Some Final Election Clean-up,Then Finally Moving On

It was more than a month ago that we began dedicating our hour of public television each week to the 2026 General Election. We spent Friday after Friday speaking to the twelve candidates running in the biggest New Mexico elections, debating arguably the most consequential constitutional amendment of the bunch, and finally taking you into the field on election night and breaking down the long-awaited and ultimately history-making results. 
Our short-staffed team dug deep to get it done and I hope you felt NMiF served you well in paying attention to and understanding how the election played out in New Mexico. But it did mean we had to set aside countless other topics and important happenings. So, we’re excited to finally have the time to cast a wider net over New Mexico news — and I imagine those of you who don’t find politics particularly enthralling are relieved to start hearing about well, pretty much anything else. 
And you will this week! After, forgive me, some brief clean-up on the election aisle that we felt was needed to really complete this six-week task. 
As you may know, especially if you were watching election results roll in, early voting totals from Bernalillo County — where a third of the state’s voters live — were significantly delayed on election night. County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh, by law, could have posted them as soon as polls closed at 7 p.m., but she didn’t. She waited another three hours or so, until a long line at the UNM polling site, where the same-day voter registration option was particularly popular, had finally cleared, and everyone had officially cast their vote. 
The Democratic clerk received considerable pushback for her decision, including from some within her own party concerned over the implications for transparency and democracy. And with New Mexico on the brink of holding the fourth Democratic presidential primary in the country in 2028 — when far more will be anxiously awaiting the results — we wanted to hear from the clerk about why she made the decision she did and whether it’s something we can expect from her when the stakes are even higher. 
And with that final election loose end tied up, we move on this week to other important topics that we’ve been dying to get to. New Mexico Voices for Children’s Executive Director Gabrielle Uballez comes by to talk about the organization’s “Children’s Roadmap” report, what it uncovered about the systems that support the well-being of New Mexico’s youngest, and how the state could do better by its kids. We’ll also commemorate Veterans’ Day this week with a look at the state of benefits and services for New Mexico vets in the face of federal cuts and backlogs at the VA. 
Thanks for staying focused through weeks of election coverage, and for joining us tonight as we wrap it all up and start to widen our lens again.

-Nash Jones, Host