Ranked Choice Voting to take effect in Las Cruces, Doña Ana County

LAS CRUCES, NM (CBS4) — Early voting starts Tuesday in Las Cruces, but this time, the ballot is going to look different than what voters are used to.

The city, along with the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office, will introduce Ranked Choice Voting for the first time.

This new voting method will allow citizens to rank candidates in order of preference.

In a ranked choice voting election, a candidate will need to earn more than half of the votes to win.

“If none of the candidates after that first round of rankings has 50 percent of the vote plus one, then it goes into an instant runoff,” said Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda Lopez Askin.

This means that the candidate with the fewest amount of votes will be eliminated and voters who picked that candidate as #1 will have their vote counted for their next choice.

This process will continue until a candidate earns the majority and is named the winner.

“We estimate the city of Las Cruces will save approximately $80,000 to $100,000 by not having a subsequent runoff,” said Askin.

Pete Lucero said he got the notice about the new voting method in the mail with his utility bill.

“When I got this in the mail, I was very confused. I read it several times and I still don’t get it,” Lucero said.

Lucero and Denise McConnell said they just want to vote the traditional way.

“I’m hoping that I don’t have to vote that way, that I can just pick one person,” McConnell said.

“If it’s an option to vote the traditional way, that’s what I’m going to be doing this year,” Lucero said.

Askin says voters can still only vote for one person but they won’t be participating in the subsequent run-off election that would normally take place 45 days later.

Early voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Tuesday, at the Doña Ana County Government Center.

Citizens who would like to vote absentee (via mail) must submit an application to request a ballot.

A sample ballot with the new ranked voting method is available here.