Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 20-11: A Resolution Amending Resolution No. 19-08 (A Resolution Designating the Location of Election Day Polling Places for All Statewide and Special Elections Conducted in 2020 and 2021; and Establishing the County Canvassing Board Through the End of 2021) to Reduce the Number of Election Day Polling Places for the November 3, 2020 General Election.
Recommended Action
I move that Council adopt Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 20-11: A Resolution Amending Resolution No. 19-08 (A Resolution Designating the Location of Election Day Polling Places for All Statewide and Special Elections Conducted in 2020 and 2021; and Establishing the County Canvassing Board Through the End of 2021) to Reduce the Number of Election Day Polling Places for the November 3, 2020 General Election.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council adopt Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 20-11.
Body
The County Clerk proposed, and the County Council accepted, the designation of the Betty Ehart Senior Center Downstairs Classroom, 1101 Bathtub Row, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos, 4000 University Drive, Building 6, Room 631, Los Alamos, New Mexico, as the consolidated polling locations for Precincts 8 through 14 for all statewide and special elections conducted in 2020 and 2021 through the adoption of Resolution 19-08 at a public hearing conducted on June 25, 2019.
These consolidated polling locations at the Betty Ehart Senior Center and the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos are the smallest in-room area of the consolidated polling locations in the County, are currently closed due to the pandemic, and pose the highest risk for the spread of COVID-19 due to the difficulty in maintaining appropriate social distancing, as well as meeting other requirements imposed by the Executive Orders and Public Health Orders issued by the Governor of New Mexico and Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Health in response to the current pandemic.
Based on the pandemic the County Council adopted Resolution 20-04, which reduced the number of in-person polling locations in the exact manner this Resolution does; and on May 11, 2020, In the Matter of Polling Places within Los Alamos County, Case No. D-132-CV-2020-00050, the First Judicial District Court issued an order approving the reduction of in-person polling locations for the June 2020 Primary Location in the exact manner as proposed in this resolution.
Further, in order to maximize mail-in ballots in lieu of in-person voting, the County Clerk intends to exercise her authority pursuant to N.M. Stat. Ann. § 1-12-72 to deliver to each mailable voter in the County a mailed ballot application.
Alternatives
The County Council may not adopt this resolution. If Council does not adopt this resolution the consolidated polling locations at the Betty Ehart Senior Center and the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos will be required to be open for in-person voting for the November 3, 2020 General Election.
Attachments
A - Public Hearing Notice for Resolution No. 20-11
B - Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 20-11
C - Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 20-04
D - Order re the Matter of Polling Places Within Los Alamos County, Case No. D-132
CV-2020-00050
E - Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 19-08