Early and absentee Voting Begins

On May 9, 2006 early and absentee voting began in Santa Fe County. You can vote right now at the Santa Fe County Clerks Office at 102 Grant Ave. Numerous parking spaces are reserved for voters only, right in front of the building so parking is usually easy for voters. Beginning the third Saturday (May 20th) before the election there are four early voting sites available throughout the county. In general, early sites are located at the Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds, Pojoaque Fire Station, in El Dorado, in Edgewood, and in Espanola. The exact locations and hours will be posted and advertised soon.

If you wish to vote by mail (absentee) you need only call the Santa Fe County Clerks Office at 986-6280 to get an application. Do this early as it takes time to get the application sent to you and then you must return it. The ballot will then be sent to you by mail. Mail in ballots will only be sent out by the clerks office until June 2, 2006. The primary election is June 6, 2006. I appreciate and Thank you for your vote but regardless who you vote for the important thing is for you to get out and cast your ballot.

A word of thanks to the Secretary of States Office who's employees tried hard to deal with the snags involved in the new on line campaign reporting system. Its always hard to implement new technology in what was previously a paper system. I had to deal with the staff both on the phone and in person and even though they were swamped with calls and issues the staff remained friendly and helpful. All the issues I had were dealt with promptly and efficiently. I am sure the bugs will get worked out and we will have a better system when its all done.

One final note on the story by Dan Frosch and the Santa Fe Reporter "Behind the Badge" . I received at least 50 calls from people who read and enjoyed the story. Even some of Dan's peers from other print and TV media commented on how the story was very well written. I also received calls from people who had to search for a copy as by the weekend many Santa Fe Reporter boxes were empty. As a new issue comes out today if you still would like a copy, the Reporters downtown office at 132 East Marcy street usually still has copies of the previous weeks issues. You can also access the article on line. Great job Dan!