Seek to resolve inequalities in future elections

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation filed a Complaint and a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order against the Arizona Secretary of State and the officials of Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties the week of Nov. 19, seeking to protect the voting rights of Navajo citizens in the November 2018 election and seeking to resolve voter inequalities in future elections.

The Temporary Restraining Order sought a slight delay of the certification of the results of the 2018 election in order to allow Navajo Nation members time to cure their early ballots rejected for a lack of a signature on the ballot envelope or a mismatched signature.

After the...

ALBUQUERQUE – Attorney General Hector Balderas announced the successful disbursement of more than $60,000 to New Mexico Legal Aid Nov. 13.

The funding is the result of unclaimed funds paid by a defendant in a recently concluded case, and will be redistributed by court order to help New Mexico Legal Aid support the legal needs of New Mexicans.

“Protecting the rights of vulnerable New Mexicans has always been a top priority for my office, and I am pleased the funding that we recovered will be used for that purpose,” Balderas said. “New Mexico Legal Aid offers a vital service; providing legal guidance and representation to New Mexicans without the means to pay for it...

First Democrat elected to state’s Senate since 1988

Nearly a week after election day, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won the Arizona Senate seat Nov. 12, defeating Republican candidate Martha McSally.

The race was officially called after a tight run between Sinema and McSally. Sinema won by about 1.7 percentage points.

This is the first Democratic win for an open Senate seat in Arizona since 1976. Sinema, a former social worker, is Arizona’s first female senator and the first Democrat elected by the state’s Senate in 30 years.

All eyes are on Governor-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham.

With about two months until the legislative session starts and just weeks until she takes office, speculation and rumors about how she’ll run the state are growing. Lujan Grisham will appoint new department heads for the state agencies, but she has another list of important appointments to make shortly after taking office.

Lujan Grisham will also have to fill state judicial vacancies and a New Mexico Senate seat in southern New Mexico as she takes office in January. During her campaign, Lujan Grisham also said she would like to see all new members of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents.

Judicial seats

Earlier this...