$8.25 Million Bond Questions Missed the Ballot After Papers Went to the Wrong Office, County Clerk Explains
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin wrote to the City of Sunland Park on November 6 explaining why the city's $8.25 million bond questions never made it onto the November 3 general election ballot. In her two-page reply, Askin confirmed the clerk's office received the city's resolution and two ordinances on August 21, four days before the statutory deadline — but the papers were delivered to the county's recording and filing division rather than the Bureau of Elections, which prepares and certifies ballots, so the three bond questions never appeared on the ballot. The city council had approved the three questions, and City Manager Mario Juárez-Infante wrote on October 31 asking for an investigation into the omission. Askin noted the city had to file by August 25 and the county to certify by August 28; the city's resolution was recorded as document 2620001 and the ordinances as 2620002 and 2620003. Sunland Park has said it plans a special election in spring 2027 and is consulting bond counsel and financial advisers; Askin's letter said a special election or the next regular local election in November 2027 are both options, subject to legal requirements and coordination with the secretary of state. As of November 7, the city had not announced a special election date or publicly responded to the letter.
Source: Organ Mountain News
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：新墨西哥州唐娜安娜县县治Las Cruces（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: Las Cruces, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico (file photo). Via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
