A rural New Mexico county’s initial denial to approve its primary election results sent surges across the country last week. It is a symbol of how even the most essential functions of democracy have become politicized pressure points amid the whirl of lies originating from the 2020 presidential outcome. However, after Otero County Commission finally conceded, one question has prevailed. Why is New Mexico a state that has not been a political battleground and where Joe Biden beat Donald Trump effortlessly two years ago?
Table of Contents
New Mexico county Refuses to Certify Midterm Election Results
The origins of the short-lived election crisis, which ended among a showdown with the secretary of state and an order from the New Mexico Supreme Court planted months before, when lawyer David Clements achieved prominence in conventional circles, and others began boosting the conspiracy theories and false claims about the last presidential election that can overwhelm political discussion in the Republican county.
It is not just about Otero County. The local election administration is in the crosshairs of conspiracy theorists, and Clements is also involved in the effort. Throughout country, supporters and allies of former President Donald Trump have been meeting with local officials instilling doubts about the 2020 election and seeking access to voting gear, and pressing for changes that would upend election administration in their counties.The effort was directed at security violations of voting equipment and, in New Mexico, the mess wrapping what has historically been a regular task.
A former election official David Levine said in an interview! “There are a lot of more sincere people, and some are less sincere, and some have rushed to fulfill the demand to provide evidence of the fraud that Trump created.
There was no overall fraud in the 2020 presidential election that could have changed the outcome. Before the November. 3, 2020, elections. Trump was conveying to his supporters that fraud was the only way he could lose re-election, signifying mostly and without evidence of the expansion of mail-in voting during the pandemic.
But, there is no evidence to support the claims. They were disregarded by a number of of judges, by former President Donald Trump’s then-attorney general, and by a coalition of federal and state election and cybersecurity officials who called the 2020 presidential vote the “most secure” in U.S. history. However, it hasn’t stopped the false claims from increasing, driven by a group of the former President’s supporters who appear at many of the same events and contend with each other regularly.
Clements, a former assistant district attorney in southern New Mexico, he is popular on social media, especially on Telegram. He frequently incorporates pronouncements about democracy with scripture and prayer. He traveled the country speaking with local government boards, at conventional routines, and to church groups.
He was at the “cyber symposium” last year held by Mike Lindell, an avid supporter of Trump who has sought to prove voting machines are exploited to select Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, in a video, Clements chatted with Jim Marchant, a Trump loyalist from Nevada. He contends that elections are falsified. Marchant recently won the Republican primary for secretary of state, Nevada’s top elections position.
He is the organizer of a group of “America First” nominees this year who either rejects the outcome of the 2020 presidential election or facilitates the idea that elections in the U.S. are unscrupulous. They also discussed the “county commission strategy” that involves emphasizing the local officials to get rid of the “cheat” machines so that all ballots are not only cast by hand but also counted by hand.
Also Read: Who won and who lost in Tuesday’s primary elections
Experts say that hand counting of ballots is less precise and high labor-intensive, potentially delaying results by weeks if not months. They also concluded that the voting machines are tested before and after elections to ensure ballots are read and computed correctly. Clements was exhilarated about the development and promised to push counties to do the same in the home state of New Mexico, where he once sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Clements planned to visit an event in Louisiana with Douglas Frank, another Lindell associate who has been traveling the country meeting with state and local officials. In May 2021, Frank met with members of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and proposed to survey their voting procedures, bragging he’s been working with county officials in 22 states.
Latest Updates and results from the June 28 primaries
JB Pritzker emerged victorious in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Illinois and is now up against Trump-endorsed Darren Baily in November. Kevin Stitt also emerged victorious in the Oklahoma primary, and now will face Democrat Joy Hofmeinster in the upcoming midterms. Joe O’Dea faced a defeat in Colorado’s Republican Senate primary.
