FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 November 2022
Secretary of State Contact:
Alex Curtas
Director of Communications
New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office
505-469-2783
alex.curtas@sos.nm.gov
Attorney General Contact:
Jerri Mares
Director of Communications & Legislative Affairs
Office of the Attorney General
505-321-4372
jmares@nmag.gov
Secretary of State and Attorney General Issue Statement on Potential Disruptions to County-Level Election Certification Process
SANTA FE – Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Hector Balderas issued the following joint statement today to warn the public about the potential for disruptions to the election certification process during county commission meetings this week:
This week, New Mexico’s county commissions are playing their vital role in the administration of our elections by performing their legal duties as the county canvassing boards in their respective counties. The “canvass” is the process of reconciling and confirming the accuracy of the election results and reporting those results to the county and then to the state. Under the law, these county boards support the county clerk in the canvass of the election and are mainly responsible for ensuring the timely certification of the county clerk’s report of canvass. These boards do not canvass the election and must follow statutory procedures.
Our offices are aware that election conspiracy theorists who have played a role in recent attempts to undermine New Mexico’s elections may be now attempting to enlist county commissions to thwart legal certification of the 2022 General Election results. These tactics are not new and were seen during the 2022 Primary Election when Otero County (influenced by these same election conspiracy theorists) attempted to neglect their legal duties and not certify the results of that election.
We are releasing this statement today to inform the public that the Attorney General’s office has a legal team ready to take action against any attempts to interfere with legal certification of the 2022 General Election. The Secretary of State’s office has previously advised New Mexico’s county commissions about their legal duties regarding election certification and a copy of that guidance is included here. New Mexico voters deserve to have their voices heard in full and any attempt to silence those voters through manipulation of the election certification process will be met with swift legal action.
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