More Republicans raised questions Tuesday over the wisdom of Secretary of State Mary Herrera hiring Tom Udall’s son-in-law to serve as her state elections director.

“It looks wrong. It is wrong. I am appalled," state Sen. Dianna Duran, R-Tularosa, who served two terms as Otero County Clerk.

Duran said hiring a close relative of a candidate in a high-profile race to oversee New Mexico’s election system could make voters question the integrity of the system and even undermine their trust in the process.

"There should be no question in the mind of that voter that their vote is not going to be counted," Duran said. "All this does is it diminishes what we have been working on for years. It just put another question in voters’ minds of who is counting ballots."

Duran also said Udall should take a stand on the situation. "Tom Udall needs to stand up and say I don’t want any question in voters’ minds about how this election was administered," Duran said.

A spokesperson for Tom Udall said the congressman was unaware of how the Secretary of State’s Office made its decision.

"We really don’t know anything," said spokesperson Marissa Padilla. "This was a decision made by the Secretary of State’s office. We don’t have anything to do with their personnel matters. And I would direct any personnel questions to their office. It  was a decision made independently by them."

Meanwhile blogger Joe Monahan raised the possibility that Noel’s hiring came at the behest of Gov. Bill Richardson. Many observers have wondered for months whether Richardson would try to put someone he trusted into the Secretary of State’s Office to ensure the elections don’t end in a debacle. Richardson appointed Noel to his current job, as well as to several task forces, including one on elections and two on ethics reform. He also helped author a report during time on one ethics task force advocating for the formation of a state elections commission.

"Did the appointment of Noel originate with the SOS, or did Big Bill, who Cooper has also served as a campaign manager, have a hand in the appointment?" Monahan asked.

No comment was the response from the governor’s office and from Noel when the Independent posed the question.

A call to the Secretary of State’s Office was not immediately returned.

A check with an organization for state elections directors reveals that that there are no guidelines for who can serve as an elections director. But having a relative of one of the candidates in a high-profile race serving as state elections director understandably could raise questions, said John Lindback, president of the National Association of State Elections Directors.

"Just by the mere fact that you are asking the question means that you are not the only one asking the question," Lindback said. "It’s something this person is probably going to have answer questions about."

A spokesman for Secretary of State Mary Herrera said on Monday that Noel was the most qualified candidate of those who applied for the position, which has been vacant since March.

Noel does have some elections administration experience, although it was not listed on his resume which was provided by the Secretary of State’s office.

Noel was called in after this year’s Democratic presidential caucus as a presiding judge to help oversee the canvass — including the qualifiying process of provisional ballots. He was also involved in setting up the 2004 Democratic presidential caucus, according to reports.

Noel is generally respected in Santa Fe and during his tenure as executive director of the Judicial Standards Commission has overseen investigations of and recommended the temporary suspension of several judges, the vast majority being Democrats.

Also, the agency’s funding has increased by more than 100 percent during Noel’s tenure, according to the commission.

From 2004 to 2008, meanwhile, the commission under Noel presided over 16 trials involving 17 judges in 24 different cases. Prior to that, a trial had not been held since 1997, according to sources.

Duran said her comments were not directed toward Noel as a person, but at the questions his appointment would raise concerning the integrity of the system.

"It’s an issue of what’s right," Duran said. "Appearance of impropriety. Don’t do anything that would make it look bad. This makes it look bad. It doesn’t look good. It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t smell good."