Judge: Doa Ana County absentee ballots in US House race cannot be impounded – yet

A Las Cruces State District Judge has decided a petition filed by Republican Yvette Herrell to impound absentee ballots in Doña Ana County cannot be fulfilled at this time.

The New Mexico Republican was seeking to impound absentee ballots that decided her U.S. House District Two race in favor of her Democratic opponent, Democrat Xochitl Torres-Small.

State District Judge Manuel Arrieta Friday head arguments in response to the emergency petition filed Herrell. Arrieta did not dismiss Herrell’s petition, but said the matter could not be settled at this time.

New Mexico Assistant Attorney General Sean Cunniff argued ballots cannot be impounded until they are counted and the results are certified and asked the judge to dismiss the present petition. The results are expected to be certified on November 27th.

The Associated Press called the race for Torres-Small after those absentee ballots tallied the day after the election put her over the top.

New Mexico Secretary of State spokesman Alex Curtas said Friday he expects Torres-Small to take her U.S. House seat despite Herrell’s push to inspect certain ballots. Curtas says Torres-Small is in Washington, D.C., and attending freshman orientation.

Arrieta invited the Herrell and Torres Small campaigns to work out a system for ballots to be inspected after impoundment. Representatives with both campaigns met in private after the hearing to discuss the matter.
Court documents filed by Herrell’s lawyers cited “chain-of-custody issues and other improprieties” but didn’t give details. Herrell hasn’t provided any evidence about the alleged irregularities. Her campaign has not returned repeated voicemails, text messages and emails from The Associated Press.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE