November 30, 2022

2022 General Election certified, two recounts upcoming

A "Vote Here" sign at the Otero County Fairgrounds in Alamogordo.

Nicole Maxwell

A "Vote Here" sign at the Otero County Fairgrounds in Alamogordo.

The New Mexico State Canvassing Board certified the 2022 General Election at their Nov. 29 meeting.

The election results were certified after a third-party auditor declared no findings and the election results were sent to the canvassing board for certification.

“Our office worked closely with our county clerks across the state of both political parties to ensure we all had the information and the tools necessary to conduct a successful election,” New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse-Oliver said. “This was absolutely a team effort.”

The Nov. 8 General Election was completed with two recounts expected.

There were 1,364,559 eligible voters, with 714,754 voting which is a 52.4 percent voter turnout.

Absentee turnout was about 13 percent, early voting was just under 50 percent and Election Day turnout was 36.8 percent, Toulouse-Oliver said.

This was the highest turnout in a New Mexican midterm election, Toulouse-Oliver said.

“We had far more of the votes cast before Election Day this year than on Election Day. Which is always nice because people don’t have to wait in line a long time on Election Day,” Toulouse-Oliver said. 

There were 22,175 people who registered and voted on the same day.

“Which is just tremendous and I’m really glad that we are able to offer that convenience to voters now,” Toulouse-Oliver said. 

The state canvassing board is made up of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon and Toulouse-Oliver.

These recounts are for State Rep. District 32 between Democratic incumbent Candie Sweetser and Republican challenger Jennifer Marie Jones and State Rep. Dist. 68 between Republican candidate Robert Henry Moss and Democratic candidate Charlotte L. Little. 

State House District 32 is in Luna and Hidalgo Counties and State House District 68 is in Bernalillo County.

The State Rep. Dist. 68 seat is currently held by Karen C. Bash who did not run for re-election.

The state canvassing board is made up of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico State Supreme Court Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse-Oliver.

The board is expected to meet again at 3 p.m. Dec. 15 to certify the recount results.

The official 2022 General Election results can be accessed on the Secretary of State’s website.

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