Sandoval County Board of Registration elects Daryl Manning chair, adopts OMA resolution and schedules training

The Sandoval County Board of Registration convened to organize the 2025–2026 panel, elected Daryl Manning as chair by acclamation, adopted a resolution affirming adherence to the New Mexico Open Meetings Act and approved minutes from the March 13, 2025 meeting.

The action followed an oath of office administered to the new appointees and a presentation by county elections staff outlining the board’s duties, statutory limits and the practical constraints of administering the voter roll. The staff described the elections office as “a very lean staff” that manages about 114,000 registered voters and supports municipal elections, early voting and post‑election audits.

“Given that, our last term, the board, chair was a Republican. I’d like to nominate Daryl Manning to be chair,” Member Golly said during the nomination. Member Jinx seconded the nomination; after the required three calls for nominations, members moved to close nominations and elected Manning by acclamation.

The board then adopted a written resolution to follow the New Mexico Open Meetings Act (OMA), a formality required of public bodies at the start of new terms. The clerk’s office staff noted a minor correction to the minutes (a member name spelling) and asked members to make the approving motion with the corrected spelling; members approved the resolution and the minutes by voice vote.

Staff reviewed key legal frameworks the board must follow, including the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA), applicable administrative rules published by the New Mexico Secretary of State, the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the National Voter Registration Act. Staff told members the county uses state and federal guidance and a set of administrative rules (about 65 pages specific to voter registration) as operational references and offered to provide printed and electronic copies.

During the presentation, staff described operational realities that bear on the board’s work: the county elections team includes four core staff plus two voting‑systems technicians and additional supervisory roles added this budget cycle; the voter roll contains about 114,000 records; vital‑statistics feeds from the New Mexico Bureau of Vital Records remove in‑state decedents automatically, but deaths that occur out of state often require family‑provided documentation or funeral‑home notification to be removed from the roll. Staff said they would research statutory obligations of funeral homes after members raised that point.

Members asked for clarification about rolling quorums under OMA. County staff explained the concept and said the New Mexico Attorney General’s office (now operating as the New Mexico Department of Justice) recently updated OMA guidance and that violations of rolling‑quorum rules have led to enforcement actions in the past. Staff advised members to limit out‑of‑meeting communications about board business and to handle policy conversations in publicly noticed meetings.

Board members discussed meeting frequency. Statute constrains the board’s formal purge actions to work following the 2027 general election, but members expressed interest in meeting more often than the traditional two‑year cadence for orientation and oversight. Staff offered to supply reading material and a syllabus of statutes and administrative rules and proposed a four‑hour work session in December; members tentatively agreed to a December work session, with staff planning a training session for December 8–10 (to be confirmed by email and calendar coordination), focused on statutes, administrative rules, procedures and the county’s election processes.

Votes at a glance

- Election of chair: Motion to nominate Daryl Manning (nominator: Member Golly; second: Member Jinx); nominations closed and Manning elected by acclamation (voice acclamation). - Adoption of Open Meetings Act resolution: Motion to adopt as presented with corrected spelling of a member name (mover not specified in the record; second noted); voice vote carried (aye, no opposition noted). - Approval of minutes (March 13, 2025): Motion to approve (mover: Member Jinx; second: Member Gottlieb); voice vote carried.

The meeting concluded with staff committing to circulate statutory references, administrative‑rule materials and a training syllabus by email and to follow up with scheduling details for the proposed December work session. Members and staff repeatedly emphasized the board’s ministerial role in reviewing voter‑roll removals and the importance of following statutory processes and public‑meeting rules.

The article is based on the Sandoval County Board of Registration organizational meeting to convene the 2025–2026 board; the transcript records oath administration, nominations, votes by voice/acclamation, and the training presentation given by county elections staff.