I write in response to the Oct. 16, 2012, Grant County Beat front-page article titled "Voters on Election Day will find only "convenience" centers."
According to that article, "Voters in this election should be aware that the precinct polling places that they have used for years to cast their ballots on Election Day will NOT be open this year."
That's not quite how I understand it. What I understand is that the Grant County Clerk has, with approval of the Grant County Commissioners, decided to not conduct polling on Nov. 6 at 21 of the 35 traditional Election Day polling places in Grant County. If so, that leaves 14 of the traditional precinct polling places open for Nov. 6 voting this year as in the past. Is this not accurate?
Also, I don't understand how voters and political party representatives "were not given the opportunity to express their opinions on the issue" in 2010 when the legislation allowing county commissions throughout the state to designate Convenience Centers for voting was introduced, debated, and voted on. As far as I am aware, New Mexicans of all political persuasions are free to comment to their heart's content on any matter before the state legislature. In addition, New Mexicans can also use the referendum process under our state's Constitution to disapprove, suspend and annul any law enacted by the legislature (with some exceptions, which in this case do not apply). That's a difficult process to go through for sure, but Grant County citizens simply have the right, do they not, to tell their commissioners and county clerk that they do not want them to use the optional convenience center voting model? If that model is optional, which I believe it is, and if a majority of GC residents don't want it used, then wouldn't the Commissioners and County Clerk be inclined to continue to use the traditional precinct voting location system?
Another question: If the reason behind this legislation was "ostensibly" to save money, as the article states, please don't leave me guessing what the actual reason was. If you have that information, just spell it out, otherwise the story's credibility takes a hit and I remain an uninformed reader and citizen.
To be clear, I am not in favor of these voting convenience centers, at least not in their current form. I am also deeply disappointed in the absence of an aggressive effort by the County Clerk to inform voters of his closing (with the blessing of the GC commissioners) of 60% of the traditional precinct polling places. It seems to me that for many county residents there is a high probability that the first awareness that their normal voting place has been shuttered will be when they show up there to vote as they've done in the past. Which then begs the question, how many of those will then travel to one of the new voting Convenience Centers and how will they know where they are? Also, many voters have always walked to their precinct voting site. If they don't have their own transportation, how are they supposed to get to their closest Convenience Center?
And what about longer than usual lines at the Convenience Centers on Election Day because of the closing of most of the precinct voting sites? Will that serve to dissuade citizens from participating in the election process?
It also seems that while there may be some cost savings to a county to run elections using the Convenience Center model, there are many economic and others costs to the community that may indeed well offset whatever benefits the county thinks may be gained to them by this new system. Has anyone really analyzed all of the costs and other considerations of the voting Convenience Centers compared with the same for the traditional precinct polling places?
And don't even get me started on the extremely sorry state of Grant County's website, which is sorely in need of major updating.
For instance, the only viable link to information about the Nov. 6, 2012 election is a small font-sized and easily-missed link at the very top of their main web page. That link goes to a page explaining that there will be "SIX (6) centrally located Voting Convenience Centers in Grant County" for the Nov. 6 Election Day. Nowhere on this page, or anywhere else on the GC website that I could find, is there any mention that 21 of the traditional precinct polling places will be closed to voting on Election Day.
There is also a tiny link to "Elections" under "County Departments" in the left sidebar of their main webpage-which when you click on takes you to a blank webpage with a three-sentence Copyright notice. Huh?
In fact, there is way more space on the County's main webpage devoted to their 2009 notice on "Important rabies information" then there is about the Nov. 6 election.
Even though we are now facing a very short time frame to the Nov. 6 election, I encourage the County Clerk and County Commissioners to do all that they possibly can to get the word out to all county residents about the closing of most of the precinct polling locations and the opening of the new Convenience Centers.
And while I'm at it, Grant County, please revamp your sorry website so that it's an up-to-date, important, and meaningful resource for the community.
Walter "Ski" Szymanski
Silver City
Letter to Editor on voting "convenience" centers
- Category: Editorials
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