Darn it! We went out of our way Election Night to praise ABQ City Clerk Judy Chavez and her staff for the good work they did getting the numbers out early and apparently accurately. Unfortunately, the praise was premature. The results have changed by several thousand votes on some of the bond issues because of a computer error that had the wrong numbers being added together. The mistake was caught by sharp-eyed Councilor Cadigan and prompted an investigation. The new results have not changed the election results, just the perception of the City Clerk' s office as an island of competence in area vote-counting. Since the early 70's the city process has been mostly error free with Bernalillo County recording disaster after disaster. So it is disappointing that the City Clerk could not get it right this time. Councilors Mayer and Cadigan think it needs to be looked in to while Councilor Eric Griego doesn't think "a stink" needs to be raised. We side with Cadigan and Mayer who are concerned about the credibility of the system. Taxpayers are paying good money to get this job done, but it seems the NM vote counting curse is very powerful. Mayor Marty needs to have a sit-down with City Clerk Chavez. Meawhile, we can hope that Gov. Bill's new commission on this issue will attack it head-on and maybe even raise "a stink" about it.
Trib City Hall Reporter Ed Asher has details on ABQ's election mishap:http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/110803_news_canvass.shtml
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2003
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