CAPITAL VOTER GAINS

Presiding Judge Jeannie Sena helps Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark register Tuesday morning to cast her own ballot during early voting.

tinues, acknowledging that Vigil Coppler’s advantage in District 4 may be hampered by Webber loyalists who voted for him in 2018.

While Webber has the financial upper hand, Atkeson adds, when “people are angry they like to punish [the incumbent] and that should be good for the challenger.”

Other political analysts believe the high number of voters who turned out for the 2018 mayoral election may not carry over to 2021. Maki suspects fewer voters will turn out this year compared to 2018

That year, voters encountered “an open mayor’s race...and they implemented the new ranked choice voting in 2018. You had five candidates in 2018,” Maki says, citing those factors as contributors to the high rate of participation. “There was a lot of energy and excitement that was coming off with the soda tax vote in 2017. So there were a lot more people engaged.”

Alternatively, coming off the dumpster-fire 2020 election, Maki says people in Santa Fe were heavily invested in kicking the former president out of office: “Sometimes that carries over to the next election as voter fatigue.”

Neri Holguin, a longtime political consultant who worked on Webber’s first run and is currently heading Tim Keller’s re-election bid in Albuquerque, acknowledges this year’s mayoral race in the capital city feels particularly divisive. But she says the tension isn’t new to Santa Fe and has existed in previous years.

She doesn’t expect it will significantly pull out more voters.

“You’re going to see just a lot of the similar voting trends. I mean, things don’t change that dramatically from one election cycle to the next,” Holguin tells SFR, continuing, “You’ll see a similar turnout in terms of parts of the city.”

As for that similar turnout, Holguin projects it will play out in the sitting mayor’s favor. Despite the vocal opposition to the mayor from some groups in the city, Holguin doesn’t expect it to translate into significant gains for Vigil Coppler.

“She is really counting on an anti-Alan vote,” Holguin says. But she explains that Webber’s supporters haven’t abandoned him for his opponents. “What we’re seeing in terms of endorsements and fundraising, there’s not a lot of attrition,” she tells SFR.

Holguin echoes Maki’s predictions of voter fatigue and adds, “We know in municipal elections turnout is lower.” The lack of state or federal issues on the ballot could also contribute to low turnout this election cycle.

Same-day voter registration and balloting: Open through Oct. 15

Residents can vote in-person at the Office of the County Clerk (100 Catron St., 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday).

Expanded early voting: Oct. 16 to Oct. 30.

Voters may register on the same day and vote at several locations, including the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds and Southside library.

There is no voter registration on Election Day, when polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm.

Need a refresher on Ranked Choice Voting? It’s fun and easy. Learn more at:

VoteDifferentSantaFe.com