Valencia County voters get early voting schedule, judge candidate questionnaire
Absentee ballots were mailed May 5, and Valencia County voters can cast ballots at any of 15 Election Day sites across 41 precincts. The magistrate race also turns on how judges handle everyday cases.
Valencia County voters can vote early at the county administration offices, 444 Luna Ave. in Los Lunas, through May 15, then at additional sites from May 16 through May 30, with the 2026 primary set for Tuesday, June 2. Absentee ballots were first mailed May 5, voters have until 5 p.m. on May 19 to request one, and mailed ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
The county’s voting convenience-center system is built around flexibility, not assigned precincts. Officials say the model serves 41 precincts and lets voters cast a ballot at any center, with 15 voting locations open on Election Day in Los Lunas, Belen, Bosque Farms, Tomé, Isleta and Peralta. Same-day registration is available at the county administration building and at early-voting sites, but voters must have a Valencia County residential address and bring photo identification plus proof of residency.
That ballot access matters because the magistrate court is where many residents first encounter the justice system. Traffic citations, landlord-tenant disputes, misdemeanor charges and small civil claims often land in magistrate court before they reach any higher court, so the judge elected in Division 3 will help shape how quickly cases move and how firmly the court handles repeat offenders.
The questionnaire attached to the race showed one candidate emphasizing rehabilitation as much as punishment. He said a DWI in 2005 changed his life, pushed him toward the Army and later into the justice system, and he said he has served as a judge since 2021. After more than a decade in problem-solving courts, he said he wants to expand public education about what magistrate courts do, revive a courts-to-schools program for high school students and continue work through DWI Drug Court to cut repeat alcohol- and drug-related offenses.
Other candidate materials add to the picture. Rorik S. Rivenburgh said he moved to Los Lunas three years ago, volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children and as an Aging and Long Term Care Ombudsman, and retired from UPS after more than 20 years as a union steward. Eric Montaño said he served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and has more than 30 years of combined military and civilian law-enforcement experience, framing his campaign around fairness, accountability and compassion.
Ballotpedia lists Valencia County Magistrate Court Division 3 on the June 2 primary ballot and names Y. Danielle Gonzalez, Eric Montaño, Andrew Milton Owen and Denise A. Vigil in the Republican primary field. In a county of 76,205 people, the race reaches beyond party labels and into the daily work of a courthouse that decides what happens next when a resident gets a citation, faces a landlord dispute or stands before a judge on a misdemeanor charge.
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