NM officials push back against voter intimidation
New Mexico's Secretary of State, Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Raul Torrez released a joint voter advisory on Tuesday afternoon.
The advisory features practical tips about voter eligibility and dates and deadlines for registration and casting a ballot. But it also features information about voter intimidation and law enforcement's role at polling places.
Law enforcement is generally prohibited from entering a polling place unless an election official specifically asks for help maintaining order. Still, there were reports from several states of federal law enforcement inside or polling sites during this year's primaries.
The voter advisory follows mixed messages from federal officials about the use of FBI or immigration officers at polls.
Torrez said in a statement that every registered voter has the right to vote without intimidation, interference or coercion.
Task force on missing and murdered Indigenous people meets
A state task force focused on missing and murdered Indigenous people met last week in Mescalero to discuss legislative proposals. Altogether, the proposals would cost the state about $1.1 million.
New Mexico In Depth reports that the ideas include funding medical care and counseling for Indigenous violent crime survivors and families of murdered Indigenous people. Another proposal would fund an investigator specifically for cases involving missing Indigenous people.
The group is part of the state Department of Justice and was formed after Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham disbanded a similar task force.
Task force chair Stephanie Padilla will present the proposals to the Indian Affairs Committee before the next legislative session in January.
Aftermath of Frijoles Fire hits local watershed
Although the 16,000 acre Frijoles Fire is now fully contained, the fire could have long-lasting effects on a Northern New Mexico watershed. September's historic rains dumped fire debris and silt into Lake Santa Cruz, a reservoir near Chimayo. High Country News reports that many local farmers rely on the lake and its connected acequias for irrigation.
Fire retardant chemicals used to fight the Frijoles Fire are likely in the lake as well. On the day the fire started in early August, New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez asked the Government Accountability Office to look for toxic metals in fire retardants.
The Environmental Protection Agency told HCN that the fire retardants the Forest Service uses are "practically non-toxic."
But recent investigations found arsenic, lead and other metals in samples taken from California wildfires.
