A group of New Mexicans with past felony convictions are suing state officials for what they say is a failure to restore their voting rights before the November 5 general election.
The suit is targeted at Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Corrections Department Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero, and Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover.
The plaintiffs, which includes a group called Millions for Prisoners New Mexico and four individuals, claim that the defendants are not complying with the New Mexico Voting Rights Act (VRA), which went into effect on July 1, 2023.
That measure ensures that upon completing prison terms and leaving correctional facilities, eligible voters are given access to the registration process as quickly as possible.
The suit claims that formerly incarcerated people who were supposed to have been re-enfranchised by the VRA have faced quote “unnecessary barriers and burdens” and are unable to register.
In a statement provided to KSFR from secretary of state spokesperson Alex Curtas, that office relies on data from state agencies indicating a person’s status as no longer incarcerated.
When people in such circumstances go in person to a county clerk’s office, polling location, certain state agencies, or the motor vehicle division, they can register to vote, according to the statement.
The lawsuit states that the Corrections Department failed to quote “fulfill its statutory obligation,” which they said forced the secretary of state’s office to rely on quote “outdated and inaccurate information.”
In an email statement, department of corrections spokesperson Brittany Roembach said that Corrections can’t comment on the ongoing litigation, adding that her department is working closely with Toulouse Oliver’s office to ensure that all eligible voters can register.
According to the statement from secretary of state spokesperson Curtas, that office, as of this month, has registered or updated the registration of hundreds of voters during their reentry phase.
The plaintiff’s legal representatives, the Campaign Legal Center and Toulouse Oliver’s office were in communication to address concerns.
Curtas’s statement reads “Unfortunately, despite our good faith efforts, the Center proceeded with its filing before some of the agreed upon measures had taken place.”
One of those in-process measures, he wrote, was to provide federal officials with instructions for the national form for New Mexicans.
Curtas added that quote “an ideal system includes further automation of data exchanged with the Department of Corrections.”
