Sandoval County canvassing board accepts 2025 local election canvas after reviewing turnout and reconciliation issues

The Sandoval County Canvassing Board voted to accept the official canvas of the 2025 regular local election on a unanimous roll call after a presentation from election staff detailing turnout and several reconciliation issues.

Deputy Clerk (speaker 4) opened the presentation "to present the official canvas of the 2025 regular local election," reporting a countywide total turnout of 20,628 votes: 6,914 early ballots, roughly 3,368 absentee ballots (hand tallied or processed through the image‑to‑cast system), and 10,313 election‑day ballots. The deputy clerk also noted a small discrepancy in a vendor display that led to an investigation of two voters who cast ballots twice; "they also then decided to go and do a same day voter registration in Bernalillo County and cast a ballot again in the afternoon within minutes apart," the deputy clerk said, and the documentation "was referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution."

Why it matters: the canvas is the formal county record of vote totals that will inform the state canvass and any subsequent legal or administrative actions. Election staff told the board they pursued transparency and corrective steps where reconciliation discrepancies appeared.

The presentation covered multiple operational issues. Election staff described an early‑voting tabulator jam in which a machine ejected two ballots; an election judge reinserted a ballot rather than escalating the issue. To preserve integrity, staff deployed a certified spare tabulator, re‑fed ballots through the spare, produced zero tapes on the original machine, and segregated the affected tabulator so its results were not incorporated. Party representatives observed the process, the deputy clerk said.

The deputy clerk also described a household check‑in error in which one son in a family was not registered and the mother was issued a ballot; the county sought district court guidance and obtained an order authorizing a delayed same‑day registration to correct the permit and reconcile the count for that household. Separately, several poll workers had improperly separated ballots that the tabulator diverted for potential write‑ins; the clerk obtained a court order to open ballot boxes and locate ballots that may contain qualified write‑in votes for hand tally.

Commissioner Jones asked what had driven turnout growth since 2021. The deputy clerk attributed much of the increase to targeted outreach: the office geo‑fenced social media advertising specifically to Sandoval County this cycle and previously ran a direct mailer that the deputy clerk said helped raise participation; the state notice of election sent to all registered voters was also cited as a turnout driver.

Absentee and special ballots: staff reported about 3,368 absentee ballots processed by hand tally or image‑to‑cast, with 34 absentee ballots rejected; rejected voters retain voter credit and may cure their ballots according to the statutory cure process. The deputy clerk said the county will hold a hearing — with the county attorney serving as hearing officer — next Friday at 1:30 p.m. for anyone seeking to cure or appeal a rejected absentee ballot; decisions on cures must occur before the state canvass.

Board action and votes at a glance: after the presentation, Commissioner Hurd moved to accept the canvas; the motion carried on a roll call with Commissioners Brook, Hurd and Jones voting "yes." The board then adjourned.

Next steps: the county's accepted canvas will be forwarded as required for the state canvass; the pending referral to the Department of Justice and the court orders concerning same‑day registration and write‑in ballots may result in further administrative or legal action.

Quotes: Madam Clerk (speaker 2) opened remarks thanking staff: "I sincerely appreciate you." Deputy Clerk (speaker 4) summarized the legal referral: "we have been in conversations with the secretary of state's office, and they are referring, that complaint, and the documentation that we sent to the Department of Justice, for prosecution."

The hearing for absentee ballot cures and appeals is scheduled as described by election staff; the state canvass remains the next formal procedural milestone.