Early voting turnout light

With early turnout light, Tuesday’s Election Day could play a significant role in reshaping local school boards as seven contested races hang in the balance.

Election Day runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Curry County polling places are Colonial Park Golf Course, the Youth Recreation Building, Roy Walker Community Center, Farmers Electric Cooperative, Curry County Road Department Road Barn, Pleasant Hill Fire Department, Grady Senior Citizens Center, Melrose City Hall and Texico Community Building.

Roosevelt County polling places are at the Portales Memorial Building, the Jake Lopez Community Center, the Floyd Community Center, the Elida Community Center and the Dora Senior Center.

Each county operates with voter convenience centers, meaning a voter can cast a ballot at any of their respective county’s polling places regardless of precinct.

There will be two contested races for the Portales school board. Jimmie Standifer and Angela Smith are running for Position 3, with incumbent Alan Garrett not running for the position. Antonio Sanchez is running for his Position 4 seat, and will be opposed by William Hilliard, Braden Fraze and Meredith Seifert.

Three are running for the District 1 position on the Clovis school board, with incumbent Kyle Snider on a ballot with Sharon Epps and Rosa Sanchez.

Two other contested school board races are for Texico’s Position 4 (Troy Teague, Dustin Ptolemy, Mark Peabody) and Dora’s Position 4 (Shauna Wade, Jana Roberts).

Three of the members of the currently suspended Floyd School Board are running for their positions, with only one running unopposed. Vicki Banister is running unopposed for Position 1, while Jeff Essary will run against Kenneth Reid for Position 2 and Charlsea Lee will run against Adams Burns in Position 5.

The five-member board was suspended Aug. 4 after declining to rescind votes to make the Public Education Department’s COVID-19 mitigation protocols optional. The board is fighting the suspension, and has a hearing on the matter scheduled in January. The PED has declined comment on the ramifications of the fate of the board following the election.

Also on Tuesday's ballot:

• The city of Clovis has a question asking voters to change economic development law to let the city use economic development dollars to incentivize retail as it does for industry. Clovis Mayor Mike Morris, who helped push statewide legislation allowing municipalities of 35,000 or more to make the change, has said the vote will not increase taxes and that the city would not incentivize a retail business that already has a strong local presence.

• Six school districts have a question for a capital improvements tax and/or general obligation bond. Seeking a capital improvements tax are Portales, Dora, Elida, Grady and Melrose. Districts seeking general obligation bonds are Dora, Melrose and Texico.

• There are no federal, state or county races, and the ballot also includes 33 uncontested races — 12 school board positions, a mayoral position, two community college trustee spots, nine council positions, two hospital trustee spots and seven supervisor spots on soil and conservation districts.

Through Friday, with Saturday’s early voting still remaining, Curry County had seen 531 people come in to cast ballots — 330 at the clerk’s office and 201 at the alternate site at North Plains Mall. Additionally, the county sent 45 absentee ballots, of which 14 were returned as of Friday.

Roosevelt County, through Friday, had 179 in-person early voters — 146 at the clerk’s office and 33 at the Jake Lopez Community Center alternate site. The county sent out 12 absentee ballots, and nine were returned as of Friday.