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Doña Ana officials count remaining ballots, as CD-2 result remains stalled

Danielle Prokop | November 7

Voters in Doña Ana County may have experienced long lines at the polls on Election Day, but it is the over 8,000 absentee ballots that are currently overwhelming county officials, delaying final results. Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin said the county had “triple to quadruple the amount of absentee ballots this year” compared to both 2014 and 2016. She said the Absent Voter Board (AVB) — the independent seven-member body appointed for two years to tabulate absentee ballots — had been expecting a smaller volume of “around 2,000 or 3,000 ballots.” López Askin said there are approximately 8,000 absentee ballots in total, plus any walk-ins that were dropped off at the County Clerk’s Office and other polling locations Tuesday before the polls closed.

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Democrats sweep statewide elections in New Mexico

Kyle Land and Madison Spratto | November 7

Democratic candidates stole the night in New Mexico state elections, taking a variety of seats of all sizes and significances. Over 680,000 people voted in the 2018 Midterm Elections in New Mexico, a 24 percent increase over the last midterms in 2014. While Democrats won seats in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor's seat, they also won variety of statewide elections, securing the Roundhouse's Democratic status going into the January session.

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New Mexico CD-2 still undecided, count will resume Wednesday

Danielle Prokop | November 7

While multiple outlets called the Congressional District 2 race a victory for Republican candidate Yvette Herrell, there was still no winner at the end of Election Day. According to a statement by the Office of the Secretary of State, over 4,000 absentee ballots remain uncounted, and the process will resume at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The press release was updated at 1:38 a.m. to include approximately an additional 4,000 absentee ballots that have been counted and will be posted at the conclusion of Wednesday’s process “for an approximate aggregate total of eight-thousand” ballots.

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Grisham wins governor's race to cap off New Mexico's blue wave

Gabriella Rivera and Justin Garcia | November 7

The New Mexico Governor’s seat became blue once more on Tuesday night when Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham won decisively against Republican opponent Steve Pearce thus ending eight years of Republican control over the Governor's seat. According to the New Mexico Secretary of State website, Grisham was leading Pearce by over 13 percent with over 800 precincts reporting at the time this article was published.

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Heinrich easily wins reelection to Senate

Cameron Goeldner and Megan Holmen | November 7

Martin Heinrich retained his Senate seat on Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Mick Rich and Libertarian Gary Johnson to earn a second term. According to a poll by the Albuquerque Journal, Heinrich was predicted to win by 21 percent. Libertarian candidate and former Governor of New Mexico Johnson was only predicted to earn 16 percent of the vote. With 876 precincts reporting, Heinrich was leading with 53 percent of the vote. Rich was in second with 31.60 percent, and Johnson was a distant third with 15.36 percent, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State website.

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Haaland wins, becomes one of first Native American congresswomen

Tom Hanlon and Anthony Jackson | November 7

Deb Haaland was elected as the representative for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District Tuesday night. She became the first Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, beating out Republican Janice Arnold-Jones and Libertarian Lloyd Princeton. Sharice Davis won her race in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, making her and Haaland the first two Native American congresswomen.

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Libertarians come up empty in New Mexico elections

Megan Holmen | November 7

While Democrats and Republicans each held their watch parties in sizable hotels, Libertarians met at Blue Agave Republic, a bar in Albuquerque. The small group of candidates gathered around televisions and snacked on a cornucopia of finger food, as none of their candidates were elected to office in 2018. Gary Johnson, Lloyd Princeton, Ginger Grider and A. Blair Dunn were some of the Libertarian candidates running for office.

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Bilingual church service held at the border

Anthony Jackson and Justin Garcia | November 5

Shrubs dot the southern New Mexico landscape. Their dry roots cling to life atop the hills and between the steep ravines of the seemingly endless Chihuahuan Desert. A long shadow stretches across this barren landscape. A rusted fence divides the United States of America and Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Knowing no bounds, a breeze passes freely through the fence and the distant, shrill call of a hawk can be heard.

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Three Democratic candidates hold rally at UNM

Justin Garcia | November 5

Sen. Martin Heinrich, Deb Haaland and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, all favored to win their respective races on Tuesday, came to the University of New Mexico to rally votes as the 2018 midterm elections come to a close. The rally was held in the Student Union Building on Thursday, and was organized by UNM College Democrats.

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Jewish student organization hosts voting party

Tom Hanlon | November 4

The University of New Mexico Hillel student organization hosted a non-partisan voting party in the Student Union Building called MitzVote on Thursday. The event was held to encourage students and the public to vote, and highlighting the voting the process as something to celebrate. “Voting can be scary and it’s scary for young voters who see the political climate we have now,” said Zoe Wiesel, a member of Hillel and senior studying geology. “And making it fun and accessible and something celebrate is a better approach than the normal shouting to get people to vote.”

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Crime briefs for Nov. 5, 2018

Elizabeth Sanchez | November 4

When the officer arrived, dispatch received a call stating the male was yelling he had a gun. Over the radio, the officer asked for assistance at Ortega Hall and notified other officers there was a possible firearm.

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UNM receives grant to study diabetic blindness

Anthony Jackson | November 4

The University of New Mexico received a $2.8 million grant in September from the National Institutes of Health to study diabetic blindness, also known as diabetic retinopathy. According to Dr. Arup Das, the the division chief in the Ophthalmology Division at UNM Hospital, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in Americans aged 20 to 64. There are two types of diabetic blindness, Das said. There is mild diabetic retinopathy and moderate diabetic retinopathy.

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Speech and debate team hosts speaking tournament

Luisa Pennington | November 4

The newly established University of New Mexico Speech and Debate team hosted the UNM Lobo Howl on Saturday Nov. 3 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Judged by UNM student volunteers, New Mexico high school students were welcomed to compete in the tournament to win from a variety of awards. The tournament offered 10 events for students to compete in, including extemporaneous speaking and student congressional debate. A total of 18 New Mexico high schools participated, making the total amount of attendees over 180 participants. Awards were given out to the top three competitors of each category.

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New interim Dean of Fine Arts discusses her career

Justin Garcia | November 4

Her cluttered office glows with a burnt-orange hue. Binders of music sheets, books of children's songs and a mini fridge fill up this otherwise cozy office. Yet, everything here has its place. This is the academic office of Dr. Regina Carlow. She is set to become the interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts, according to interim Provost Richard Wood. The position opened after the previous dean, Kymberly Pinder, accepted a position as provost and senior vice president at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, according to University of New Mexico Newsroom.

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Dueling pianos play in the SUB

Tiffani Watteyne | November 2

On Oct. 30 in the Student Union Building the Dueling Pianos came to the University of New Mexico. It consisted of two pianists, Kirk Garrett from Yosemite, California and Rich Wyman from Allentown, Pennsylvania under the name “Killer Keyz,” each playing their own piano and singing at the request of audience members — though there were duets as well as individual songs sung by the two. The pair has known each other for six years and have been playing together since meeting. This stop at UNM was part of their current fall tour that started Oct. 11 in Riverside, Wyoming.

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LGBTQ Resource Center hosts talk on trans rights

Megan Holmen | November 2

The University of New Mexico’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center hosted “A lunchtime conversation on Transgender rights” in collaboration with Equality New Mexico this past monday. The event shed light on transgender rights in the current political climate, ways to combat transphobia and resources at UNM and the surrounding community. According to the UNM LGBTQ Resource Center website, the center works to create a welcoming health and learning environment on UNM campus for all students. Equality New Mexico is a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. Keynote speakers Adrian Carver, the executive director of Equality New Mexico and Janice Devereaux, LGBTQ Resource Center program assistant discussed the recent federal memo to redefine gender as purely biological.

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Sororities raise money for charity

November 2

The University of New Mexico Panhellenic sorority organizations are organizing fundraisers for their chapter’s philanthropies. Two of UNM’s four Panhellenic Council (PHC) sororities, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Chi Omega, have already had their major fundraising events for the semester. Kappa Kappa Gamma’s fall semester fundraiser “Kappa Karnival” took place last Saturday, Oct. 27 and raised money for the sorority’s philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Reading is Fundamental is the largest non-profit literacy organization in the U.S.

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ASUNM: Finance Committee approves over $2,000 for Christian student group

Justin Garcia | November 1

A piece of legislation and two appropriations were sent through committee Wednesday night during the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico committee meetings. A resolution asserting that solutions to combat sexual violence should be pursued was passed through the Steering and Rules Committee. The resolution's author, Senator Rose Cary, highlighted fixing the broken blue light phones across campus, installing more lights in parking lots around UNM and extending shuttle hours as solutions students would benefit from.

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Africana Studies tries for departmental status

Alyssa Bitsie | November 1

The University of New Mexico’s Africana Studies Program and their unofficial student-organization, Uhuru Sasa: Freedom Now, are pushing for departamental status. While Africana Studies, founded in 1969, was the first ethnic studies program at the University, it is the only one not currently a department. The Program must submit a proposal to be approved by first the UNM Board of Regents Academic/Student Affairs & Research Committee. It then will have to face a full BOR meeting and finally go before the Higher Education Department for approval.

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ASUNM elections to begin soon

Justin Garcia | October 28

Monday, Oct. 29 is the deadline to submit applications to run for Senate of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico. Undergraduate students who want to fill one of the 10 available seats must be enrolled in at least six credit hours, not be under any kind of University probation and have at least a 2.5 GPA. “This is a big election for Senate, ASUNM and UNM as a whole,” said ASUNM Vice President Emily Wilks. “There are so many diverse challenges facing our community right now.”