Voter registration deadline for general election is set for October 7

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Birdye Abraham has voted in elections, including local and small, local and national, her entire life.

“I feel it is a privilege to vote,” she said. “ I think it is something I need to do for my country.

“Besides, I’m so smart, I think they need to know what I think,” she said laughing.

Robin Webb said she is tired of seeing things go wrong with the country. That is the main reason she will vote in the general election this Nov. 3, which is also the quadrennial election for president.

“The war in Iraq, the way our soldiers are treated when they come home and now with what happened this weekend to Merrill Lynch and Lehmann Brothers collapsing, I feel I have to vote.”

Registration deadline

Cibola County
Voters must be registered no later than Oct. 7 in order to vote in Cibola County, George Trujillo, Cibola County elections coordinator said.

Voters may register in a variety of ways: In person at the Cibola County Clerk’s Office in the county complex at 515 W. High St., or by calling, to have an application sent by mail.

Mail registration to vote must be in the hands of the elections department no later than Oct. 7.

As of late last week, the total number of registered voters in Cibola County was 14,984, which included 2,583 inactive registrations.

McKinley County

Registration to vote must be completed in person no later than Oct. 7 at the McKinley County Courthouse, 207 Hill St., in Gallup, Rick Polachak, McKinley County director of elections said.

“We will accept completed applications for registration through Oct. 10, as long as they have an Oct. 7 postmark,” he said.

In McKinley County there are 36,571 registered voters, of those, 23,525 are Democrat, 6,192 are Republican and 6,744 are other, which includes those who decline to state a political party and parties such as the Green Party.

Early and absentee voting

In Cibola County, there will be early and absentee voting for this election, Trujillo said.

Both of those types of voting are to accommodate people who will not be able to vote in person on election day, for a variety of reasons

There will be four early voting sites, one at the Cibola County Complex, at 515 W. High St., in Grants; and at the building next to the Pueblo of Acoma post office; at the Pueblo of Laguna tribal offices and at the Ramah Navajo Chapter House.

Voters who may wish to vote absentee should contact the elections department at (505) 286-2537.

McKinley County

This year for the first time, a mobile polling vehicle will be used, one week each at Crownpoint and Zuni, Polachak said.

The Crownpoint location, where the mobile vehicle will be located, Oct. 21-15 had not been determined at press time. That information will be published in the Independent when it is announced.

The mobile voting vehicle will be in Zuni Oct. 28- Nov. 1, in front of the Zuni tribal headquarters.

Early voting will also be in Thoreau at the fire station at No. 65, First St.

The mobile early voting vehicle, and Thoreau, will have the same hours as Cibola County’s alternate early voting sites in Acoma, Laguna and Ramah: Noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Nov. 1.

The early voting locations in the Cibola County complex and the McKinley County courthouse, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Both locations will be open on Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Information: Cibola County: (505) 285-2537
McKinley County: (505) 722-4460, or (800) 245-1771.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 285-4560 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.