Recount

An official recount of the results from the city of Rio Rancho’s March 4, 2014, regular municipal election was performed on March 13, 2014, at Rio Rancho City Hall. The recount confirmed the previously canvassed and certified official results from the March 4, 2014, regular election related to the office of District 3 City Councilor. Under state law related to municipal elections (Section 3-8-68 NMSA 1978), former District 3 City Councilor Tamara L. Gutierrez formally requested the recount.

Results

Official results from the city’s March 4, 2014, regular municipal election for District 3 City Councilor (four-year term) were:

• Tamara L. Gutierrez (incumbent)
  Absentee/Early: 165
  Polls: 331
  Total: 496
• Cheryl Ann Everett
  Absentee/Early: 185
  Polls: 322
  Total: 507

Everett was officially sworn in and took office as District 3 City Councilor on Monday, March 10, 2014.

State Law

Per state law (Section 3-8-69 and 3-8-70 NMSA 1978) the recount took take place in the following manner:

• The precinct board, district judge or the district court judge's designee, county clerk and the municipal clerk shall meet on the date, time and place fixed for the recount or recheck, and the ballot boxes or voting machines of the precinct or consolidated precinct involved in the recount or recheck shall be opened. The precinct boards shall recount and retally the ballots or recheck the votes cast on the voting machine, as the case may be, and recount and retally the absentee ballots for the office in question in the presence of the municipal clerk, the county clerk, district judge or person designated to act for the judge and any other person who may desire to be present.
• During the recount or recheck, the precinct board of a precinct or consolidated precinct where paper ballots used in lieu of voting machines or absentee ballots were used shall recount and retally only the ballots that the election judge accepted and placed in the ballot box at the time they were cast or received, as the case may be.
• After completion of the recount or recheck, the precinct board shall replace the ballots or absentee ballots in the ballot box and lock it, or the voting machines shall be locked and resealed, and the precinct board shall certify to the municipal clerk the results of the recount or recheck. The district judge or the person designated to act for the judge, the county clerk and the municipal clerk shall also certify that the recount or recheck was made in their presence.
• Immediately upon receipt of the certificate of recount or recheck from all the precinct boards making a recount or recheck, the municipal canvassing board shall meet and recanvass the returns for the office in question.
• In making the recanvass, the municipal canvassing board shall be bound by the certificates of recount or recheck from the precinct boards instead of the original returns from those precinct boards.
• After the recanvass, if it appears that fraud or error has been committed sufficient to change the winner of the election, then the municipal clerk shall revoke the certificate of election already issued to any person for that office and shall issue a certificate of election in favor of the person receiving a plurality of the votes cast at the election as shown by the recount or recheck, and such certificate shall supersede all others and entitle the holder to all of the rights and privileges of the office. The person shall take office after complying with Section 3-8-33 NMSA 1978 with the time to take office running from the date that the new certificate is issued.

View recount certificate of canvass for March 4, 2014, District 3 City Councilor regular municipal election results (searchable PDF).

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