President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday leaving questions about what happens to the ballot now.
Rules were already in place for a candidate not making it to the general election ballot, University of New Mexico law professor Maryam Ahranjani said.
“It’s not like even though the act is unprecedented there, you know, there’s a system in place to guide the electors,” Ahranjani said.
The upcoming Democratic National Convention will officially determine the official Democratic presidential nominee. Delegates set to vote for Biden after he won primaries throughout the country can now vote for whomever they please.
However, shortly after Biden announced he was leaving the race, he passed the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris who has since garnered support from delegates throughout the country, from politicians like Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to other delegates.
Related: New Mexico leaders respond to Biden ending reelection campaign
John Dyrcz, a delegate from New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, is excited to go to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention in August. He is also glad that Biden “put the country first.”
“I think (Biden has) spoken very strongly about his belief that a second Trump term would be really dangerous for our democratic values, and so I think ultimately, history will probably judge him well and say he did the right thing for the United States in making that decision,” Dyrcz said.
Dyrcz also said that Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee is “exciting.”
“I think she’s one of the few people that can really walk in on day one and understand the gravity of being President, given her closeness to Biden. I think she’s hitting the ground running and trying to earn votes and earn support from the delegates, because we’re all free agents now.”
Dyrcz works for the American Federation of Teachers-New Mexico teacher’s union and has been in Houston for the AFT union convention.
When the news broke that Biden was suspending his re-election campaign, the feeling was not that of sadness but of excitement for what a Harris campaign could be like.
“(Biden) endorsing the vice president and her coming out so strong in the last 24 hours has really kind of put a lot of energy in our conversations, and there’s a lot of people who are ready to, kind of, like double down and work even harder to support her in this very short campaign,” Dyrcz said.
Whitney Holland, another 1st Congressional District delegate, spoke about Biden’s re-election campaign suspension. Holland was also at the AFT convention.
“I mean really simplistically; I am glad that he did. I think it was appropriate. I think it was timely. I imagine it was a hard decision, but I’m glad he was introspective and really looked at what’s best for the uniting the party and what is the best path forward to win again,” Holland said.
Holland was a delegate in 2020 when the DNC was all-virtual to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That experience was so unique… and now this experience is going to be also unique, and I’m excited to see it happen,” Holland said. “I really hope there’s an avenue for everyone to have their voices and opinions heard, and I’m excited to see what that looks like in action.”
Shortly before we spoke, the AFT announced its endorsement of Harris, who could be the first woman and woman of color to serve as president.
1st Congressional District 1 delegate Augustine Montoya is looking forward to his first DNC.
“I definitely think that being a member of Gen Z and having lived through so many historical events that, for myself, is not necessarily desensitized to being in a historical event, but it’s understanding the consistent gravity of these events that are happening around us. And so going into this convention, it’s a little bit more hectic than I understand previous have been, but in growing up in this time, it seems like something that I’m comfortable with and something that I trust the DNC to have good policies and procedures on,” Montoya said.
He found Biden’s decision “very honorable.”
“It’s very simple, symbolic of his love for this country. I think that he has served our country in so many different ways and brought so many incredible things to New Mexico as well… I think it’s one of the most honorable things for him to be able to acknowledge what needs to be done to put the country first.”
Montoya supports Harris both for her experience as a prosecutor and said “it’s high time that we have a woman in the White House. Because, in my opinion, women just do it better.”
3rd Congressional District delegate Isaac Dakota Casados posted to his Facebook page that “President Biden’s decision to step down from the presidential race is a testament to his profound commitment to the nation’s future….As we shift our focus to Vice President Harris as our Democratic nominee, we carry forward his legacy of resilience and progress, poised to continue the transformative journey he has set in motion.”
The Democratic Party of New Mexico issued a statement Sunday stating that all five members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation support Harris in her bid for the Oval Office.
“As a key part of such an incredibly productive term in the White House, we believe no one is better equipped to succeed President Biden and lead the Democratic ticket than the other half of the Biden-Harris Administration, Vice President Kamala Harris,” the DPNM statement said.
The statement came from Democratic Party of New Mexico Executive Officers, composed of Chair Jessica Velasquez, Vice Chair Manny Crespin, Treasurer Rayellen Smith, and Secretary Isaac Dakota Casados.
More information about New Mexico’s delegates to the DNC can be found here.
SOS answers ballot questions
New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver issued a statement Monday including information about New Mexico’s elections, in which she reiterated that the ballot deadline has not passed and, in fact, is a little more than a month away.
“With President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race there has already been misinformation circulating about the nomination process here in New Mexico,” Toulouse Oliver said in the statement. “New Mexico follows major party rules for the selection of presidential candidates and, as long as they meet the ballot deadline of August 27, 2024, whoever is nominated for president at the upcoming Democratic Convention will appear on New Mexico’s General Election ballot.”
Toulouse Oliver also suggested voters use trusted sources for election information such as county clerk’s and her office and “to verify information about voting and elections before repeating or reposting it.”
Biden won the New Mexico Democratic Primary in June which means that voters allocated delegates to the Democratic Convention for the formal nomination.
“Now that Biden has withdrawn from the race, he will release his pledged delegates who will choose how they wish to allocate their votes at the convention, along with the unpledged delegates,” according to the statement.
Other issues explained include:
- State law does not provide for holding another primary election, nor would another primary be necessary under the Democratic Party rules that govern delegates.
- Biden’s campaign will need to file a notarized statement of withdrawal as a candidate to our office before Aug. 27 to remove his name from the ballot.