U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver hosted a roundtable Friday morning at Santa Fe Community College to discuss what they called unprecedented threats to voting rights. Heinrich and Toulouse Oliver were joined by Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin, Guadalupe County Clerk Robert Serrano and Oriana Sandoval, CEO of the Center for Civic Policy.
Heinrich kicked off the discussion with a reminder of why protecting the right to vote is essential.
"It is the right that all of our other rights are built upon," Heinrich said. "It's the foundation. And it is our primary lever to both hold elected leaders accountable and also to protect this great democracy that we have built."
Heinrich said that as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee he has seen numerous threats to U.S. elections. But, he said this is the first time he's seen "threats from within our own federal government, from our own commander in chief."
Those threats include nationalizing the voting process that is traditionally carried out by states, potentially deploying federal agents to polling places and suing the state of New Mexico in an attempt to receive sensitive personal information about voters.
Heinrich went on to discuss the potential unintended consequences of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act. If passed the law would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Proof would have to be provided in person, eliminating mail-in and online registration. The legislation would require would-be voters to show a passport or a government-issued photo ID along with a birth certificate or other similar document when voting. Heinrich and others noted how this would disproportionately affect people who do not currently have a passport, rural voters and married women who's name does not match the name on their birth certificate.
The legislation has passed the U.S House but faces opposition in the Senate. Toulouse Oliver called the SAVE Act, "a solution in search of a problem." She noted that there is not an implementation timeline or funding attached to the bill.
"If this bill passes tomorrow and is signed into law by the President, we are supposed to be implementing this law immediately, or we are out of compliance with federal law," Toulouse Oliver said.
She estimates the state would need at least 18 months to modify voting procedures to ensure compliance. Toulouse Oliver touted the integrity of New Mexico's elections, referencing the state's top ranking from MIT's Election Data and Science Lab.
Multiple speakers referenced Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's recent statement that the SAVE Act and deploying ICE to polling places will, "make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders." Heinrich accused Noem of using scare tactics and offered her a simple message.
"Not on our watch," Heinrich said. "We're not having any of it, and I will do everything in my power to protect every American citizen's right to vote."
