New Mexico counties are certifying elections as usual after Trump win

Voters fill out their ballots at the Doña Ana Community College East Mesa Campus in Las Cruces on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM)

With Donald Trump winning the presidency, many of the false claims of election fraud that disrupted vote certification in New Mexico and beyond have disappeared, and it’s been business as usual for county boards.

Otero County commissioners voted 3-0 on Thursday to certify last week’s election results, and none of them questioned whether they should fulfill their legal obligation to do so. Farther north in Torrance County just the day before, commissioners there did their duty, too.

But not long ago, this routinely mundane process didn’t go so smoothly.

In 2022, several Republican-led county boards – including in Otero and Torrance counties –  voted against certification of the midterm results. The New Mexico Supreme Court had to order them to do it.

Since Election Day, counties have been counting and canvassing, the process of verifying every valid vote is counted. Sometimes that includes asking voters to fix  small mistakes on their ballots, such as forgetting to sign a mail ballot or transposing a numeral in an ID number.

In New Mexico, counties with populations smaller than 150,000 people are required to approve the results within 10 days of an election, according to state law. Counties with larger populations have until 13 days after an election to send the results to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office.

Both Doña Ana and Sandoval counties will meet in the afternoon of Friday Nov. 15, while the Bernalillo County Commission is scheduled to meet Monday.

Once all 33 counties submit the results, the State Canvassing Board – made up of the governor, secretary of state and the chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court – meet on the third Tuesday after the election and declare the official results.