In a show of interagency support, the Bernalillo Police Department (BPD) has stepped in to support the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) by providing security at the county election warehouse to help manage election resources.
To alleviate the strain on its already short-staffed sheriff’s department, Sandoval County Chief Deputy Clerk Joey Dominguez contacted Bernalillo Police Chief Chris Stoyell for additional security support at the election warehouse, which must be monitored 24 hours a day.
“County’s always been pretty helpful when we need something, so we just try to return the favor,” Stoyell said.
Throughout the month of October, BPD officers spent their off-duty time providing security at the warehouse, covering shifts of eight to 10 hours each day.
According to Dominguez, the county convened the absentee board on Oct. 22 to transfer ballots to the warehouse, which required a 24-hour protection detail that included BPD officers in the rotation. The police department also assisted with traffic flow at the warehouse and along South Hill Road on election night.
Of the 24 officers at the BPD, 12 agreed to help and were compensated under a chief’s overtime agreement at about $60 per hour.
Dominguez also said the Sandoval County website features a new 2024 voter turnout tool that tracks voting participation. During the early voting period, a total of 62,638 registered voters (55.90% of the total of registered voters in Sandoval County) cast their ballots, which includes 51,969 early voters (46.38%) and 10,669 absentee voters (9.52%).