441) can identify your precinct for you. Watch the Albuquerque Journal and the Albuquerque Tribune for a list of polling places and their addresses.
Translations will be available by telephone. If you would like assistance at the polls in the form of an interpreter for Keres, Navajo, Tiwa or Spanish speakers, please call the City Clerk's office, 768-3030, on Monday, October 1 or on Election Day, Tuesday October 2.
If no candidate for City Council or Mayor receives 40% of the vote cast in the October 2 election, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes will be on the ballot for the run-off election. If needed, a run-off election will most likely be held on November 20 subject to approval by the City Council. Voter registration for the run-off election will close October 23.