Conspiracy theories erupt into screams and threats as New Mexico counties certify vote

Otero County, N.M., Commissioner Couy Griffin stands outside the federal court.

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and MORGAN LEE

Associated Press

June 17, 2022 Updated 5:08 PM PT

ALBUQUERQUE — Commissioners in a New Mexico county have certified the results from their primary election after a standoff over election integrity that was fueled by conspiracy theories about the security of voting equipment.

Otero County commissioners opted 2-1 to certify the results during an emergency meeting as New Mexico counties faced a deadline Friday for certification of the vote. The two who voted to certify said they had no choice under state law and could be only a rubber stamp.

The commissioners also acknowledged an order by the state Supreme Court and subsequent threats of legal action by the state attorney general, who is a Democrat.

Although there has been no evidence of fraud, the actions by the commission in rural Otero County had threatened to disenfranchise more than 7,300 voters in the politically conservative area of southern New Mexico.

The commissioners earlier had refused to certify the results, prompting the state’s top election official to seek court intervention.

New Mexico’s primary ballot included races at all levels — including Congress, governor, attorney general and a long list of local offices. Those races would not have been official until all counties are certified.

“We note that the commission admitted that they did not have any facts to support not certifying the election results,” New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said after the vote. “It’s unfortunate that we had to take action to make sure Otero County voters were not disenfranchised.”

Deep-seated conspiracy theories about the security of voting machines erupted into angry and at times threatening outbursts Friday as New Mexico counties decided whether to certify results from their recent primary, underscoring the depths of an election crisis that officials fear is foreshadowing darker times for the nation’s democracy.

In one politically conservative county, residents greeted their three county commissioners with screams and vitriol as they met to consider certification. As the frustrated Torrance County commissioners indicated they were going to vote to certify their election, the audience shouted, “Shame on you,” “Cowards and traitors,” and, “Who elected you?”

The commissioners pleaded with the audience for patience and said concerns about alleged election vulnerabilities would be addressed.

“The time and place to fight this battle is not by canvassing this election,” Chairman Ryan Schwebach told the crowd.

Certifying elections by typically under-the-radar local commissions has been a routine task for decades that has become politicized ever since former President Trump sought to undermine the process after his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

A rural, heavily Republican New Mexico county thrust the issue into the spotlight this week when its commission refused to certify results from the June 7 primary because of concerns over Dominion voting systems, even though there was no evidence of problems.

The controversy that began in Otero County boiled over Friday as commissions in the last of the state’s 33 counties met to decide whether to certify results.

The showdown provided a stark example of the chaos that election experts have warned about as those who promote the lie that Trump was cheated out of reelection seek to populate election offices across the country and the usually low-profile boards that certify the results.

The New Mexico Supreme Court this week ordered Otero County to sign off on the election results after the secretary of state asked it to intervene. The state attorney general, also a Democrat, then threatened more legal action if the Republican-dominated commission did not comply with the law.

That could include charging commissioners with possible violations of state election and government ethics laws, which can be felonies if the action is willful and result in removal from office.

At least one of the three Otero County commissioners was unfazed. Commissioner Couy Griffin told CNN that he was not planning to vote for certification.

“Why have a commission if we just get overridden by the court system?” he said.

It was not immediately clear what would happen next if Otero and any other county refuses to certify its results.

New Mexico’s primary ballot included races at all levels — including Congress, governor, attorney general and a long list of local offices. Those races won’t be official until all counties are certified, which leaves candidates and their campaigns in limbo.

The developments can be traced to far-right conspiracy theories over voting machines that have spread across the country over the past two years. Various Trump allies have claimed that Dominion voting systems had somehow been manipulated as part of a scheme to steal the election.

There is no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting equipment that could have affected the outcome of the 2020 election.

Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits, including against Fox News, and in a statement this week said the action by the Otero County commissioners was “yet another example of how lies about Dominion have damaged our company and diminished the public’s faith in elections.”

Election officials outside New Mexico are taking notice. The secretary of state’s office said Friday that it has been flooded with calls from officials concerned that certification controversies will become a new front in the attacks on democratic norms and could affect elections, especially in 2024.

Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes, a Republican in her fourth term as the county’s lead election administrator, told the Associated Press that the June 7 election was conducted without problems. Machine tallies at 16 voting centers each matched the number of ballots that were handed out.

“The primary went off without a hitch,” she said. “It was a great election.”

So far, all but four of the state’s 33 counties have certified their results, and no other county officials have said publicly that they intend to vote against certification.

Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque and is the state’s most populous, unanimously certified its results earlier Friday. Commissioners agreed they saw no evidence of problems during the primary, but Commissioner Walt Benson acknowledged that a lot of people just don’t trust the system.

In Otero County, two of the three commissioners need to vote in the affirmative to certify the results.

Griffin is scheduled Friday to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after being convicted of entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds — though not the building — during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

State election officials advised the sentencing judge of Griffin’s refusal to certify primary election results in New Mexico.