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Albuquerque sees more than 128K voters in runoff election
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And Cathy Cook
More than 129,000 people voted in Albuquerque鈥檚 runoff election Tuesday 鈥� several thousand fewer than the regular local election last month, according to unofficial election results.
Bernalillo County officials said 129,400 ballots were cast, a 35% turnout, in the runoff election, which saw incumbent Mayor Tim Keller win a historic third consecutive term.
The runoff didn鈥檛 see quite the crowds, or long lines, the regular local election did on Nov. 4. That election saw 134,227 ballots cast in the mayor鈥檚 race.
There were 18,079 absentee votes and 65,393 early votes cast in the lead-up to Tuesday鈥檚 runoff. There were more absentee and early votes cast Nov. 4, 21,323 and 62,460, respectively.
Unlike during the regular local election, when long lines led to delays in ballot counting, those casting a vote in the runoff had few lines to contend with a breezier walk to the booth.
Lori Ward and her daughter Kaitlyn cast their ballots at the Daskalos Center on Menaul. The pair said they both voted for mayoral candidate Darren White. The Wards said they were ready for a change in city leadership, with homelessness being a top concern for them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculous that you can鈥檛 drive down any street in Albuquerque without seeing encampments,鈥� Lori Ward said.
She voted for incumbent Keller when he ran for the first time in 2017.
鈥淲e were severely disappointed,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 voted for him since. We believe there should be a term limit. We don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 right to continue on and on and on. If there鈥檚 term limits for other positions there should be for mayor.鈥�
Kaitlyn Ward has a master鈥檚 in political science, and some of White鈥檚 policy ideas resonate with her, like his stances on immigration and his plan to 鈥渃rack down on homeless camps,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 do think that it鈥檚 good that he鈥檚 hoping to reinforce a lot of the police involvement in those situations,鈥� Kaitlyn Ward said.
White had promised to change Albuquerque鈥檚 approach to immigration. Under Keller鈥檚 leadership, local law enforcement and city officials do not use city resources to assist in federal civil immigration enforcement like raids or information-sharing, unless legally required.
White鈥檚 comments about changing the city鈥檚 sanctuary city status also helped voter Paloma Lee-Mock make her decision at the polls. Lee-Mock cast her ballot for Keller.
鈥淐onsidering the overall state of the federal government, I don鈥檛 really think that that was the right approach,鈥� Lee-Mock said.
In the November election, Lee-Mock voted for Alex Uballez. She wasn鈥檛 excited to vote for Keller in the runoff, although she does think some of his ideas around city planning are coming to fruition.
David McRill said he also voted for Uballez last month but was happy to cast his ballot for Keller in the runoff.
鈥淏etween Keller and White, to me, it鈥檚 no choice,鈥� McRill said. 鈥淭o me that鈥檚 just like, do you vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? To me, there鈥檚 no choice. You vote for Kamala Harris.鈥�
While McRill voted for a different candidate than the Wards, he also wants to see homelessness addressed.
