Correction, Dec. 22, 2025: An earlier version of this story contained significant errors in district-level turnout figures. The story incorrectly stated that District 3 cast 13,908 ballots and had the highest turnout, and that District 7 had the lowest turnout. District 3 precincts actually cast 7,075 total ballots, the lowest of any council district. District 8 and District 9 had the highest ballot counts, with 16,725 and 16,718 votes, respectively. The story has been corrected to reflect accurate figures from certified election results.
Albuquerque voters turned out for the runoff election at nearly the same rate as they did in the November General Election, defying the sharp dropoff that typically follows a general election.
Official results certified Monday by the Bernalillo County Board of Canvass show the Dec. 9 runoff drew more than 129,000 voters, just a small dip from November turnout, as Mayor Tim Keller secured a third term and two City Council races were decided. The unusually high participation matters because runoff elections usually suffer from voter fatigue, making Albuquerque’s near-repeat turnout a notable exception.
The runoff drew 129,138 voters—just 5,089 fewer than November. Turnout reached 35.1%, barely below the general election’s 36.7%, according to the certified results. The 3.8% decline between elections was smaller than what runoff contests usually see.
Certified results show 367,576 eligible registered voters in Bernalillo County. Early voting accounted for more than half of all ballots cast, with 65,384 votes, or 50.6%. Election Day voters produced 45,311 ballots, or 35.2%, while absentee voting totaled 18,443 ballots, or 14.2%.
Keller won a historic third term with 74,456 votes, or 57.7%, defeating challenger Darren White, who received 54,558 votes, or 42%.
Voters also decided two City Council runoffs. In District 1, Stephanie Telles won with 59.5% of the vote, or 9,073 ballots, over Joshua Taylor Neal’s 40.5%, or 6,187 votes. District 3 was the closest race, with Klarissa Peña edging Teresa Garcia 50.5% to 49.5% — a margin of just 71 votes, according to the canvass.
Turnout varied across the city’s nine council districts, with sharp differences from one area to the next. District 8 in the far Northeast and East areas led with 16,725 ballots cast, followed closely by District 9 in the Southeast Heights and Foothills with 16,718 votes. District 1 on the Central Westside, which had a council runoff on the ballot, recorded 15,260 votes, while District 2 in the Northeast Heights cast 14,531 ballots.
District 3 in the Southwest, which also had a council runoff, cast 7,075 total ballots — the lowest of any council district. Of those, 6,586 included votes in the District 3 council race and 7,022 voted in the mayor’s race. District 6 in the South Valley had 11,084 ballots cast, the second-lowest count..
Democrats made up 52% of runoff voters, followed by Republicans at 31%, decline-to-state voters at 15% and other parties at 1%, according to unofficial data from the County Clerk’s Office.
The high voter retention points to strong interest in the mayoral race, even as voters returned to the polls just five weeks after the general election. Runoffs usually see a sharp dropoff driven by election fatigue, but Albuquerque’s turnout closely matched November’s, showing voters stayed engaged.