Ali Ennenga, a Republican candidate for New Mexico House District 44 who lost to incumbent Kathleen Cates in November, has filed an official complaint contesting the results of the election.
According to a press release from Ennenga, the complaint stems from allegations of discrepancies in the number of votes cast and voter participation in the district, which encompasses Rio Rancho and the Village of Corrales.
“The numbers just don’t match,” Ennenga said. “From the confusion created by same-day registration to changes in the provisional ballot numbers after the canvass, there are too many unanswered questions. I am filing this complaint to demand transparency and a hand recount of the ballots.”
The press release said, “These changes, along with SDR-related challenges, cast doubt on the election results and underscore the need for immediate action to ensure fair representation for voters in House District 44.”
Cates won the election against Ennenga with 53% of the votes, with over 1,000 more votes.
According to the release, same-day voter registration “caused widespread chaos on Election Day, especially in Sandoval County.” These challenges were acknowledged by the Secretary of State and the Sandoval County Chief Deputy Clerk, further raising concerns about the accuracy and integrity of the electoral process.
The Sandoval County Commission, acting as the Election Canvassing Board, approved the certification of the General Election results Nov. 15 with a vote of 4-1. The decision was made despite errors that resulted in noncompliance of two state statutes due to delays in reporting and the disqualification of 117 provisional ballots.
During the canvassing, Sandoval County Chief Deputy Clerk Joey Dominguez presented the Bureau of Elections report to certify the election results and acknowledged mistakes during the election process, including his own, attributing the errors to serious staff shortages and fatigue from extended work hours.
Commissioner Jay Block was the sole opposing vote, expressing concerns about the errors and compliance with regulations, but he did support the election bureau and the staff.
The county failed to comply with two state statutes. First, it did not report election night results by precinct, including total votes for each candidate or question, as required. Instead, results were categorized by voting method. Second, the county clerk failed to meet the legal obligation to report precinct vote totals to the Secretary of State on election night.
Election Day errors included failing to upload results from one precinct after a poll worker mishandled a tabulator memory card, corrupting the data. Additionally, two early voting tabulators were deployed without proper seals and 32 provisional ballots were disqualified due to improper handling by the absentee board.
According to Dominguez, of the 79,894 votes counted in Sandoval County, 316 were disqualified outright due to issues such as incomplete same-day registration processes or missing information on ballot envelopes.
The total votes included 380 overseas voters, 51,965 early voting ballots, 16,668 Election Day ballots, 10,751 absentee ballots and 427 provisional ballots.
The most significant issue was the mishandling of 149 provisional ballots.
Dominguez admitted to providing incorrect instructions to the absentee board, causing ballots to be separated from their envelopes. This breach of protocol violated the chain of custody, making it impossible to verify or challenge individual votes. Consequently, all 149 ballots were disqualified.
“Ennenga is urging voters and concerned citizens to demand accountability from election officials,” according to the press release. “She encourages supporters to stay engaged and to advocate for fair and transparent practices in all elections.”