'We would have liked to see the outdated language removed to give voters clarity,' Babaak Parcham, a spokesman for Keller said in a statement after the bill's failure. Jones and Harris opposed the bill, while Bassan was not present for the vote. 'Repealing the voter identification requirement would clarify for voters that this is no longer a requirement for voting in regular local elections in the City of Albuquerque,' Keller wrote in an April 13 memo urging the update.īenton and Klarissa Peña co-sponsored the bill at the mayor's request, and voted for it along with Borrego, Davis, Gibson and Sena. The city charter's photo ID provision was not enforced during the first such election, which took place in 2019, according to Chris Melendrez, acting council services director. The city opted into the state's Local Election Act in 2018, which consolidates city elections - for positions like mayor and councilor - with other local races. It allows voters to verbally confirm their identification. Keller recommended repealing the language, noting in a memo to council President Cynthia Borrego that state law does not require photo ID at the polls. Keller's proposal to strike that requirement failed before the City Council, getting only six of the seven votes needed.

PICTURE ID AT THE POLLS: An Albuquerque city charter provision requiring photo identification when voting in municipal elections will remain on the books even though it is not currently being enforced. None of the four councilors who had voted against the ballot question last month changed their position.

The same five councilors who supported the proposal when it passed last month - Brook Bassan, Benton, Pat Davis, Diane Gibson and Trudy Jones - voted to overturn the veto, but six votes are required to succeed. The narrow council majority that passed the bill in May was not sufficient to overcome Keller's action. Mayor Tim Keller last week vetoed the City Council-approved legislation that would have put a 2-cent gas tax on the 2022 ballot, and his decision is going to stand.

VETO STANDS: It seems Councilor Isaac Benton's gasoline tax bill has reached the end of the road. While the potential IDO decision garnered the most attention during Monday's meeting - and was central to nearly every comment during the meeting's hourlong public-comment period - there were several other matters on the Monday agenda.ĭetails on the proposed IDO amendments (considered the document's 2020 update), including cannabis-related proposals, are available here. Councilor Pat Davis stressed the need for local zoning clarity before the state in July starts accepting applications for cannabis licenses, while Councilor Trudy Jones noted that the cannabis regulations are just one component of a much larger process that requires completion - the annual update of the city's Integrated Development Ordinance.Īfter an extensive (have I mentioned yet it took a very long time?) discussion, the council ultimately agreed to hold a special meeting on the IDO on June 17, with members noting that unresolved issues from that meeting can flow forward to the city's regularly scheduled June 21 session. While Sena and Councilor Don Harris pushed for a longer delay to enable additional public input and explore certain legal questions, others urged the council not to drag it out too long.

Jessica dyer albuquerque journal