Some Rio Rancho voters who submitted absentee ballots have received notice that they need to correct procedural problems before their votes can be counted.

Tuesday afternoon, City of Rio Rancho spokeswoman Annemarie Garcia said 98 absentee ballots had been rejected, but the voters had until March 11 to fix and resubmit the ballots.

“It is not uncommon that absentee ballots are rejected based on a lack of required signature or proper identification,” Garcia said in an email. “Per the Rio Rancho Charter, voters must provide photo ID when voting, regardless of voting method: early, absentee or election day.”

So, the city clerk’s office must reject absentee ballots that arrived without a copy of a photo ID or without a signature in the required space on the return envelope, she said.

State law requires the city clerk to notify voters whose absentee ballots were rejected with the reason for the rejection and how to fix it. To have their ballots counted, those voters have until 1:30 p.m. March 11, when the city clerk is set to present unofficial election results to the Sandoval County canvassing board for approval, to remedy the problem.

“We encourage voters whose absentee ballots were rejected to take that opportunity to provide the required information,” Garcia said.

Absentee voters concerned about their ballots can call the city clerk’s office at 505-891-5004 for more information.