As 10 candidates file to run for mayor, Las Cruces prepares for new voting method
As ten candidates officially declared their intention to run for mayor of Las Cruces on Tuesday (see list at bottom of this article), the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office is seeking to educate the public on ranked-choice voting.
Come November, voters will rank each candidate running for a political office, creating an automatic runoff election.
“We rank things every day,” said Amanda López Askin, the Doña Ana County Clerk. If you’re headed to the movies and one move is sold out, maybe I’ll go see the next one and that will be an acceptable one.”
Only the city of Las Cruces has voted to participate in ranked-choice voting. Therefore, only city residents will participate in the process.
Doña Ana County contracts with a company that has the knowledge on printing ranked-choice ballots, so López Askin said the process will not be any more expensive.
However, if a voter chooses to only select one candidate, their vote will still count. According to the Clerk’s Office, that person would just not participate in the automatic runoff.
“They’re going to vote how they always have voted,” said López Askin. “They’re going to walk in and they’re going to pick their winner.”
2019 Municipal Election – Candidate Filing Day List
The following individuals filed their candidacy paperwork for the Nov. 5, 2019 Las Cruces municipal election. The names are in the order provided by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.
Mayor
Eugenia (Gina) Montoya Ortega Isabella Solis Ken Miyagishima (Incumbent) Jorge Sanchez Gregory Z. Smith Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez William Bill Mattiace Jesusita Dolores Lucero Mike A. Tellez Bev Courtney
City Council District 1
Kasandra Gandara (Incumbent) Shelly A. Nichols-Shaw
City Council District 2
Jack L. Valencia, Jr. Tessa Abeyta Stuve Phillip A. VanVeen Jason D. Estrada
City Council District 4
Johana Bencomo Antoinette M. Reyes Robert J. Palacios
Presiding Municipal Judge
Joy Goldbaum Richard M. Jacquez
