GRANTS, NM – Coffee with the Manager’s for the month of June saw a slight difference on how it is structured. Managers invited the three clerks to this month’s meeting to give an overview on their duties and struggles as clerks as well as to highlight their roles in elections and how this year’s primary election went.
City Clerk Frances Salas, who has been the city clerk for the city for three years, spoke about the duties that she is responsible for as the city clerk. The city clerk is under the supervision of the city manager, and they work for the city council and the mayor and assist them with information. As the city manager Salas’s main priority is to collect and record all of the city’s information accurately and clearly for the citizens of Grants.
Salas assists citizens and directs them to the various departments that they would like information from. Salas is the designated records custodian, she collects and disperses all information to the citizen who request it, which includes the knowledge of different laws with timeliness and accuracy. Salas is one of the directors of the cemetery, she organizes all the burials at the Grants Memorial Park and works with funeral homes across the entire country in organizing burials for families. She collects Lodgers’ Tax; she oversees and directs the Lodgers’Tax program and collects and allocates the money for the City of Grants. Salas oversees the business registrations, liquor and cannabis licensures for the city. She is also in charge of all the appointments for the city and keeps track of the expiration dates and appointments of the advisory board and the city council, announces all the meetings and makes sure they are in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. The clerks are also in charge of the elections, but the city has now opted to allow the county to assist them in their elections.
Village Clerk Denise Baca, who has been the village clerk for the Village of Milan for seven years. She said that she has about the same duties as Salas except for the duties of the cemetery. Baca oversees projects as the project’s coordinator. She said they don’t have much Lodgers’ Tax due to them only having one RV Park. Baca said, “It’s been fun, we have a great team in Milan...”
County Clerk Michelle Dominquez, for the county they have two separate departments. They deal with reporting and filing as well as elections. They have their daily reporting mortgages, deeds, marriage licenses, probate, business licenses and liquor licenses that they deal with around the year following election season. Dominquez said, “There’s no way that I would be able to do it [by myself]… I would not look this good without my employees.”
When it comes to the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) Salas said that the city has seen an increase in the number of requests to inspect records. She said that they have seen an increase of about 40 percent. Salas said, “It is getting overwhelming.” Baca said that they have not seen an increase in IPRA requests and they only receive about one to two a month. Dominquez said that they have seen a slight increase in IPRA requests.
County Manager Kate Fletcher announced two individuals who won in the Primary Election. Natalie Grine won for Cibola County Clerk and Joanne Martinez won for Cibola County Treasurer.
Fletcher asked Dominquez various questions regarding the primary elections and elections in general. The first question was, “Are the people who work in the polls trained and how much do they get paid?” Dominquez responded that yes, the individuals who worked in the polls are trained, the presiding judges are paid $400 for one day and poll workers, judges and clerks are paid $300 for one day, and the early voting workers get paid $14 an hour. Fletcher said that it has been more and more difficult to find poll workers and election workers due and they have attempted to pay these individuals more to find workers, but it is still quite difficult.
The county clerk’s office said that they were asked questions regarding addresses about candidates. The clerk’s office is in charge of going through a process to collect this information and disperse it to the public, which includes asking the candidate if they are okay with that type of information being public. Upon giving the information to the person who asked, according to the clerk’s office they were told, “I already have it, I just wanted to see how worthless you guys are.” The clerk’s office says that they have to deal with requests such as this nearly every day.
The clerk’s office is also always having to change how they conduct elections due to new laws being passed nearly every year. The major law that was recently passed was a law that allows concealed carry weapons in polling locations. Fletcher said that they have worked with all of their polling locations and officers to discuss what to do when it comes to concealed carry weapons and how they will report if they see a weapon in a polling location.
The county clerk’s office spoke about same day voter registration. Same day voter registration takes roughly about 15 minutes before the individual is able to vote. In order to register individuals will need to bring one of the following, a New Mexico driver’s license, any document that contains an address in the county with a photo identification card, or a current valid student photo identification card from a post-secondary educational institution in New Mexico accompanied by a current student fee statement that contains the student’s address in the county.
An issue that the county had during same day registration in Ramah. In Ramah there were issues regarding addresses not matching up, when the poll workers asked the individuals their addresses to confirm their identity. When it comes to 911 and Dispatch, they determine a location based on GPS points on a map and where they are located in their precinct. This information goes to the state to divide precincts. Each entity uploads their own data to the state which is utilized in various ways including elections. If an entity has not updated their data, it can affect individuals in many ways including during elections. Without the correct information being uploaded 911 and dispatch have no idea where an individual lives and for elections the state has no idea who is supposed to be on their ballots. Currently across the county they are working towards updating address information including in Cibola County. Fletcher said that they don’t want the same thing that occurred in Ramah to occur during the general election. She said that they are reaching out to different agencies to find a solution for this issue and what they are trying to bring those that are working for the election as well as those who work on the addresses in the same building to help make sure the addresses match up with each department and entity.
Flecher asked if the county owns the election machines and how they hold them for the year. Dominquez responded that the state owns the election machines and they are stored in a warehouse. The warehouse is temperature controlled and they have eyes on them at all times and security. Each time an individual enters the warehouse, even if they are an election worker, county manager, etc., they must sign in. Fletcher said that it has become stricter and stricter every year when it comes to the election machines and ballots.
Flecher asked the clerk regarding the law against campaigning within 100 feet of a polling location entrance. Dominquez said if an individual is campaigning within 100 feet then they could be arrested. Fletcher also spoke about speaking to law enforcement regarding intimidation. According to Dominquez they cannot have an officer stationed at a polling location because it is considered intimidation. The county clerk’s office has a meeting with the Sheriff’s Department, Grants Police Department, Milan Police Department, and the State Police Department regarding intimidation, how to avoid it, and being aware of what the law is.