近距离内射合集

SANTA FE 鈥� One of the two Democratic county clerks vying to be New Mexico鈥檚 next secretary of state is facing a complaint that she violated a state statute by releasing election results before polls closed.

Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark has disputed the claims against her, with her campaign saying Friday the system her office uses includes safeguards that ensure no results are externally visible before polls close.

鈥淐lerks are legally allowed to begin preparing early and absentee results on Election Day to reconcile, batch, and upload,鈥� Clark鈥檚 campaign said in a statement. 鈥淭hose results are not visible to anyone until the Secretary of State publicly releases them after polls close.鈥�

Clark is locked in a competitive primary race against Do帽a Ana County Clerk Amanda L贸pez Askin in this year鈥檚 secretary of state race. The winner of the June contest will face Republican Ramona Goolsby of Rio Rancho in the November general election.

The Santa Fe County clerk narrowly outpaced L贸pez Askin at last month鈥檚 Democratic pre-primary convention in Mescalero, though both candidates qualified for the primary ballot. A third candidate, former state Veterans Services Secretary Sonya Smith, failed to qualify and will not appear on the ballot.

Following the convention, Albuquerque attorney David Duhigg sent letters to three elected officials 鈥� Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies 鈥� requesting investigations into Clark鈥檚 handling of election results as county clerk, a position she鈥檚 held since 2019.

He specifically cited four instances 鈥� in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 鈥� in which Clark鈥檚 office had uploaded election results before 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is the time polls close in New Mexico.

鈥淭he premature dissemination of election results undermines the integrity of the electoral process,鈥� Duhigg wrote in the letters, while also citing the state law that prohibits the release of election results before polls close.

The statute in question specifically defines 鈥渦nlawful release鈥� of election results as releasing such results prior to the closing of polls on Election Day. Violating the statute is a misdemeanor offense.

Duhigg is the brother of state Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, who is supporting L贸pez Askin鈥檚 candidacy and was among the sponsors of a campaign fundraiser for the Do帽a Ana County clerk held this week.

In its Friday statement, Clark鈥檚 campaign said the timing of Duhigg鈥檚 complaint raises questions about its intent.

鈥淎t a time when confidence in our elections is critical, manufacturing controversy for political purposes is irresponsible and undermines public trust,鈥� Clark鈥檚 campaign also said.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office has directed Clark to provide a response to the complaint by April 14.

Lindsey Bachman, the director of communications for the Secretary of State鈥檚 office, also said vote results are automatically published to a public website shortly after 7 p.m. on Election Day after being submitted by county clerks.

But the timing of those result submissions can vary based on county, and Clark鈥檚 campaign boasted after the November regular local election that Santa Fe County had released its full election results by 10:15 p.m. 鈥� well before Do帽a Ana County did so.

Both Santa Fe and Las Cruces use ranked-choice voting to decide contested municipal races, a process that involves voters listing candidates in the order they prefer them.

This year鈥檚 race for secretary of state is an open contest since Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, is term-limited. She is running instead for lieutenant governor. 

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.