Did You Know – April 2024 – Election Turnout

It’s awfully hard to unset incumbents in local elections, especially when very few people turn out to vote!  In last month’s city council elections in Rio Ranch, 3 incumbents were up for reelection.  One race (District 4) had 3 candidates and the incumbent won outright.  In another race (District 6), there were 4 candidates and the inclement was the top vote getter and is in a runoff.  In the final race (District 1), there were 3 candidates and the incumbent came in second, only 14 votes behind the top vote getter and is now in a runoff.

A total of just fewer than 3,400 people voted in these city council elections.  There are over 73,000 registered voters in the City of Rio Rancho.  Some of these voters live in other city districts than the 3 that had city councilor elections.  Yet citywide, just over 5,000 people voted on 3 Bond issues for the city.  This figure equals about 7% of registered voters.  Typically, around 9% of people vote in non-presidential elections for local candidates and ballot questions in the City of Rio Rancho.

Observations

First off, why are we having an election during the spring of a presidential year election in November?  Do we want to discourage people from voting?  Do we enjoy paying the costs of holding an additional election compared to the rest of the country? (In 2022, the Rio Rancho municipal election cost over $163K and the run off an additional $37K. So this year’s “off calendar election” will cost the taxpayers of the city over $225,000.  Wonder if Rio Rancho could use an extra $1/4-1/2 million?)  This is madness!

Local elections should be on a cycle that coincides with national or, at least, statewide elections.  If this requires changes in the laws of the New Mexico, so be it.  Our legislators and executive officers need to be champions of democracy, making it easy for citizens to vote and have their voices heard, not roadblocks to a participatory democracy.