Deadly Roswell flood destroys polling place in reminder of climate change threats to voting

People leave Roswell Mall on Oct. 28, 2024, where one of Chaves County’s early voting sites is located. Chaves County had to ask a judge to move one of its election sites on Election Day after storms and deadly flooding hit the city of Roswell last week, a reminder of the impact climate disasters have on elections. (Daniel Prokop / Source, New Mexico)

ROSWELL – When a deadly, record-breaking storm flooded Roswell Earlier this month, it not only destroyed homes and businesses, but also disabled a voting center on Election Day.

The city conference hall was flooded with water and covered in mud. That has forced Chaves County Clerk Cindy Fuller to seek a new polling place for Nov. 5, which requires permission from a judge. Fifth Judicial District Judge Dustin Hunter signed the request, and the vote will now take place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church rather than at the Roswell Convention and Community Center.

“We wanted to keep it pretty much in the same area,” Fuller said.

Early voting was already happening across the state and the convention center was not being used for it. But the disaster, just weeks before the last day of voting, has become a harsh reality in New Mexico and beyond as climate change poses a threat to the right to vote.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s office is asking lawmakers to pass legislation to better prepare for and respond to the threat of climate disasters, said Alex Kurtas, a spokesman for the state elections agency.

The exact language of any proposed legislation to respond to climate threat scenarios is in a “nascent stage,” he said, but is scheduled to be advanced during New Mexico’s 60-day 2025 legislative session, which begins in January.

Currently, all changes to county elections—such as moving polling places—must be approved by a county judge before they take effect. Neither state election officials nor counties can take such a step without court approval, Kurtas said.

The state has taken some steps to prepare and communicate between county clerks, the state board of elections and emergency management personnel, Kurtas said.

“The state needs a more standardized set of procedures as climate emergencies like these become more common,” Kurtas said. “While we are now making some preparations and opening lines of communication, we are still looking for more effective procedures that can be implemented at the state level.”

The storm dropped a record 5.78 inches of rainfall on October 19, causing two deaths. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham requested federal assistance Monday to resolve costs in Roswell as state and local officials try to tally damage from the storm.

The storm hit just days before the last day to request an absentee ballot, and Fuller asked the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office if she could extend the county’s deadline for mail-in ballots, but was denied.

Mandy Vigil, the secretary of state’s elections director, said in an email that state law does not provide for the ability to extend deadlines “under any circumstances.”

In an interview last week, Rep. Teresa Legere Fernandez (D-N.M.) told NM that climate disasters in New Mexico pose both a physical and mental threat.

“People think of flooding at this level when you’re in a hurricane or a tropical storm,” Legere Fernandez said of the destruction in Roswell. “We’re in the middle of America, in a dry part of the county, and we’re seeing a storm that can cause this kind of damage – it’s a shock to people’s sense of safety.”

Climate change from burning fossil fuels is causing natural disasters to become increasingly destructive as rising temperatures intensify storms and wildfires.

Other parts of New Mexico hit hardest in recent months saw no changes to election plans. Lincoln and Otero counties experienced a combination of wildfires and floods that destroyed hundreds of homes, but polling places for both early voting and Election Day remained intact and unchanged, county election officials told NM.

In 2022, the state’s largest wildfires affected the primary elections and forced Mora County move polling stations and offer More information about requesting an absentee ballot. By the 2024 general election, things were “back to normal,” said Vivan Trujillo, Mora County Clerk.

Election operations were violated in parts of North Carolina and Florida affected by Hurricanes Helen and Milton. Damage from Helen and Milton interrupted mail delivery. prevented voters from registering on time timing for evacuation and wreaked havoc on critical infrastructure such as power and internet connectivity.