In last-minute hearing, Las Cruces judge fights to get back on ballot

A Las Cruces judge dismisses case by a magistrate judge, who was trying to be added back on to a ballot after she claims her party affiliation was accidentally changed while replacing her driver’s license.

“I have been a lifelong Democrat,” Samantha Madrid told Judge James Martin. “I have never changed my party affiliation in my entire life.”

Magistrate Court judge Samantha Madrid named Doña Ana County Clerk Scott Krahling and the MVD Express in her suit. The last-minute hearing on Thursday came only one day before the ballots are printed on Friday. The hearing was still underway as of 11:30 a.m.

“I want to get this matter set as early as possible,” Judge Martin said.

Madrid claims she was replacing her license “at the end of a long day” at the local MVD Express. By either the judge’s error or the employee’s error, Madrid’s voter registration was changed from Democrat to independent, disqualifying her from the primaries.

“I was simply replacing a lost or stolen driver’s license,” Madrid said, adding “the voter registration was never placed in front of me, not electronically or otherwise.”

The county’s lawyer argued Madrid should be held accountable for either accidentally or purposefully changed her party affiliation.

“Whether she was paying attention or not, whether she was thinking about it or not, or maybe she was thinking about it, then it was changed,” the county lawyer explained. “It’s not for this court or anybody else to go back and say, ‘Well, I realized you weren’t really paying attention, so we’re just going to pretend that never happened.'”

Madrid claimed her voter registration in the state of New Mexico can only be changed in circumstances relating to three statutes. She said the MVD Express employee’s actions were not covered in those statutes.

“What I’m saying is, either by mistake or error or fraud, the statute covers that I should, in those cases, that my record should be restored to Democrat,” Madrid said. “I didn’t have that intention. It’s illogical. There’s no reason why I would go in there and do that.”

MVD Express is a New Mexico company with ten locations across the state.