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A28 u.s. news
Dialuna 20 Juni 2022

Building anger in rural New Mexico erupts in election crisis

and given voice to unfound- Some bemoaned what they results were confirmed after-
ed conspiracy theories about felt was an encroachment by ward.
voting systems that have the state on the powers of lo-
rippled across the country cal government. Marquardt, The former rodeo rider and
since former President Don- from Otero County, com- co-founder of Cowboys for
ald Trump lost re-election in plained of her commission’s Trump dialed into the meet-
2020. meager “rubber stamping” ing because he was in Wash-
authority under laws enacted ington, D.C., where hours
In the state’s vast, rural by Democrats and an elec- before he had been sentenced
stretches, frustration over tion certification “railroaded” for entering restricted U.S.
voting and political repre- through by larger forces. Capitol grounds during the
sentation has been building Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
for years. Residents have felt Otero County is among more
marginalized and overrun by than a dozen self-proclaimed Applause rang out when
government decisions that 2nd Amendment “sanctuary” Griffin declared, “I think we
have placed limits on liveli- counties in rural New Mexi- need to hold our ground.”
hoods — curtailing access to co to approve defiant resolu-
(AP) — Behind the raw One of the main explanations water for livestock, shrink- tions against recent state gun The developments in New
public frustration and she gave for reversing course ing the amount of forest land control laws. The county also Mexico can be traced to far-
anger over election secu- had nothing to do with ques- available for grazing, or halt- has embraced resistance to right conspiracy theories
rity that has played out tions over the security of vot- ing timber operations and President Joe Biden’s goals over voting machines that
this week in New Mexico ing machines — the reason energy developments due to for conservation of more pri- have spread across the coun-
was a hint of something the all-Republican, three- endangered species concerns. vate land and waterways for try over the past two years.
deeper -- a growing divide member commission had natural habitat, arguing it will Various Trump allies have
between the state’s Dem- originally refused to certify Tensions have mounted as cordon off already limited claimed that Dominion vot-
ocratic power structure its election. Democrats in New Mexico private land. ing systems had somehow
and conservative rural consolidate control over ev- been manipulated as part of
residents who feel their “If we get removed from of- ery statewide office and the Amid alienation, skepticism an elaborate scheme to steal
way of life is under attack. fice, nobody is going to be Supreme Court. Democrats about the security of elec- the election, which Biden
here fighting for the ranch- have dominated the Legisla- tions has taken flight. won.
In Otero County, where ers, and that’s where our ture for generations.
the crisis over certifying the fight should be right now,” On Friday, Otero County There has been no evidence
state’s June 7 primary elec- said Marquardt, the commis- Even as they voted to certify Commissioner Couy Griffin of widespread fraud that
tion began, County Com- sion chairwoman in a coun- their elections, sometimes was the lone dissenting vote would have changed the re-
missioner Vickie Marquardt ty where former President reluctantly, commission- in the election certification, sults of the 2020 presiden-
struck a defiant tone as she Donald Trump won nearly ers from several New Mex- though he acknowledged tial election, and testimony
relented under pressure from 62% of the vote in 2020. ico counties said they were that he had no evidence of before the congressional
the state’s Democratic at- bound by the law to take that problems or factual basis for committee investigating the
torney general, Democratic Otero County is similar to step — thanks to legislation questioning the results of the insurrection has made clear
secretary of state and a state the handful of other New passed by Democrats. They election. His vote came after that many in Trump’s inner
Supreme Court dominated Mexico counties where resi- urged their residents to take the county elections clerk circle told him the same as he
by Democratic appointees. dents have questioned the the fight to the statehouse. said the primary went off schemed to retain power.
accuracy of election results without a hitch and that the

Buttigieg: US may act against airlines on consumers’ behalf

(AP) - The day after checkpoints at U.S. airports, eral safety standards, but the of Buttigieg’s department,
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said his department coming within about 12,500 Transportation Department have contributed to flight
Pete Buttigieg met with could take enforcement ac- of breaking the pandemic-era sees no reason the airlines delays in Florida. The FAA
airline leaders to quiz tions against airlines that fail high recorded on the Sunday cannot immediately add cus- promises to increase staffing
them about widespread to live up to consumer-pro- after Thanksgiving last year. tomer-service representatives there. The Transportation
flight disruptions, his own tection standards. But first, he to help passengers rebook if Security Administration, an
flight was canceled and he said, he wants to see whether The record surely would have their flight is canceled. agency within the Depart-
wound up driving from there are major flight disrup- been broken had airlines not ment of Homeland Security,
Washington to New York. tions over the July Fourth canceled 1,400 flights, many The government has its own has created a roving force of
holiday weekend and the rest of them because thunder- staffing challenges. 1,000 screeners who can be
“That is happening to a lot of the summer. storms hit parts of the East dispatched to airports where
of people, and that is exactly Coast. A day earlier, airlines Shortages at the Federal Avia- checkpoint lines get too long.
why we are paying close at- Enforcement actions can re- scrubbed more than 1,700 tion Administration, part
tention here to what can be sults in fines, although they flights, according to tracking
done and how to make sure tend to be small. Air Canada service FlightAware.
that the airlines are deliver- agreed to pay a $2 million fine
ing,” Buttigieg told The As- last year over slow refunds. Weather is always a wild card
sociated Press in an interview when it comes to flying in
Saturday. During Thursday’s virtual summer, but airlines have
meeting, airline executives also acknowledged staffing
Buttigieg said he is push- described steps they are tak- shortages as travel roared
ing the airlines to stress-test ing to avoid a repeat of the back faster than expected
their summer schedules to Memorial Day weekend, from pandemic lows. Air-
ensure they can operate all when about 2,800 flights lines are scrambling to hire
their planned flights with the were canceled. “Now we’re pilots and other workers to
employees they have, and to going to see how those steps replace employees whom
add customer-service work- measure up,” Buttigieg said. they encouraged to quit after
ers. That could put pressure the pandemic hit.
on airlines to make additional Travel is back. On Friday,
cuts in their summer sched- more than 2.4 million peo- It takes months to hire and
ules. ple passed through security train a pilot to meet fed-