Did Heather Wilson Break The Law?

It seems like every election year, at least one local political candidate shows up at a neighborhood polling location and hangs out around the perimeter, trying to glad-hand a few extra votes on Election Day. And every year it's the precinct judge's responsibility to make sure said candidate doesn't come within 100 feet of the building, because such foolish behavior would violate New Mexico law that forbids candidates running for office from entering the polling sites. From my own personal observation over the years, candidates that flirt with violating these laws, specifically the ones who outwardly campaign and wear pins and buttons promoting themselves at the polling sites, are jackasses who tend to be losers after the final vote count.

Well, about two hours ago (2:30 p.m.), Heather Wilson showed up at Valley Vista Elementary School and walked right past the election protection volunteers outside the building and directly into the cafeteria where people were voting. Four witnesses corroborated this to the Alibi, and one of them even videotaped it. Wilson said she just wanted to thank the poll workers, according to one of the witnesses, Jeanna Steele, who also showed Wilson a copy of the law and told her she should not be on the premises. Wilson's response: “She said, where are you from?” said Steele. When one witness suggested that Wilson might have just been trying to vote, another bystander laughed and said, “She doesn't live around here.” It is the precinct judge's responsibility to report these violations to the County Clerk's Office.

(UPDATE: Liz Hamm, spokesperson for the County Clerk's Office said based on the information received from precinct judge, that as long as Wilson wasn't campaigning, and was only shaking the hands of poll workers, she wasn't in violation of the law. We'll have to take a look at the statute ourselves and get back to you. However, we find this hard to believe.)