Gov. Richardson Proposing Vote Changes
By Andy Lenderman
Albuquerque Journal Politics Writer 24 November 2004
SANTA FE? Speed up vote counting. Provide better training for election workers. Add a paper trail to electronic voting systems.
Those were among a long list of proposed election reforms Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled Tuesday, three weeks after the general election when New Mexico made news for yet another protracted vote count.
But one of the biggest partisan fights of the 2004 election year in New Mexico? whether to expand voter identification rules? was not fully explained in his written recommendations.
State Representative-elect Justine Fox-Young, an Albuquerque Republican, is prepared to push voter identification legislation that would require all voters to show identification before casting ballots.
But her party remains in the minority in the Legislature, and Richardson has yet to detail his position on voter ID.
"I think that if Bill Richardson really wants to address election reform? and he's indicated in the past that he believes voter ID is important? then this is a glaring omission," Fox-Young, who will take her seat in the state House in January, said Tuesday. "... If the governor wants to put forth a voter ID bill with teeth, the Republicans will be the first to line up with him."
The legislative session convenes Jan. 18. A Richardson spokesman has said the governor is open to the idea of voter identification. However, his staff declined to elaborate beyond a news release on Tuesday.
"The voters of New Mexico need to be assured that their votes will be counted and that results can be tabulated in a timely manner," Richardson said in a statement issued with his proposals.
He said the first priority is creating uniform statewide standards for provisional ballots, in-lieu-of ballots, and absentee ballots.
Governor's suggestions
Richardson's specific proposals included:
Standardize all voting machines in all counties.
Make sure there is a paper trail for all machine votes cast.
Allow voters to turn in absentee ballots at the precinct level, not just at the county clerk's office.
Allow early processing of absentee ballots before Election Day.
Provide a carbon-copy receipt for people who register to vote.
Provide an online confirmation process so voters can confirm their registration over the Internet. (The Bernalillo County Clerk's office was overwhelmed with voter phone calls before the election).
Enhance mandatory training for presiding precinct judges and precinct boards.
Require all presiding judges to be certified by the state.
Conduct "massive" recruitment of new election judges and poll workers.
Modify standards for the number of machines and workers per hundreds of voters to prevent long lines.
Provide clear instructions to voters.
Improve ballot designs to help eliminate voter error, like voters who circle a candidate on a paper ballot, instead of completing the arrow as required.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who has pushed for faster results and more voter identification, said he plans to introduce legislation to expand the federal Help America Vote Act in Congress.
"I have already spoken to Gov. Richardson about real, comprehensive election reform," Domenici said in prepared remarks. "I am pleased that he is also committed to improving the election process, and I look forward to working with him on this matter."
ID debate
Richardson's statement said New Mexico should come into full compliance with voter identification requirements enforced by the federal Help America Vote Act.
But New Mexico already is in full compliance, according to Ernest Ortega, a spokesman for Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, only voters who have registered by mail for the first time in the county they're residing in, and who have yet to show identification to election officials, must produce ID before casting a ballot. Other voters don't have to show identification.
Republicans for years have pushed for requiring all voters to show identification, as a perceived remedy to election fraud.
Rep. Eric Youngberg, R-Albuquerque, said he has carried a similar bill in past sessions, only to see it defeated.
Democrats have said more stringent requirements could be used to intimidate the poor and minorities from exercising their right to vote.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico successfully fought off Republican and Green Party attempts to broaden the identification requirement in a series of court battles earlier this year.
Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron said at a meeting of the State Canvassing Board that she's committed to trying to streamline the provisional voting process in time for the 2006 election.
She also discussed her experience throughout this year's election.
"I think the biggest lesson I've learned is that you can't keep changing the rules of the game," Vigil-Giron said. "We cannot keep changing the election laws every election cycle. We have to learn them well. The voters need to understand them well, and we can't throw the baby out with the bath water."
