CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – A District Court judge in Grants, New Mexico, has ordered changes to the 2026 primary ballot in State House District 6 after finding that candidate Leonardo J. Torrez, a Democrat from San Rafael, did not submit enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary.
The case, David Alcon v. Natalie Grine, et al. (court file D-1333-CV202600081), was filed March 20 as an expedited Election Code contest challenging the nominating petitions submitted by Torrez. This hearing was held March 30 in the 13th Judicial District Court before Judge Amanda Sanchez Villalobos.
What the Judge Found
Before the court could even begin, David Alcon – a Democrat running for the same House District 6 seat as Torrez – requested a continuance the day of the hearing. Judge Amanda Sanchez Villalobos denied that request, but granted an order allowing Alcon to appear virtually.
The court’s review focused on whether voters who signed Torrez’s nominating petition were actually residents of House District 6. The court hearing was held March 30.
The Cibola Citizen was present during the hearing, where parties reviewed the petition list name-by-name and identified 48 signatures that were found invalid because the signers were not House District 6 residents. With those signatures removed, Torrez fell below the minimum number of valid signatures required to qualify for the ballot, and the judge ordered that Torrez be removed from the ballot.
Torrez did not dispute the court’s findings during the hearing.
Although the judge ruled from the bench, the Cibola County Clerk’s Office as of press deadline had not received a signed written order from the judge, this is legally required before any official changes can be made to the candidate list or ballot preparation.
As of the newspaper’s deadline, the Cibola County Clerk’s office had not received the signed order.
This step is a normal part of the court process: the ruling must be reduced to a written order, signed, and entered before election officials can act.
A Day of Court
That was not Alcon’s only virtual court matter unfolding that day.
Monday’s court proceedings also unfolded against the backdrop of a separate, unrelated criminal case involving Alcon in Grants Magistrate Court
In State of New Mexico v. David Alcon (court file M-61-FR202600045), filed March 20 in Grants Magistrate Court. Alcon is charged with stalking (second offense or subsequent), a fourth-degree felony, and making a false report of a violation of the criminal code, a misdemeanor. The charge dates listed in the court record are March 1.
Court records show that Alcon filed a motion to quash a warrant issued by the magistrate court for Alcon and that the motion was denied.
A criminal complaint is an allegation, not a conviction. As with all defendants, Alcon is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The Cibola Citizen emailed Alcon seeking comment on both the ballot challenge and the criminal case but had not received a response by deadline.
What This Means for House District 6 Voters
If the written order is filed and implemented, the Democratic primary field in House District 6 will be reduced by one candidate.
Voters can monitor official updates through the Cibola County Clerk’s Office and the state’s voter information resources. As election season continues, the Cibola Citizen will continue tracking court filings, candidate changes, and ballot updates that affect Cibola County voters.