ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A blunder by election officials that left a heavily Republican precinct in New Mexico's hotly contested 1st Congressional District without ballots on Election Day sparked an angry reaction from the GOP incumbent and a warning from others that voters should keep their place in line.

"All of you voters who are standing in line tonight, whether it's cold or otherwise, don't get out of line until they've let you vote. ... Just stand in line," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Domenici, who is not up for election this year, said he was worried about people _ Democrats, Republicans and independents _ not getting to exercise their rights because of "another mess up" by election officials.

It was two hours before extra ballots were delivered to the troubled Albuquerque precinct.

"This is beyond incompetence," Rep. Heather Wilson, her voice wavering in anger, said about the lack of ballots.

Wilson, in a tight race against Democrat Patricia Madrid, said the precinct in question had more registered Republicans than any other in her district. She blamed two Democrats _ Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera and Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron _ for the problem.

Herrera, who said extra ballots were delivered as fast as they could be printed, blamed the secretary of state.

The tight 1st District race was the mostly closely watched nationally of several races.

In other races, Gov. Bill Richardson handily beat challenger John Dendahl. Incumbent Sen. Jeff Bingaman also cruised to victory.

In the Bernalillo County ballot snafu, clerks originally were told they'd get enough ballots for all registered voters, but were notified last week that the numbers were reduced based on absentee and early voting, Herrera said. She said her office complained that cutting back was a bad idea.

A spokesman for Vigil-Giron told The Albuquerque Tribune that insufficient ballots in two Bernalillo County precincts apparently resulted from a dropped zero. Precincts that should have received 1,500 and 1,700 ballots received 150 and 170, respectively.

"The county clerk should have checked it when they accepted the order," secretary of state spokesman Ray Baray said.

Herrera said she sent out precinct judges to see if other precincts were running low, and asked an assistant district attorney to take complaints from voters at the precinct that ran out of ballots.

Republican Party attorney Pat Rogers also said no provisional ballots were available at the precinct _ a violation of federal law. Provisional ballots let voters vote when there's a problem.

During a news conference, Jaime Diaz, election administrator for Bernalillo County, acknowledged there may have been "an infraction."

Wilson sent a letter to the House Administration Committee asking it to send observers to monitor the 1st District to "ensure full compliance with federal law." Committee spokeswoman Salley Collins said it was monitoring the race but hadn't decided to send observers.

Meanwhile, some voters were incensed.

"I'm mad as hell," said Jim Bodley, 69, who waited in line with his wife, Margaret, for 35 minutes. "If we can't fix things in Albuquerque, what hope do we have in Baghdad?"

Margaret Bodley, 68, said she called the clerk's office on her cell phone to complain.

"I was told, 'We are very busy.' She said she would call me, perhaps as soon as tomorrow," she said.

Dona Ana County, the state's second most populous, reported some glitches early Tuesday. County elections supervisor told the Las Cruces Sun-News that some poll workers showed up late _ in one case, causing a precinct to open a half hour late.

Santa Fe County, another of New Mexico's most populous, reported a smooth start to Election Day. Socorro County also reported no problems.

Department of Justice observers were in Sandoval and Cibola counties, largely because of the high numbers of minorities who live there. They were to watch for any violations of federal law, then call a regional center about any problems.

The state's 33 counties used a new paper ballot system for the first time in the general election, raising concerns that voters would need more time. Under the system, voters marked ballots by hand, then fed them into electronic tabulating machines.