In the wake of last night’s presidential debate and with the general election less than two months away, New Mexico’s secretary of state testified this morning in Washington in a hearing on election integrity.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver was one of six secretaries of state who testified in person. The hearing was titled “American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election.”
Secretary Toulouse Oliver began her statement by describing a current climate that undermines the election process.
“Because of what has now been years of false election claims, and idealogical attempts to discredit our voting systems and processes, much of the heightened awareness of elections is now colored by conspiracies, misinformation, and, frankly, outright lies," said Toulouse Oliver, reading from a prepared statement.
"This false information has led to increased threats and harrassment to election workers. Many of the people at this table have personally experienced that."
Toulouse Oliver’s own office was the target of such threats after the state’s June 2022 primary. Those threats arrived after officials in Otero County refused to certify election results. A court ultimately compelled the Otero Board to perform their duty under the law and certify.
The hearings took place this morning in the wake of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempts to augment a stopgap funding bill with a resolution to require proof of citizenship to vote.
It was announced earlier today that he had pulled the bill from a vote after it appeared headed for defeat.
One of the members of the House committee asked Secretary Toulouse Oliver how she balances election access with security.
“We can do both at the same time. Both make sure elections are secure and accessible," Toulouse Oliver said.
"Importantly, one of the areas we've focused on in New Mexico is access for our Native voters. With a 12 percent Native voting population in our state, we have the highest Native voting population, and it's very rural. So not just for our native voters, but for our rural voters as well, we wanted to make sure they had better access to getting a ballot through the mail if that's how they choose to vote."
The secretary went on to explain that New Mexico’s secure drop containers are monitored by video 24-7 and checked regularly by a bipartisan election staff in each county.
Other secretaries of state testifying in D.C. this morning were from the states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
