Rio Rancho's voting troubles are still at the center of the New Mexico politics universe -- a week and a half after the elections. A judge ordered the state police to impound ballots following a suit by Republicans.

The Republican Party of New Mexico says there were voting irregularities in New Mexico -- and some residents were very upset about the long lines and other issues in voting.

Some residents voiced their displeasure at a Sandoval County meeting because of long lines in Rio Rancho.

"Long lines forming, printers out of ink, voting machines jamming, slow response time from bureau of election and it got worse as the day progressed," Patricia Moreland, of the Republican Party of Sandoval County, said.

.Moreland is at the center of a controversy over alleged voter suppression with poll challenger training for the Republican Party and the Tea Party.

The progressive group Progress Now New Mexico says the problems can be placed at the feet of Secretary of State Dianna Duran.

During tonight's Sandoval County Commission meeting, Chairman Darryl Madalena read from a portion of a September 18, 2012 email from the Director of the Secretary of State's Elections Bureau showing that the Secretary of State asked Governor Martinez and the Board of Finance (she is its president) for $1.4 million in emergency funds to "meet the requests for an increased number [of Autovote machines] for the General... Our request was tabled. The Board did not allocate any additional funding to cover the costs of the Election."

This isn't going away any time soon.

On to the Word:

• Gov. Martinez, speaking to Yahoo! News, is the latest Republican to back away from Romney following his presidential loss:

  Martinez, whose was discussed in the national media as a possible running mate for Romney but was never vetted for the job, said she disagreed with Romney's post-election assessment that he lost to Obama in part because the president promised "gifts" to minority voters in return for their support, a comment that many leading Republicans have rebuked.
  
  "That unfortunately is what sets us back as a party--our comments that are not thought through carefully," she said.

• Yet another name put forward for the Senate President Pro Tem position. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, says she will rlun for the position that is open following the loss by Tim Jennings, D-Roswell.

  Papen, 80, said in an interview that she prides herself on being fair and working with senators of both parties.
  
  She said she wants the Senate to focus on doing what is right for New Mexico, not partisanship. But, Papen said, she would not be a pushover for anybody, including Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

  The article says that both Democrats and Republicans have asked Papen to run for the leadership position.
• Milan Simonich counts six Senators who want the position. Papen and John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, are the two that could get the position with a coalition involving Republicans and a handful of Democrats.

  The other four Democrats known to be considering a run for the Senate presidency are Sens. Pete Campos of Las Vegas, Linda Lopez of Albuquerque, Carlos Cisneros of Questa and Phil Griego of San Jose.

• Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron sat down with KOB to talk about the charges that were dropped in relation to misusing $6 million in federal funding.
  
  In the interview, Vigil-Giron was highly critical of Attorney General Gary King, who was the original prosecutor in the case.
• The REAL ID issue is back in the news. It got new attention since Gov. Susana Martinez said it was a reason to pass a law that would stop undocumented immigrants from getting drivers licenses in New Mexico.
  
  From the Albuquerque Journal:

  Starting in December 2014, a state-issued driver’s license or ID card can’t be used by someone under the age of 50 to enter a federal building or board a commercial airliner unless the license complies with the Real ID requirements.
  
  That applies to everyone else starting in December 2017.

• Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, wants an extension of Medicaid open enrollment. Martinez is the odds-on favorite to take over as Speaker of the House in January.

  “The failure of their contract negotiations and subsequent split of the health insurance plan and physicians’ group has left more than 100,000 in New Mexico in limbo – requiring them to either to find a new doctor or find a new insurance plan in a short amount of time,” Martinez said in a letter sent Wednesday to Marjorie Petty, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Dallas office.
  
  “Of these 100,000 patients, more than 32,000 are Medicare members. This means that health care of our most vulnerable population is at risk of being disrupted,” Martinez, who is the House majority leader, wrote.

• The Albuquerque Journal reports that Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock, will not be prosecuted.
• Gov. Martinez is being pushed on her decision to establish a state-run health insurance exchange -- from the right. The AP:

  A conservative political group is criticizing Republican Gov. Susana Martinez for deciding to establish a state-run health insurance exchange.
  
  The Martinez administration has been working since last year on the exchange, which will be an online marketplace for the uninsured and small businesses to shop for health plans.
  
  Americans for Prosperity state director Joseph Montes said Thursday that New Mexico was increasing its reliance on the federal government by "participating in federal mandates, whether funded or not."

  The Gov's office is attempting to start a health care exchange without input from the legislature.
• BREAKING: All five New Mexico electors will cast their ballots for Barack Obama.
  
  The Santa Fe New Mexican looks at the electors from New Mexico for the Electoral College which actually elects the President.
• State Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, writes about the 2012 elections.

  Our public election financing laws must be expanded to ensure that there is a viable alternative to the special interest money game. Portions of New Mexico's current public financing law have been declared unconstitutional. I will again sponsor legislation to address the deficiencies. Here is a link to last year's version of the bill. I also think we should consider public financing for legislative races, something currently done in Arizona.

• Ray Powell says participants in a contest to see who can kill the most coyotoes this weekend will not be given access to State Trust Land.
• The Ruidoso News looks at the effect of potential PERA changes to Ruidoso and other small New Mexico municipalities.

  Several potential legislative actions could slug Ruidoso and other small municipalities directly in their financial gut.
  
  They include the threat of immediately eliminating or phasing out of state compensation payments that make up for towns not being able to apply gross receipts tax to medicine and food, and a tightening of state Public Employees Retirement Act rules that would effectively eliminate financial advantages for employees to continue working after their normal retirement date.

• Supporters of Spaceport America are making a renewed push for legislation that would limit liability for companies from lawsuits.
• The Albuquerque Journal story shows that it is the industry that is behind the group.

  New Mexico Aviation Aerospace Association President Bill McMillan said the state will be unable to recruit more companies to the spaceport without expanding the law, and it could lose anchor tenant Virgin Galactic, because other states with broader laws in place are trying to lure the industry away.

• The Taos News looks at "lame duck travel at county expense" by outgoing county officials.

  Commissioners Nicklos Jaramillo and Andrew Chávez attended the budget conference Nov. 7 and 8, as did treasurer Evangeline Romero. Chávez lost a bid for reelection in the June Primary. Jaramillo and Romero will term out at the end of the year. Registration for the conference was $125 per person. Rooms for conference attendees were $89 a night. At least nine county employees and officials attended the conference.
  
  Chávez told The Taos News he attended the conference to contribute his knowledge and experience to discussions on budget preparation and the relationship between the county and the state. “I’m an active participant. I ask questions and participate in the discussion and that’s why I attended,” Chávez said.

• The Las Cruces Sun-News looks at the New Mexico State University community input on the new university president.
• John Fleck has the latest on water news.

  New Mexico officials have endorsed a landmark agreement between the United States and Mexico they say will reduce the risk of conflict over water in the Colorado River.

• The U.S. Postal Service is hiring in New Mexico.
• An advoate is battlign against the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative and the Rio Grande Sun is the to cover it all.
• Capitol Report New Mexico writes about the Senate Public Affaris Committee where every member has either retired or lost election this year.
• Some Hispanics want Richards for Secretary of State. I seriously doubt that Richardson will get any serious consideration -- especially after having to remove his name from consideration for the Secretary of Commerce because of an investigation into pay-to-play for campaign contributions.
• I'm a Breaking Bad fanatic, as is my girlfriend. This is something we apparently do not share with Martinez

  I just talked to New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. She has never watched Breaking Bad.

  — Chris Moody (@Chris_Moody) November 16, 2012